# Receive inventory

Book in what actually arrived from a purchase order or a transfer, including part of a delivery

Source: https://getolet.com/resources/help/inventory/receive-inventory/
Updated: 2026-10-15

Receiving is the step that actually changes your stock. Until you receive it, an order or a transfer is only a promise.

## Find what is waiting

Go to **Inventory > Receive inventory**. The page lists everything awaiting receipt in one place, purchase orders and transfers together, newest first.

![The list of documents awaiting receipt](./images/receive.png)

Each row shows the **Reference**, the **Type**, where it is coming **From**, which outlet it is going **To**, and its **Status**. Search by reference, or use the **Document type** filter to see only purchase orders or only transfers.

Select the arrow at the end of a row to open it. You can also get there from the document itself: a sent purchase order and a sent transfer both have a **Receive** button.

Only documents that are **Sent** or **Partially received** can be received. A draft has not been sent yet, and a fully received one has nothing left to book in.

## Book in what arrived

Each line shows four numbers: **Expected**, **Received** so far, **Remaining**, and a **Receive now** box for this delivery.

Fill in **Receive now** on each line you are booking in. Two shortcuts save typing:

- **Mark all received** fills every line with its full remaining quantity.
- **Mark selected received** does the same for only the lines you have ticked.

Then select the **Receive** button, check the summary, and confirm. Stock goes up at the receiving outlet immediately and the movement is recorded against whoever confirmed it.

## Receiving less than you ordered

This is the normal case, not an exception. Type the quantity that actually turned up and leave the rest.

- The document moves to **Partially received** and stays on the awaiting list.
- **Remaining** on each line drops by what you booked in, so next time you open it you are looking at what is still outstanding.
- You can receive against the same document as many times as the deliveries take.
- A line you receive in full gets a **Complete** tag and its **Receive now** box disappears.

You cannot receive more than was ordered or sent. The box will not let you type past **Remaining**, and the server refuses it too, so a duplicate delivery cannot inflate your stock behind your back.

When the last line is complete the document flips to **Received** on its own. There is no separate "finish" step.

If the rest is never coming, do not leave the document open. Use **Close short** on the purchase order or the transfer. See [Purchase orders](/resources/help/inventory/purchase-orders/) and [Transfer stock between outlets](/resources/help/inventory/transfer-stock-between-outlets/).

## Receiving on a different date

If the goods actually arrived last Thursday and you are only entering it now, set **Received on** in the confirmation dialog before you confirm. Leave it empty and OLET uses today.

The date is read in the receiving outlet's own time zone, so an outlet in a different country still books the delivery onto the day its staff experienced. A date in the future is refused.

## If it goes wrong

- **The document is not on the awaiting list.** It is either still a draft or already fully received. Open it directly from [**Inventory > Purchase orders**](/resources/help/inventory/purchase-orders/) or [**Inventory > Transfers**](/resources/help/inventory/transfer-stock-between-outlets/) and check the status tag.
- **You booked in too much.** A receipt cannot be undone. Correct the number with a stock adjustment, choosing a reason that says what happened. See [Stock adjustments and reasons](/resources/help/inventory/stock-adjustments-and-reasons/).
- **A line will not accept the quantity you typed.** The box caps at **Remaining**. If the delivery really contained more than the order, the extra is not part of this order: receive what was ordered and handle the surplus as its own adjustment.

## What next

- Where the order came from: [Purchase orders](/resources/help/inventory/purchase-orders/)
- Moving stock between your own outlets: [Transfer stock between outlets](/resources/help/inventory/transfer-stock-between-outlets/)