> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.flowretail.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.flowretail.com/docs/day-to-day-operations/purchase-and-receivement/receiving-goods.md).

# Receiving goods

What a receivement is, which status actually moves stock and value, and what cost the goods are booked at.

A **receivement** records goods arriving against a purchase order. It is the only thing in Flow Retail that turns an order into stock, and it is where the cost of that stock is decided.

## Summary

|                      |                                                            |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| What it belongs to   | One purchase order                                         |
| What it changes      | Stock quantity and average cost, in one warehouse          |
| When it changes them | Only at status `RECEIVED`                                  |
| Cost booked          | The price per unit you enter, or the order's net unit cost |
| Can be split         | Yes — several receivements per purchase order              |

## The four statuses

| Status      | Meaning                                                                | Moves stock? |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| `PENDING`   | Registered, not yet processed                                          | No           |
| `UPDATING`  | Being worked on                                                        | No           |
| `CONFIRMED` | The supplier has confirmed a shipment. The goods are coming, not here. | No           |
| `RECEIVED`  | The goods have physically arrived                                      | **Yes**      |

**Only `RECEIVED` moves value.** It increments stock and books a cost. The other three are administrative.

`CONFIRMED` is the one that misleads. It means *the supplier confirmed a shipment* — it carries quantities, an expected arrival date and the supplier's order reference, and it lifts the purchase order to `IN_TRANSIT`. It carries no price, asserts nothing about cost, and touches no stock. That is deliberate: a discount is routinely agreed after a delivery has been confirmed, so confirming must not fix the cost.

## What cost the stock is booked at

When a line is received, Flow Retail books a cost per unit:

1. **The price per unit on the receivement line**, if you entered one. Use this when the delivered price differs from what was ordered.
2. **Otherwise, the purchase order's net unit cost in local currency** — the line price *after* any agreed discount, converted from the order's currency.

The fallback is the net cost and not the list price on purpose. Falling back to list price would value the stock at what the supplier asked before the discount was agreed, and overstate your inventory.

That booked cost is then blended into the product's average cost for that warehouse — see [How cost price is calculated](/docs/day-to-day-operations/prices/how-cost-price-is-calculated.md).

## Partial and split deliveries

A purchase order can have several receivements. Receive what arrived, leave the rest outstanding, and the purchase order sits at `PARTIALLY_RECEIVED` until the remainder comes in.

If the remainder never arrives, close the purchase order rather than receiving quantities you did not get. Closing leaves received stock untouched and stops the order sitting open — see [Purchase order statuses](/docs/day-to-day-operations/purchase-and-receivement/purchase-order-statuses.md).

## Serial numbers

A receivement line carrying a serial number must have a quantity of exactly one unit. Ten serialised items are ten lines, not one line of ten. Receiving is rejected if a serial number is set on a line with any other quantity.

## Limitations

* A receivement writes into a single warehouse. Splitting one delivery across warehouses means more than one receivement.
* Supplier invoice approval is tracked on the receivement and is separate from the purchase order's status. Receiving goods does not approve an invoice.
* Cost is booked at the moment of receiving. A price correction agreed later does not retrospectively revalue stock already received.

***

*Last updated 19.09.2026*


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