Help centre / Warehouse Management

Receiving Desk

Goods come in against a purchase order . This screen lists what each order still expects in the storage space, takes what came by scanning, and at Finish posts the goods receipt voucher through the ERP's own save - linked line by line to the order - with the stock in the receiving bin and a putaway task per line for the floor.

1What this screen is for #

Menu path: Warehouse Management > Inbound > Receiving Desk. Route /warehouse/receiving .
Receives against the open purchase orders - every voucher type under the group Purchase Order - that have a goods line still pending for the storage space picked: an item classified Fixed Asset or Inventory that is not a service item. An order's service or labour lines are billed on the purchase bill, never received here. An order with no storage space of its own is expected in every storage space open to its branch.
Finish posts the goods receipt voucher - GRN, or Inward Supply where the bill itself moves stock - exactly as the voucher screen posts a linked voucher: same numbering, same stock rules, same link to the order, same Quality Order where the type creates one. It is a normal voucher afterwards: Voucher Manager's workflow, printing, cancelling all apply.
The stock enters the storage space's receiving bin and one Putaway task per item and batch is raised, with the bin the Putaway Rules suggest. The floor works it on My Tasks . On a type with Create Quality Order the stock goes to the QC hold bin instead and no task is raised until the Quality Order passes.
A receipt may be short (with a reason - the line stays pending on the order) but never over the order: the order is amended first.
Made for a phone or a handheld first; works the same at a desk with a USB scanner, or with no scanner through Take on the Expected grid. A receipt begun is kept in the browser until Finish.

2Step by step #

Pick the storage space the goods are unloaded into, then the goods receipt voucher type . The orders expected are listed.
Tick the order(s) the delivery came for - on a phone open Orders the goods came for ; at a desk click the cards. Orders of one supplier only. Goods with no order behind them: switch Receive without an order on (where Voucher Manager allows it for the type), pick the supplier , and scan any item; on a type set to Allowed, needs approval the receipt is kept on the Exceptions list and posted only when approved.
Where the type asks for it, pick the gate entry of the vehicle (made on Goods Inward Register).
Scan an item. The order line it belongs to is found; on several lines, pick one. What is still expected is shown and proposed as the quantity. No label to scan: press Find item (F3) and pick it by name.
Give the quantity received - less than expected needs a variance reason ; more is refused. For an item tracked by serial number, scan each unit's serial number. Press Add line (F4) .
Where the storage space tracks pallets : press New pallet before the lines that go on a pallet (one item and batch per pallet), Loose for loose stock. Finish gives each pallet its label (PLT-000123) to print, and raises a putaway task per pallet; the floor moves a pallet by scanning its label alone.
Press Finish (F5) and confirm. The voucher is posted; the putaway tasks it raised are listed with their suggested bins.
Product barcodes and labels. Each receipt line gets its barcode (TranID) as the voucher screen would give it: by the type's TranID column rule (CREATE-AUTO) and the item master - the system mints a number for an item without a manufacturer barcode, the item's own barcode (EAN) otherwise; a barcode the purchase order already made is carried over. Where WMS Settings says the goods are priced at the desk , the cost sheet opens after Finish; the product labels then print by themselves, after a question, or from the buttons, as WMS Settings says - at the cost sheet's prices, or at the item master's prices where purchase staff price the goods later.

3Set-up the desk needs #

The storage space is run by the WMS with a receiving bin (Warehouse master, block Run by the WMS). A QC hold bin there too, where receipts are inspected.
The goods receipt voucher type, in Voucher Manager : moves stock in (Stock Type Inward, Affect Stock Yes); Enable Storage Space on; Use WMS bins Optional or Required; Post from Warehouse confirmation (it can still be posted here with Voucher entry, and typed on the voucher screen with either); Linked Transaction on, so the goods receipt carries the order line it answers. The orders offered are every type under the group Purchase Order.
Track Goods Inward ID on the type asks for the gate entry on every receipt; Create Quality Order puts the stock on hold - released on the Exceptions list. Receipt Without Order (Not allowed / Allowed / Allowed, needs approval) says whether the desk may receive with no purchase order behind the goods; Approve on WMS - Receiving decides such receipts on the Exceptions list.
Rights: WMS - Receiving View opens the desk, Create finishes a receipt; the voucher type's own Create right is asked by the save. Putaway tasks: WMS - Tasks: Putaway .
Barcodes: the type's TranID column visible with CREATE-AUTO (Voucher Manager, column properties); on the item master Manufacturer barcode and User barcode from . CREATE-MANUAL, and a manufacturer barcode that would have to be typed, are refused on the desk.
Pricing and labels: Show Costing Window on the type gives it a cost sheet; Allow Print Label (or the cost sheet) lets product labels print. WMS Settings : WMS pricing at the Receiving desk (No as delivered) and WMS product labels at Finish (Automatic / Ask / On demand; Ask as delivered). A barcode label profile on Settings > Barcode with a design text; a Direct To Printer profile prints through the browser's serial port picker (Chrome or Edge).

4Toolbar & keyboard #

Scan (F2) puts the cursor in the scan box. Every message appears right under it.
Find item (F3) lists the items where there is no label to scan: with no order, every active stock item open to your branch (branch sharing, by your report option); with orders ticked, the lines they still expect. Typing narrows the list; F5 or Enter takes the first item listed, a click takes any; the item taken is shown in the box and goes in hand like a scan.
Add line (F4) keeps the item in hand, its quantity and reason as a line; Enter in the quantity does the same.
Finish (F5) asks to confirm, with OK focused, and posts the voucher. A warning the save gives (stock, price) is shown and asks OK again.
Cancel (Esc) forgets the scan in hand; with none in hand it discards the lines. It asks first. With nothing begun, Esc closes the page.
Refresh reads what is expected again; Receipts lists the receipts finished here, with their putaway tasks, and prints a goods receipt slip, a receipt's pallet labels again and its product labels ; Cost sheet there prices a receipt where the desk does the pricing.
The storage space, type and orders are fixed once the first scan is in hand.

5If something does not work #

"You do not hold the right to open the Receiving desk. An administrator grants it in User Manager, Masters tab, on the object WMS - Receiving (View)."

Why: The desk is opened with the View right on WMS - Receiving; finishing a receipt needs Create.
What to do: An administrator ticks View (and Create) on WMS - Receiving for you in User Manager.

"... is not run by the WMS - nothing is received into bins there." / the storage space is not in the list

Why: Receiving puts stock in the storage space's receiving bin; only a storage space switched to the WMS has one.
What to do: Switch the storage space on in the block Run by the WMS of the Warehouse master and set its receiving bin.

"... has no receiving bin - set one in the block Run by the WMS of the Warehouse master. Received stock lands there first."

Why: The storage space is run by the WMS but names no receiving bin.
What to do: Set the receiving bin on the Warehouse master (a bin of the Receiving kind, as a rule).

"No voucher type can be posted from this desk: an inward, stock-affecting type needs Use WMS bins set to Optional or Required in Voucher Manager."

Why: The desk posts a goods receipt voucher; it needs a type that moves stock in and whose vouchers the WMS follows.
What to do: In Voucher Manager open the GRN (or Inward Supply) type and set Use WMS Bins to Optional or Required.

"No voucher type is ready for the desk: ..." / "(not ready)" beside the type / "Enable Storage Space is off on this type" / "Linked Transaction is off on this type" / "No voucher type is under the group Purchase Order"

Why: The type is followed by the WMS but lacks what a receipt needs: the storage space on the voucher, and the link to the order.
What to do: In Voucher Manager: switch Enable Storage Space on and Linked Transaction on. The orders the desk answers are every voucher type under the group Purchase Order; a company with none has nothing to receive against.

"Nothing is expected in ...: no open ... has a line pending for it."

Why: Every line of every open order of the type's link sources is received, closed, or booked to another storage space.
What to do: Check the order on the voucher screen; an order booked to another storage space is expected there. An order with no storage space of its own is expected in every storage space open to its branch.

"The orders are fixed once scanning has begun. Finish the receipt, or press Cancel (Esc) to discard its lines, then change the selection."

Why: The lines in hand belong to the orders ticked when scanning began.
What to do: Finish, or Cancel (Esc) to discard the lines, then tick other orders.

"The ticked orders are of N suppliers. One receipt answers one supplier's orders - untick the others." / "The orders are of N suppliers (...). One receipt answers one supplier's orders - make a receipt per supplier."

Why: A goods receipt voucher names one supplier; orders of two suppliers cannot share it.
What to do: Untick the other supplier's orders and receive them on a second receipt.

"Tick the order(s) the goods came for first, then scan."

Why: A scan is checked against the ticked orders only.
What to do: Tick the order(s), then scan.

"Typing a code is switched off for this company (WMS Settings): scan the label. Nothing was taken."

Why: WMS allow typed confirmation (#295) is No: a code keyed by hand is refused.
What to do: Scan the label; or an administrator sets #295 to Yes on WMS Settings.

"'...' is not an item's barcode, code or part number, nor the TranID of an expected line." / "That is not a material code." / "Nothing was scanned."

Why: The code read matches nothing the system knows as an item or an expected order line.
What to do: Scan the item's barcode, its item code or part number, or the order line's TranID; or press Take on the line in the Expected grid.

"... is not expected here: no open order of the types this receipt answers has it pending in this storage space." / "... is expected on ..., which is not ticked."

Why: The item is known, but no ticked order has it pending - another order does, or none.
What to do: Tick the order named; or receive the item on the voucher screen without an order where the type allows it.

"... is received in full already on the ticked order(s). The scan was discarded."

Why: What the orders expected of this item is already on the receipt's lines (or received earlier).
What to do: Nothing more of it is expected: have the order amended, or receive the surplus on a separate voucher.

"... is pending on N order lines - pick the one this is for."

Why: The item is on several ticked order lines.
What to do: Press This one on the line the delivery is for.

"Serial number ... is scanned already on this receipt. A serial number is one unit - scan the next one." / "... of ... is still expected; that many serial numbers are scanned already."

Why: An item tracked by serial number takes one serial scan a unit, never twice, never more than is expected.
What to do: Scan the next unit's serial number; or press Add line (F4) with what is scanned.

"Scan or pick the item received first." / "The quantity received must be above zero. Leave an item out rather than receive nothing of it."

Why: A line needs an item in hand and a quantity.
What to do: Scan the item or press Take on it, give the quantity, then Add line (F4).

"... is more than the ... still expected of ... on .... A receipt never exceeds the order - have the order amended first."

Why: An over-receipt is refused: the order is the limit.
What to do: Receive up to what is expected; have the purchase order amended for the rest, then receive it.

"... is less than the ... expected of .... Say why in Variance reason (short delivery, damaged, refused ...)." / "(say why)" in the Reason column

Why: A short receipt is allowed with a reason; the rest stays expected on the order.
What to do: Type the reason in Variance reason, then Add line (F4).

"... is tracked by serial number: scan one serial number for each unit (... scanned, ... received)."

Why: The item's Product master says Track Serials: the receipt wants a serial number a unit, saved on the voucher as the voucher screen saves them.
What to do: Scan each unit's serial number before Add line.

"The batch expired on .... Expired goods are not received - refuse them."

Why: An expiry date in the past was keyed.
What to do: Refuse the goods at the dock; correct the date if it was mis-keyed.

"The variance reason can't exceed 200 characters." / "The batch can't exceed 100 characters." / "The note can't exceed 500 characters."

Why: A column's width.
What to do: Shorten it.

"A scan is in hand. Press Add line (F4) to keep it, or Cancel (Esc) to forget it."

Why: Finish was pressed with an item in hand that is not yet a line.
What to do: Add line (F4), or Cancel (Esc).

"... does not allow a receipt without an order (Voucher Manager, Receipt Without Order). Tick the order the goods came for, or have the setting changed."

Why: Receive without an order was switched on, but the goods receipt type's Receipt Without Order is Not allowed.
What to do: Tick the order the goods came for; or an administrator sets Receipt Without Order to Allowed (posts at once) or Allowed, needs approval on the type in Voucher Manager.

"...'s Linked Transaction is compulsory (Voucher Manager, Linked Transaction properties): the save refuses a ... with no order behind it." / "-1::Empty Link source voucher name(Option Compulsory Enabled) ..."

Why: The voucher save itself refuses a voucher of a type whose link is compulsory when no order is linked - a receipt without an order is exactly that.
What to do: An administrator opens Voucher Manager, the type's Linked Transaction properties, and unticks Compulsory; or the goods are received against an order.

"Pick the supplier the goods came from - a receipt without an order still names its supplier."

Why: A receipt with no order has no order to take the supplier from.
What to do: Pick the supplier in the Supplier box (the ledger account the goods receipt is made out to), then scan.

"... is inactive - it cannot be received." / "... is a service or labour item - it is billed, not received." / "'...' is a service or labour item, or is inactive - it is billed, not received."

Why: With no order behind the receipt any goods item may be scanned - one classified Fixed Asset or Inventory on the item master that is not a service item - but not an inactive one. Service and labour lines of an order are billed on the purchase bill, never received at the desk.
What to do: Check the item in the item master (Active, Affect Stock).

"Receipt R-... is kept for approval ..." (Finish says so, nothing is posted)

Why: The type's Receipt Without Order is Allowed, needs approval: a receipt with no order waits on the Exceptions list for a holder of Approve on WMS - Receiving.
What to do: Nothing to fix. The approvers are told on the bell; the goods stay at the dock until the receipt is approved (posted) or rejected.

"Pallet ... holds ... - a pallet holds one item and batch. Press New pallet for ..., or Loose." / "Pallet ... holds two different items ..." / "Pallet ... holds two batches of one item ..."

Why: A pallet is one item and one batch, moved as one piece; the line in hand is another item or batch.
What to do: Press New pallet before it (the next pallet number), or Loose for loose stock.

"Nothing is received yet. Scan an item of the ticked order(s) and give the quantity."

Why: Finish was pressed with no line.
What to do: Scan and add at least one line.

"You do not hold the right to finish a receipt. An administrator grants it in User Manager, Masters tab, on the object WMS - Receiving (Create)."

Why: Finishing posts a voucher and raises tasks; it asks for Create on WMS - Receiving.
What to do: An administrator ticks Create on WMS - Receiving for you.

"... asks for the gate entry: pick the Goods Inward Register entry of this vehicle, or make one (Goods Inward Register)."

Why: The voucher type has Track Goods Inward ID on: every receipt of it is tied to a gate entry.
What to do: Pick the entry in Gate entry; make one on Goods Inward Register first if the gate did not.

"Gate entry ... no longer exists." / "Gate entry ... is cancelled - pick another or make a new one." / "Gate entry ... is used up (...)."

Why: The entry picked was cancelled, removed or filled by other receipts since the screen was read.
What to do: Refresh and pick another entry, or make a new one.

"... does not track the gate entry (Voucher Manager, Track Goods Inward ID) - leave the gate entry empty, or switch it on for the type."

Why: A gate entry was picked for a type that does not carry one.
What to do: Clear Gate entry, or switch Track Goods Inward ID on for the type.

"Line n: the order line is no longer expected here (received or closed since the screen was read). Refresh and check the receipt."

Why: Somebody received or closed that order line in the meantime.
What to do: Refresh: the line is taken off the receipt; receive what is still expected.

"... of ... could not be loaded from the order: the voucher type's linking rules leave it out (its Loading option, item mapping or status filter). Receive it on the voucher screen."

Why: The voucher type's Linked Transaction properties filter the order's lines (a status filter, Pending from Job Order, an item mapping) and that line is not offered.
What to do: Receive it on the voucher screen with Set Off, or have the type's linking properties changed in Voucher Manager.

"The voucher type's line routing dropped a line (a manufacturing option in Voucher Manager). Receive this on the voucher screen."

Why: The type's MFR loading option routes lines in a way the desk does not follow.
What to do: Receive on the voucher screen, or change the option in Voucher Manager.

"The voucher save refused the receipt - nothing is written." followed by the save's own words (a date outside the financial year, a closed period, a credit limit, a workflow step, a negative stock stop ...)

Why: The receipt is posted through the ERP's own voucher save, which applies every rule the voucher screen applies.
What to do: Read the reason: it is the voucher screen's. Fix it there (the date, the period, the type's settings) and finish again.

"This receipt was already finished as ... (the same request was sent twice). Nothing was posted again."

Why: Finish was sent twice - a double tap, or a retry after the network dropped. The server answers the first result.
What to do: Nothing to do: the receipt is posted once.

"The receipt begun earlier is back on the screen: N line(s). Finish it, or press Cancel (Esc) to discard it."

Why: A receipt is kept in the browser until Finish, so a reload or a closed tab does not lose it.
What to do: Finish it, or Cancel (Esc) to discard the lines.

The Receipt posted dialog lists "no bin passed the rules; the worker finds one"

Why: The putaway rules named no bin that takes the item (every bin full, the wrong kind, or the mixing rule). The task is raised at the receiving bin with no bin.
What to do: The worker finds a free bin and scans it on My Tasks. Check the zone's bins and the item's putaway class on Putaway Rules.

"No putaway task was raised: the bin engine put nothing in the receiving bin - check Bin Reconciliation."

Why: The voucher was saved but its stock did not reach the receiving bin: the type's Use WMS bins is Off, the line booked to another storage space, or the bin engine failed after the save.
What to do: Open Bin Reconciliation and press Bring the bins up to date; check the type's Use WMS Bins and Enable Storage Space in Voucher Manager.

"The stock waits there for the Quality Order; the putaway task is raised when it passes."

Why: The voucher type has Create Quality Order: the stock is held in the QC hold bin (or the receiving bin when none is set) and no putaway task is raised.
What to do: Have the Quality Order passed (the quality screens of the desktop); the putaway then follows.

A receipt in Receipts shows "(cancelled)"

Why: The voucher it posted was cancelled since; the bin engine reversed its stock.
What to do: Nothing to do here: its putaway tasks, if open, are cancelled on the Task Board.

"That receipt no longer exists. Open the list again."

Why: The list on the screen is older than the database.
What to do: Press Receipts again.

"Supplier taken from gate entry ...: ..."

Why: On a receipt without an order, picking a gate entry fills the supplier with the entry's ledger account, as long as none was picked by hand.
What to do: Nothing to do; pick another supplier if the papers say otherwise.

Find item (F3) is disabled

Why: Find item works where a scan would: a storage space and type picked, the orders ticked or the supplier named on a receipt without an order, and nothing running.
What to do: Pick the storage space, type and orders (or the supplier), then press Find item.

"No active stock item is open to your branch." / "No item matches that - try another part of the name, the code or the barcode."

Why: On a receipt without an order, Find item opens with every active, stock-moving item open to your branch - branch sharing read by your report option, as the item browser lists items (up to 2,000) - and the text narrows that list by name, code, part number or barcode. F5 or Enter takes the first listed; a click takes any; the item taken shows in the box.
What to do: Type another part of the name; an item that is inactive, does not move stock, or is shared with another branch only cannot be received here - check Branch Visibility on the item master and your report option.

"No line the ticked orders still expect matches that."

Why: With orders ticked, Find item only narrows the lines they still expect.
What to do: Tick the order the item is on, or clear the text to see every line expected.

The receipt's lines have no barcode (TranID) on the voucher

Why: The product barcode follows the goods receipt type's TranID column in Voucher Manager: hidden, or a rule other than CREATE / CREATE-AUTO, makes none. With CREATE-AUTO the item master decides the source - Manufacturer barcode No: the system mints the next number at Finish; Yes: the item's own barcode (EAN) from the source User barcode from names. A barcode the purchase order already made is carried to the receipt line, never made again.
What to do: Show the TranID column on the type with CREATE-AUTO (Voucher Manager, column properties); set Manufacturer barcode and User barcode from on the item master.

"... makes its barcodes by hand (Voucher Manager, column TranID = CREATE-MANUAL), which the desk cannot do. ..."

Why: The type's TranID column rule asks the operator to type each barcode, and the desk has no place for that. The receipt is refused whole; nothing is posted.
What to do: Receive the goods on the voucher screen, or set the column to CREATE-AUTO.

"... carries a manufacturer barcode (item master, Manufacturer barcode = Yes) but its source ... - the barcode would have to be typed. ..."

Why: The item says its barcode is the manufacturer's, but User barcode from is not set, is Custom, or names a field (PartNo, Std. Barcode) that is empty for the item. The receipt is refused whole.
What to do: On the item master set User barcode from to Item PartNo, Item SystemID or Std. Barcode and fill that value; or receive the goods on the voucher screen, where the barcode can be typed.

The Price the goods (cost sheet) button is not offered

Why: The desk prices the goods only when WMS Settings says so (WMS pricing at the Receiving desk = Yes) and the goods receipt type shows the costing window (Voucher Manager, Show Costing Window).
What to do: Switch the setting on, or price the goods later on the voucher screen's cost sheet.

"The goods receipt could not be read back for its cost sheet - open it on the voucher screen." / "The voucher type ... could not be read."

Why: The posted voucher could not be loaded the way the voucher screen loads it (a right on the type, or the voucher gone since).
What to do: Open the voucher on its own screen and press Cost Sheet there.

The Print product labels button is not offered / "Print product labels?" is not asked

Why: Product labels print for a type that has Allow Print Label on, or shows the costing window (Voucher Manager). When the labels are asked for is WMS Settings, WMS product labels at Finish: Automatic, Ask, or On demand (the buttons only).
What to do: Set the type's flag in Voucher Manager; pick Automatic or Ask on WMS Settings to be prompted.

"Nothing to print for ...: the profile's design text is empty, or no line carries a label quantity and a barcode (TranID)."

Why: The label engine found nothing to print: the profile has no design text, or the voucher's lines have no TranID or a label quantity of zero. The desk sets the label quantity to the quantity received.
What to do: Give the profile a design text; make sure the type's TranID column makes barcodes (see above).

"Product labels ready - downloaded as product-labels-....txt (the profile prints through an editor)."

Why: The profile's editor is Notepad or DOS Editor: the labels are a text file to open and print from there.
What to do: Open the downloaded file and print it, or change the profile to Direct To Printer for a label printer on a serial port.

"This browser cannot print to a serial port (use Chrome or Edge). The labels were downloaded as product-labels-....prn ..." / "The label printer could not be reached. ..."

Why: Direct printing goes through the browser's Web Serial port picker (Chrome and Edge only); when it is refused, cancelled on a failed port, or unsupported, the raw label file is downloaded instead.
What to do: Send the .prn file to the label printer with the printer's own tool, or use Chrome or Edge and pick the printer's port when asked.

"... made no pallets - its lines were received loose."

Why: Pallet labels was pressed on a receipt that built no pallet.
What to do: Nothing to print; the goods are loose stock.

This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the Receiving Desk screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.

See this screen for yourself

The demo is the real product, with a company of your own.

Try the demo Getting started