Template
Goods in checklist
The order to work through when a delivery lands on the dock.
Worked out at https://storestandards.com/tools/goods-in-checklist/
What is on the sheet
One page, in the order the job actually happens.
The top holds the order number, the date, the supplier and who is receiving. Then a check on the pallet before the driver leaves. Then a count against the order, line by line, with a column for ordered, a column for received and a column for the difference.
The bottom is the part most forms miss. There is a block for shortages, one for damage and one for anything sent that was not ordered. Each has room for who was told and when.
The order to do it in
Check the outside first, while the driver is still there. Count the boxes and look at them. Anything crushed or opened gets written on the carrier’s paperwork before you sign, and if there is no time to check properly then sign it as unchecked.
Count against the order, not against the delivery note. The note tells you what the supplier believes they sent, which is exactly the thing you are trying to verify.
Record shortages and damage on the day. Claim windows are usually short, and a note written on the day carries weight that a memory three weeks later does not. That is what a goods received note is for.
Only then put the numbers into Shopify, and put in what arrived rather than what was ordered.
Why this order matters
Receiving is where most stock error comes from. Booking in the ordered quantity because the delivery looked about right puts the whole shortfall into your stock figure on day one, and nothing finds it until a count.
Score your next count with the stock accuracy scorecard and see whether goods in is where your gap is coming from.
Check the delivery against a written order. If you do not have one, the purchase order template is a page you can print. The full method is in the article on receiving a purchase order.
Questions people ask
Why check against the order and not the delivery note?
The delivery note says what the supplier thinks they sent. The order says what you asked for. Checking note against pallet only proves they packed what they meant to, which is not the same thing.
What do I do about a short delivery?
Write the shortfall on the checklist and on the carrier paperwork before the driver leaves, then tell the supplier the same day. Most claim windows are short, and a note written later carries much less weight.
Should I sign for a pallet I have not opened?
Sign it as unchecked. Those two words are what keeps a claim open when you open the box an hour later and find half of it broken.
When should stock go into Shopify?
After counting, not before. Booking in what was ordered rather than what arrived is the most common cause of stock drift, and nothing catches it until you count.
Do I need this if I use a scanner?
The steps are the same either way. A scanner does the counting and the typing. It does not decide what to do about six damaged units, and that is most of what this covers.
Words used on this page
Try one of these next
Purchase order template
A one page order form to print, fill in and send to a supplier.
Stock accuracy scorecard
Score your last count and see how it rates against the trade.