Checking a stock delivery before you sign for it
What a shop should check and write on the delivery note before signing for stock, and how shortages and damaged goods are then settled with the supplier.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Retail businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
The truck arrives at the busiest time of the morning. The driver has a long route and wants a signature, now. Someone from the shop floor counts the stack roughly, signs the delivery note, and the driver is gone. That afternoon, unpacking, the team finds one carton of the cooking oil missing and another with crushed bottles leaking into the next box.
The supplier's position is simple: your signature says everything arrived in good order. Arguing it afterwards is slow and often lost. The few minutes spent checking before signing are the cheapest stock control a shop can do.
What the signature actually confirms
DP World defines a proof of delivery as a document confirming that goods have been received by the intended recipient in the expected condition. It says a complete proof of delivery typically includes the recipient's signature, the date and time of delivery, a description of the items delivered and the condition of the goods, noting any visible damage at delivery. DP World's glossary entry on proof of delivery sets out what the document is for on each side.
That last part matters most. When the person receiving signs a clean delivery note, with no remarks about damage, they are confirming that the goods arrived in the expected condition. The document becomes the supplier's evidence that it delivered what it said it delivered.
Count and look before anyone signs
DP World explains that the proof of delivery gives the seller confirmation that the shipment arrived, while the buyer can check that the goods match the order and are free from visible damage. The check is the buyer's opportunity. Use it:
- Have the order to hand, on paper or on a phone, not just the supplier's delivery note. The delivery note says what the supplier sent; the order says what you asked for.
- Count cartons or units against the delivery note, line by line, not just the total number of boxes.
- Look at every carton for crushing, tears, wet patches, broken seals or tape that has been opened and reclosed.
- Open anything that looks damaged in front of the driver if possible, and check the contents.
- For perishable or dated goods, check expiry dates and temperature where it matters.
- Check the description: right product, right size, right flavour. Substitutions are easier to refuse at the door.
Choose one or two people who are allowed to sign for deliveries, and train them on this routine. A delivery signed by whoever happened to be at the back door is the hardest to dispute later.
Write the problem on the document
If something is wrong, do not sign clean. Write on the delivery note, next to your signature, exactly what you found: which line is short and by how many, which cartons are damaged and how, and which items were refused. Ask the driver to countersign or at least to note that the remark was made, and take photographs of the damage with the delivery note in the frame.
If the driver refuses to wait for a check, write "received unchecked" or "subject to count" next to your signature. It is weaker than a proper check, but much stronger than a clean signature. Then do the count straight away and tell the supplier in writing the same day.
Recording the delivery against the order in Achekam
Once the goods are in, record what actually arrived. In Achekam, deliveries are recorded against a purchase order line by line, including part deliveries, and a goods-received record is kept. If the supplier delivered only part of a line, record that part; the rest stays open on the order rather than being treated as received.
Record what you counted, not what the delivery note says. If you wrote a shortage on the note, the goods-received record should show the same shortage.
When the supplier's invoice disagrees
AccountingTools explains that matching the supplier invoice to the receiving documents checks that the goods were received, in the correct quantity and in good condition. It adds that when the match finds a problem, accounts payable staff contact the supplier, which may lead to a revised invoice or a credit memo from the supplier.
In Achekam, a supplier invoice recorded against an order is matched with what was ordered and what arrived. If price or quantity differ, the invoice is held until someone writes a resolution note. That hold is your protection: an invoice for a full delivery cannot simply post while your goods-received record shows a short one.
How the difference is settled depends on what happened:
| What you found | What to ask the supplier for |
|---|---|
| Items short and not coming | A revised invoice for what was delivered |
| Items short but following later | Hold the invoice until the balance arrives, or ask for a revised one |
| Some items damaged | A credit note for the damaged items |
| Wrong items delivered and returned | A credit note once the return is collected |
ACCA notes that a credit note need not cover the full value of the original invoice, for example where only part of a batch of goods was damaged. You do not need the whole invoice cancelled; you need the supplier to credit what was wrong. Write in the resolution note which document settles the difference, so the next person can see why the invoice was released.
Getting the stock onto the till
There is one more step that catches shops out. In Achekam, goods received against a purchase order do not add stock. The goods-received record proves what arrived and drives the invoice match, but it does not change the quantities your till works with.
Make updating stock quantities a separate, named task in your delivery routine, done by whoever looks after stock, so that what the till believes is on the shelf matches what the team just unpacked. The details of that gap and how to manage it are in why deliveries don't add stock.
Make it the routine for every truck
Write the six checks on a card at the receiving door, name the people who may sign, and agree that nobody signs clean without counting. When a supplier's paperwork arrives twice, read catching duplicate supplier invoices.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
