# Receiving

> Receiving is checking a delivery against what you ordered, then telling your system what actually arrived.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/receiving/
- Also called: Goods in
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Nia Chambers, Product, Store Standards

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In the UK and Ireland it is usually called goods in.

It takes half an hour and it decides your numbers for the next three months.

## Three things have to happen

1. Somebody counts what came out of the boxes.
2. That count is compared to the
   [purchase order](https://storestandards.com/glossary/purchase-order/), not to the delivery note.
3. Stock goes up in Shopify by the counted amount, the same day.

Miss the third and your website is selling stock the system does not know it
has. Miss the second and you are trusting the supplier to have packed what
they invoiced. Write the count down on a
[goods received note](https://storestandards.com/glossary/goods-received-note/) as you go.

## Why the order matters

The delivery note is the supplier's claim. The purchase order is your record.
Comparing the boxes to the note only proves the note is internally
consistent.

Anything short, over or damaged has to be written down while the boxes are
still open. Most suppliers have a claim window of a few days.

## Where it goes wrong

The count happens on paper at the door and gets keyed in later. Between those
two moments somebody puts the sheet down, a customer needs serving, and two
lines get typed from memory.

Count straight into the order on a phone and the second step disappears.
That is the job our [barcode receiving app](https://storestandards.com/products/placeholder/) does. The
full method, app or no app, is in
[how to receive a purchase order in Shopify](https://storestandards.com/blog/receive-a-purchase-order-in-shopify/).

## Related terms

- [Purchase order](https://storestandards.com/glossary/purchase-order/): A purchase order is the document you send a supplier to order stock. It lists what you want, how many, and what you agreed to pay.
- [Goods received note](https://storestandards.com/glossary/goods-received-note/): A goods received note is your own record of what a delivery actually contained, written by the person who counted it.
- [Putaway](https://storestandards.com/glossary/putaway/): Putaway is moving stock from the receiving area onto the shelf it will be picked from, and recording where it went.