Goods Received Note (GRN)

A goods received note (GRN) records what actually arrived against a purchase order, so quantities can be reconciled before an invoice is paid. Definition and purpose.

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Goods Received Note (GRN)

A goods received note (GRN) is the document created when a shipment arrives, confirming exactly what was physically received against what a purchase order actually called for. It is the record that lets a business catch a short shipment, a damaged item, or a wrong SKU before paying the supplier's invoice.

By Tibeau De Grauwe, FounderUpdated September 2026

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What a goods received note is

When a shipment arrives against a purchase order, the goods received note is the record created at that moment: what SKUs arrived, in what quantity, in what condition, and whether that matches what the purchase order called for. If a shipment is short, damaged, or contains the wrong item, the GRN is where that discrepancy first gets documented.

The GRN is distinct from both the purchase order (what was ordered) and the supplier invoice (what the supplier is billing for) — it is the independent record of what actually, physically showed up, which is exactly why it matters: it is the check that keeps a business from simply trusting the invoice.

The three-way match

Many purchasing processes use a three-way match before approving a supplier invoice for payment: the purchase order (what was authorized), the goods received note (what actually arrived), and the invoice (what the supplier is billing) all have to agree, at least within an accepted tolerance, before payment is released.

Without a GRN, that check collapses to a two-way match between the purchase order and the invoice — which catches a supplier who bills the wrong price, but does nothing to catch a supplier who bills for 100 units while only 92 actually arrived.

How a GRN gets created

A GRN generated by scanning received items against the purchase order — rather than typed up afterward from memory or a paper packing slip — catches discrepancies at the one moment they are cheapest to resolve: before the shipment is put away and mixed in with existing stock, and before the supplier invoice has been paid.

Once put away, a short or wrong-item shipment becomes a much harder problem to trace, since the discrepancy has to be untangled from whatever on-hand stock was already there rather than caught against a specific, isolated delivery.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a goods received note used for?
It confirms what actually arrived — quantity, SKU, and condition — against what a purchase order authorized, and feeds the three-way match (PO, GRN, invoice) that many businesses require before paying a supplier.
Is a goods received note the same as a packing slip?
No. A packing slip is created by the supplier and describes what they say they shipped. A goods received note is created by the receiving business and records what was actually, physically counted and inspected on arrival — the two can and sometimes do disagree.
Why is a GRN important before paying an invoice?
Without it, an invoice is only checked against the purchase order, which confirms pricing and authorization but says nothing about whether the full quantity actually arrived undamaged. The GRN is the independent check that catches short shipments and damage before payment is released.