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Goods received note template

A goods received note (GRN) is the record a receiving team writes when a delivery arrives: what was counted at the dock, what was rejected, and what was accepted against each line of the purchase order. It says what actually arrived, which is not always what the delivery note says or what the invoice charges for. This template has a one-page note to fill in by hand, with ten lines, a delivery condition check, a rejected items box and signatures, and an Excel register that works out what is accepted, what is still to come on each PO line, whether a line is complete, partial or over, and whether an invoice matches what was accepted. It is a working form: check what your finance team, customers and auditors expect you to keep.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the goods received noteFields for GRN number, date, supplier, PO and delivery note, tick boxes for the delivery condition, a table of ten lines with ordered, on delivery note, counted, rejected and accepted columns, a box for rejected items and signature lines.
GRN headerDelivery condition checksTen linesCounted, rejected, acceptedStill to come by PO lineInvoice checkSignatures and copies
Filled-in Goods received note template: two deliveries against one purchase order
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a goods received note

  • When a delivery arrives and the count, not the paperwork, should decide what you accept and pay for.
  • When a purchase order is delivered in parts and nobody can say what is still to come.
  • Before an invoice is paid, so accounts payable can match it to what was accepted.
  • When damaged, wrong or out-of-date items need a record for a claim on the supplier or carrier.
  • Where a system already records receipts at the door, use it as the paper back-up, or as the form for a small site without one.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Fill in the header

    GRN number, date, time, supplier, PO number, delivery note number, carrier and who received it. Number the notes in sequence so a missing one is easy to see.
  2. 2

    Check the delivery before you unload

    Packaging, seals, labels, and the delivery note against the PO. If something is damaged, write it on the carrier's paperwork before the driver leaves.
  3. 3

    Count each line

    Write what you counted, not what the delivery note says. Count in the unit the PO uses: if the PO says boxes of 100, count boxes.
  4. 4

    Reject what is wrong

    Damaged, wrong part, out of date, short of the specification. Write the quantity and the reason, and keep rejected stock apart and tagged so it does not go to the line.
  5. 5

    Work out accepted and still to come

    Accepted is counted minus rejected. On the register, accepted to date and still to come fill in for each PO line, so a delivery in two parts shows what is left.
  6. 6

    Sign, copy and enter it the same day

    The receiver and the driver sign. Send copies to purchasing, accounts payable and stores, and to quality if the lot is held for inspection. Enter it in the register before the shift ends.

Which document says what

The four documents around a delivery

A delivery produces four documents that should agree and often do not. The goods received note is the one only you can write, and it is the one to pay against.

  • Purchase order

    Written by
    You, to the supplier
    What it says
    What you asked for: item, quantity, price and delivery date.
    What to use it for
    The quantity ordered on each line.
  • Delivery note or packing slip

    Written by
    The supplier, in the box or on the pallet
    What it says
    What the supplier says it sent.
    What to use it for
    Something to count against. It is a claim, not a count.
  • Goods received note

    Written by
    You, at the dock
    What it says
    What arrived, in what condition, and what you accepted.
    What to use it for
    The record of what was received and accepted.
  • Invoice

    Written by
    The supplier, usually after shipping
    What it says
    What the supplier wants to be paid for.
    What to use it for
    Checking against what was accepted before it is paid.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): two deliveries against PO-4412 from a made-up fasteners supplier, on 2 and 5 November 2026.

  • GRN-0231 has five lines. The brackets were ordered at 500 and the delivery note says 500, but the count is 480. Accepted 480, 20 still to come: Partial.
  • Two boxes of bolts were crushed and wet. Counted 20, rejected 2, accepted 18, so 2 are still to come: Partial. The reason is written on the note.
  • The washers and the label rolls match the PO: Complete.
  • The covers were counted at 110 against 100 ordered: Over. The extra 10 go on the hold shelf until the buyer says keep or return.
  • GRN-0236 brings the missing 20 brackets and 2 boxes of bolts. Accepted to date reaches 500 and 20, so both lines are Complete and nothing is still to come.
  • Across the 7 receipt lines, 4 are Complete, 2 Partial and 1 Over: 4 ÷ 7 = 57.1% complete. Invoices INV-7731 (500 brackets) and INV-7732 (20 boxes of bolts) match what was accepted. Had INV-7732 arrived before the second delivery it would have shown 20 invoiced against 18 accepted, and the register would have said hold.

The shortage and the damage were on record the day they were found, the over-delivery was held for a decision, and each invoice could be checked against what was accepted.

Common mistakes

  • Copying the delivery note quantity

    A note that repeats the supplier's number is not a count. Write what you counted, and let the difference show.

  • Signing before counting

    A clean signature on the carrier's paperwork makes a later shortage or damage claim hard to win.

  • Mixing rejected stock with good stock

    Rejected items need their own place and a tag. Otherwise they reach the line and the rejection means nothing.

  • Entering the note days later

    By then the count is from memory and the invoice may already have been paid against the delivery note.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite runs part-specific receiving inspections on a tablet with required photos at the dock, number questions have limits and a failed check can raise a tag, and when an inspector flags a defect the batch is quarantined and a SCAR with photos goes to Quality and Procurement.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Goods received note template: common questions

  1. A goods received note (GRN) is the document a receiving team writes when a delivery arrives. It records what was counted, what was rejected and what was accepted against each line of the purchase order, and it is signed by the receiver.

  2. The GRN number, date and time, supplier, PO number, delivery note number, carrier, and for each line the item, unit, quantity ordered, quantity on the delivery note, quantity counted, quantity rejected with the reason, quantity accepted and where it was put. It also needs the receiver's signature.

  3. The supplier writes the delivery note and it says what the supplier believes it sent. You write the goods received note and it says what you counted and accepted. When they disagree, the goods received note is your record.

  4. A check that the purchase order, the goods received note and the supplier's invoice agree before the invoice is paid: the same item, a quantity on the invoice that does not exceed what was accepted, and a price that matches the order.

  5. There is no single answer. It depends on your finance team's record rules, your customers' requirements and your auditors, so ask them. Many sites keep the note with the purchase order and the invoice.

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