Purchase Orders & GRN: The Complete A-to-Z Guide
What you ordered from a supplier, what actually arrived, and why an invoice should only ever match the second number.
Three documents, three different numbers
A purchase order, a GRN, and a supplier invoice each answer a different question — mixing them up is how a kitchen overpays.
| Document | Answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase Order (PO) | What did we ask for? | 20 kg Chicken, requested |
| GRN (Goods Received Note) | What actually arrived? | 18 kg Chicken, received |
| Supplier Invoice | What are we being charged for? | Should match the GRN — 18 kg, not 20 |
Raising a purchase order
- 1
Open Purchase Orders and start a new one
/pos/purchase-orders/new - 2
Pick the supplier and add each raw material with the quantity and unit you're ordering
- 3
Save and send — the PO now shows as pending against that supplier
Receiving a GRN
When the delivery arrives, the GRN records what was actually handed over — not what was ordered. A shortfall gets flagged right here, not discovered a week later during a stock count.
| Chicken | |
|---|---|
| Ordered (PO) | 20.000 kg |
| Received (GRN) | 18.000 kg |
| Shortfall | −2.000 kg |
What happens automatically
Matching the supplier invoice
Correct invoice amount
If Fresh Farms invoices for the full 20kg ordered but only 18kg was received, that invoice should be queried before payment — not paid on trust because it matches the original PO. Matching against the GRN is what actually protects the margin on every dish that Chicken goes into.
Quick reference
| To… | Go to |
|---|---|
| View all purchase orders | /pos/purchase-orders |
| Raise a new purchase order | /pos/purchase-orders/new |
| View one PO and its GRN/invoice history | /pos/purchase-orders/:id |
Before approving a supplier invoice, check:
Invoice matched to the PO instead of the GRN. Pays for quantity that was ordered, not quantity that actually arrived — the most common way procurement quietly overpays.
No GRN recorded at all. Stock gets bumped up manually from memory, and the actual delivered quantity is never on record if a dispute comes up later.
Partial deliveries not tracked against the same PO. A PO delivered in two batches needs both GRNs linked back to it, or the outstanding balance looks wrong.
Related RasoeeCloud Products
Frequently Asked Questions
A goods received note — a record of what a supplier actually delivered against a purchase order, including any shortfall, which then becomes the source of truth for both stock-in and invoice matching.
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