A goods received note template has one design job: make counting easier than not counting. Everything else follows from that.
The columns that matter
Two columns, side by side: what was ordered, and what arrived. If your form shows only one, whoever fills it in will copy the delivery note.
On the sheet here, the default columns for this document are Qty received and Condition. Add an Ordered column from the column bar if you want the comparison on the page.
The Amount column and the totals are switched off on this document. Prices are not the receiver’s business, and a GRN showing values invites a conversation about cost at the loading bay.
Fix these once
- Your business name and the receiving site address.
- The standard instruction: count, do not copy.
- The signature block, switched on.
- Your standard condition wording, if you use codes.
Leave these blank
The supplier, the PO number, the date, the lines and the quantities. Especially the quantities.
A template to copy
[Your business name]
[Receiving site address]
GOODS RECEIVED NOTE No. GRN-____
Date received: ____
Time: ____
Received from
[left blank]
Against PO ____
Their note number ____
Description Qty received Condition
____________________________ ____________ _________
____________________________ ____________ _________
Count every line. Do not copy from the delivery note.
Checked by ____________________ Signature ____________
Driver ____________________ Signature ____________The instruction line looks patronising written down. It is the single most effective thing on the form.
Two signatures
Your person and the driver. Yours confirms the count; theirs confirms they saw it and took back anything rejected.
Switch the signature block on in the sidebar and the two ruled columns appear at the foot of the sheet.
Variants
Standard delivery. As above.
Partial delivery. Same, with a Balance outstanding column so the remainder is recorded rather than remembered.
Returns. Reverse the logic: what went back, why, and who collected it.
Each is a saved file, written to your own disk with Save as file.
A barcode, if you scan
The sheet can place a Code 39 barcode at the top or foot, carrying the GRN number. If your stock system scans documents in, that saves keying.
Keep the caption accurate. A barcode captioned “GRN reference” that encodes something else is worse than none.
A check before saving
- Is the received quantity column blank rather than pre-filled?
- Is the signature block switched on?
- Is the PO number field present?
- Is the Amount column off, so no prices appear?
Where the template stops
It cannot tell you whether the count was done properly. That is a habit, not a form. What the form can do is make the honest version quicker than the lazy one.
Next
For the reasoning behind each field, see what is a goods received note. For what to do when the numbers do not match, see short and damaged deliveries. For using the same form to log customer returns, see paperwork for returns. Or open the goods received note generator.