A sales colleague sees an order for one hundred units and promises a customer delivery from stock. The warehouse has received only forty. Both colleagues read a real number, but they read different stages of the purchasing process as though they were the same.
Give each quantity a clear meaning
An ordered quantity records a commitment or request under the purchasing arrangement. A received quantity records what has physically arrived and been accepted through the relevant process. An available quantity may also reflect inspection, reservations or other operational restrictions.
These are operational distinctions, not a universal accounting treatment. Financial recognition, ownership and payment obligations depend on the contract, applicable standards and the organisation’s accounting policy.
Trace one fictional partial delivery
Suppose a business orders one hundred identical units. Forty arrive, but five are held for inspection. The purchasing record can show sixty still outstanding, while the warehouse records forty received and thirty-five currently released for use. A single column labelled stock would hide useful information.
If the supplier later cancels the remaining sixty, update the commitment through the approved purchasing process. Do not record the cancellation as though sixty physical units disappeared from the shelf.
Link the records without merging their meanings
Use the purchase-order reference, delivery reference and item identifier to connect the documents. Record partial receipts against the correct order line. Where substitutions are permitted, identify the actual item received and the approval for the change.
- Who confirms the quantity delivered?
- Who releases items after inspection?
- Who updates the expected date for the remainder?
- Where can customer-facing staff see the usable quantity?
Review exceptions such as over-deliveries, damaged goods and duplicate delivery notes. A team should not solve an unexplained mismatch by changing whichever number is easiest to edit.
At a handover, explain which record answers which question. Purchasing needs visibility of commitments; the warehouse needs physical and release status; sales needs a dependable availability view. Clear definitions let those teams coordinate without pretending an order confirmation is proof that goods have arrived.