How to Log Delivery Receipts: A Practical Guide
A delivery arrives, someone signs for it, the boxes go to the storeroom, and three weeks later finance asks why the invoice is for 50 units when you only received 42. A Delivery Receipt Log is the record that answers that question: what arrived, when, in what condition, and whether it matched what you ordered. It’s a small administrative habit that prevents an outsized share of supplier disputes.
It covers every incoming delivery of goods, stock, supplies, equipment, materials. It’s not a purchase order (which says what you asked for) and it’s not the invoice (which says what you’re being charged). It sits between the two and proves what actually crossed your threshold.
When to Use This
Log every delivery, every time, not just the big ones. The disputes that cost real money are often about small, repeated shortfalls: two units missing from every monthly consumables delivery adds up quietly over a year. The log also matters most precisely when receiving is rushed, a busy reception desk at 4pm on a Friday is when boxes get signed for unchecked.
Start the log before the delivery arrives, with the expected items from the purchase order. Checking a delivery against a pre-filled expectation takes minutes; reconstructing what should have arrived from memory takes hours and is never reliable.
How to Fill It Out
Section 1: Delivery details. Record the date and time of delivery, the supplier name, and the delivery note or consignment number. If your driver or courier details matter for tracing problems, note those too. This is the basic “when and from whom” that every later query will start from.
Section 2: Order reference. Link the delivery to the purchase order or order number it fulfils. One delivery can cover multiple orders, and one order can arrive in multiple deliveries, record the mapping both ways so nobody has to guess. If there was no formal order (an ad-hoc purchase), note who requested it.
Section 3: Items expected vs. received. List each item with the quantity ordered and the quantity actually received, side by side. Count or weigh the delivery, don’t take the delivery note’s word for it. Delivery notes describe what the supplier thinks they sent; your log records what you actually got. Flag partial deliveries clearly, with the outstanding balance noted for follow-up.
Section 4: Condition check. Note the condition of the goods and packaging on arrival: intact, damaged packaging, visible damage to goods, or items missing from sealed boxes. Check a sample of contents, not just the box count, ten sealed cartons mean little if nobody opens one. Photograph anything damaged before you move or unpack it further; suppliers take “it arrived broken” far more seriously with a timestamped photo.
Section 5: Received by and discrepancies. The person who checked the delivery signs and dates the entry. Any discrepancy, short delivery, wrong item, damage, gets recorded here with the action taken: supplier contacted, credit requested, replacement expected, with a follow-up date. An unresolved discrepancy line is a small debt the supplier owes you; without the log, it’s forgotten within a week.
Common Mistakes
1. Signing before checking. The driver is waiting, the queue is building, and the delivery note gets signed unchecked. That signature is your confirmation that everything arrived in order, once signed, disputing a shortfall becomes your word against theirs. Check first, sign second, every time. If the driver genuinely can’t wait, sign “unchecked” prominently, it’s weaker than a proper check but far better than a clean signature on an unchecked delivery.
2. Not matching to the purchase order. Logging “received 40 units” without noting that 50 were ordered means the shortfall is invisible. The expected-vs-received comparison is the entire point of the log, one column without the other is just a diary of boxes.
3. Ignoring partial deliveries. “The rest is coming next week” gets a nod and is forgotten. Every partial delivery needs the outstanding balance written down with an expected date, and someone assigned to chase it. Otherwise you pay the full invoice for a partial delivery and only discover it months later, if ever.
4. No photos of damage. Describing damage in words weeks after the event rarely convinces a supplier. Photograph damaged goods and packaging at the moment of discovery, attach or reference the photos in the log, and report damage within the supplier’s stated window, many only accept claims within a few days.
Who Needs to Sign Off
The person receiving and checking the delivery signs the entry, usually reception, warehouse, or office admin staff. They need the authority to refuse or query a delivery, not just to sign for it. Discrepancies get escalated to whoever placed the order or manages the supplier relationship, and finance should see the log (or a summary) before paying any invoice it relates to, the log is what justifies holding back payment on a short delivery.
How Often to Review and Update
Log every delivery on arrival, same day, no backlog. Review outstanding partial deliveries and unresolved discrepancies weekly; chase anything past its expected date. Monthly, reconcile the log against purchase orders and incoming invoices: every order should have a matching receipt, and every invoice should match what was actually received. That monthly reconciliation is where the log quietly earns its keep.
Download the free Delivery Receipt Log template.