How to check in a stock delivery properly

Most stock problems in a small shop start at the back door. A case short here, a wrong flavour there, a box crushed at the bottom of the pile. If nobody checks, you pay for stock you never got, and your records say you have products you cannot find.

A delivery routine takes a few extra minutes and catches these mistakes while they can still be fixed. Once the driver has gone and the boxes are open, it is your word against the supplier's.

• Keep a copy of what you ordered. A note, a message to the supplier, a list on your phone. You cannot check a delivery against nothing.
• Clear a space near the door to put boxes down and count them before they go to the back.
• Know who receives. If you will not be there, make sure someone else knows the routine and has the order list.

1. Count the boxes

   Before anything else, count the number of cases or packages and compare it with the delivery note. A missing box is the most common problem and the easiest to catch.

2. Check against your order

   Go line by line: right product, right size, right quantity. Watch for substitutions, such as a different brand or pack size that the supplier sent instead.

3. Look for damage

   Crushed corners, leaks, broken seals, dented cans. Open any box that looks wrong. Set damaged items aside and show the driver.

4. Check dates on short-life goods

   For anything that can expire, check that the dates give you enough time to sell it. Short-dated stock is worth questioning before you accept it.

5. Note problems on the delivery note

   Write down anything short, wrong or damaged before you sign, and ask the driver to initial it. Take a photo if your supplier accepts them.

6. Sign, then record

   Sign for what you actually received. Then record the delivery in your stock records the same day, with the real quantities.

You ordered from your drinks supplier. Here is what you find when you check the delivery.

Before signing, you write on the delivery note: one case orange soda short, three cola bottles damaged, ginger beer substitution refused. The driver initials it. You add 93 cola, 24 orange soda and 60 water to stock, and follow up with the supplier about the short case and the damaged bottles.

• First in, first out. Put new stock behind or under older stock so the older units sell first. This matters most for anything with a date.
• Do not leave boxes on the floor for days. Unshelved stock gets forgotten, damaged or counted twice.
• Check prices. If the cost went up, update your cost record and check whether the shelf price still works. See how to price products.
• Put back-room stock in a set place so it is counted in the next stock count.

Signing first, checking later

Once you sign for a full delivery, most suppliers will treat it as delivered in full. Check first.

Recording stock days later

If the delivery is not recorded but sales are, your stock goes negative on paper and your low-stock reminders fire at the wrong time. Record it the same day.

Throwing away damaged items without a record

Damaged items you accepted are a stock loss. Record them as damaged so your counts still add up and you can see which suppliers cause the most trouble. Read where your stock goes.

Letting anyone receive without the order

A helper who does not know what was ordered can only count boxes. Share the order with whoever receives.

Shopkeepa has a Stock In step for deliveries. Scan or search each product, enter the quantity that actually arrived, and stock updates straight away. Damaged and expired items are recorded as their own kinds of stock removal, so your records show where every unit went.

Your restock list also shows the suggested order quantities you were working from, which makes it easier to check a delivery against what you needed. Learn more about inventory tracking. Shopkeepa is in development, and early access shops will help shape it.