Receive a purchase order
Check parts in against an open PO — update shelf counts, handle short shipments, and post the vendor bill.
Do this when the truck shows up. Receiving checks parts in against the PO, puts them on the shelf at the right location, and — when you enter the vendor's invoice number — creates the bill under Accounting so the office never has to re-key it.
Open the PO. In Parts & Inventory, click Purchase Orders and open the order you're receiving against. It needs to be Submitted or Partially Received — a Draft can't be received (use Actions, then Mark Submitted first).
Click Actions, then Receive Items. The receive modal opens with one row per line, each showing Ordered, Received so far, and Remaining.
Enter the Vendor Invoice number from the packing slip or invoice. This is what tells Meridian to create the bill — skip it and the stock still checks in, but no bill posts until you receive again with the invoice number filled in.
Confirm the quantity on each line. Every line defaults to the full remaining quantity. If the vendor shorted you, type what actually arrived — you can receive the rest when it shows up. The modal won't let a line exceed the quantity remaining on the PO.
Pick the destination Location on each line (multi-location shops only). Lines default to the PO's location; change any line that's going to a different shelf — a branch, a service truck, wherever the stock is physically landing.
Check the "Create new part in catalog" box on any line that was typed in free-hand without picking a catalog part. Meridian creates the part from the line's number, description, and cost, so the stock has somewhere to live. Leave it unchecked and the line is treated as a non-inventory purchase.
Click Confirm Receipt. Meridian updates the shelf counts, bumps each line's received quantity, and flips the PO to Partially Received or Received.
What happens behind the scenes
- On-hand goes up at each line's receiving location, and on-order goes down. The received stock is costed in at the PO line's unit cost, so your inventory value on the books matches what you actually paid.
- When a vendor invoice number is present, Meridian creates a bill under Accounting, then Accounts Payable for the value received. Receiving more later against the same PO adds to that same bill — the office pays it like any other vendor bill, and your books stay balanced.
- Short receipts leave the PO Partially Received with the remaining quantity still open — receive the back-order later against the same PO. You can't over-receive a line past what was ordered.
- If a received part carries a supplier core charge, that charge posts alongside the receipt so the core money owed back by the vendor is tracked from day one.
- Everything in a receive happens together or not at all — if any line fails, nothing is half-posted.
Troubleshooting
The PO is in a status that can't be received. A Draft needs Mark Submitted first; a Received or Cancelled PO can't be received at all. Check the status badge at the top of the PO.
The bill only posts when a Vendor Invoice number is entered with the receipt. Open the PO, click Actions, then Receive Items, enter the invoice number, and confirm — even a zero-quantity follow-up receive won't do it, so enter the invoice number whenever you're checking quantities in.
The receive modal caps each line at the quantity remaining on the PO. Receive the ordered quantity, then handle the overage separately — either add a line to a new PO for the extra and receive it, or send it back. Talk to your office about which way they want it booked.
Check the per-line Location dropdown next time — each line lands where its dropdown pointed. To fix it now, move the stock with an inventory transfer so the paper trail follows the parts.