Partial receipt, partial return and PO close: what evidence should remain?

Keep ordered, received, accepted, rejected and returned quantities distinct

Goods can physically arrive but fail inspection. Separate received, accepted and rejected amounts instead of forcing received = ordered. ERPNext Purchase Receipt supports accepted and rejected warehouses and updates pending quantity against the Purchase Order.

Clear quantities let purchasing know what is still expected, warehouse know what is usable and accounting compare invoices with actual receipt without relying on memory.

References: [1]

A partial return should reference the original receipt

If 15 units were received and two are later found defective, create a return referencing the original receipt with quantity, reason, evidence and date. Do not rewrite the receipt from 15 to 13 because that hides the fact that goods first entered and were later returned.

ERPNext Purchase Receipt can create Purchase Returns after submission and supports rejected-item return flows. The useful principle is event lineage rather than historical overwrite.

References: [1]

Short-close the remaining commitment when it will not be fulfilled

If the supplier confirms the remaining five units will not ship, an authorised role should short-close the balance with evidence such as supplier confirmation. Preserve the original ordered amount in history.

ERPNext documents Closed/short-closing behavior for cases such as ordering 20 but closing at 15 when the remaining amount will not be received or billed. The important principle is that close is a decision, not retroactive editing of the original fact.

References: [1]

Compare invoice quantity and rate with the relevant receipt and order

If the supplier bills 20 while only 15 were accepted, open an exception rather than changing receipt data to match the invoice. ERPNext Purchase Invoice can be created from Purchase Orders or Purchase Receipts and exposes accepted quantity, rate, UOM and linked rows for review.

Partial billing should remain distinct from pending receipt because “not yet billed” and “not yet received” describe different states.

References: [2]

Closing evidence should explain every quantity difference

Before closing, reconcile ordered, accepted, returned, invoiced and cancelled/short-closed quantities and list remaining exceptions. Any imbalance should point to a shipment, credit note, return confirmation or approval that is still pending.

UAT should include partial receipt, rejection at receipt, later return, partial invoice and short-close rather than testing only the happy path.

Apply it to your business

A traceable purchasing cycle does not force every number to match. It preserves each event and explains differences through explicit state, reason and evidence.