POS Supplier and Purchase Management Kenya: The Back Door Matters as Much as the Till
POS supplier and purchase management Kenya is the half of stock control that most shops never do, and it is the half where margin is actually decided.
Everyone watches the front — the cashier, the drawer, the customer walking out — and almost nobody watches the back, where a van pulls up, a driver hands over boxes, someone signs a delivery note without counting, the boxes go onto shelves, and the invoice arrives a week later at a price nobody checks against what was quoted.
The shop then sells the goods at a margin calculated on a cost price that was updated eight months ago, discovers at the next count that it has less of the expensive line than the system thinks, pays the supplier for forty cartons when thirty-eight arrived, and never returns the six units that were expired on delivery because nobody noticed until a customer complained. None of that shows on the till.
All of it comes out of the same profit. Purchasing done properly is a loop: know what to reorder and when, order it in writing, receive it against the order counting and checking, update the cost price so the margin is real, match the invoice to what was actually received, pay on terms, and measure the supplier.
This guide covers that loop: supplier records and vetting, product-to-supplier mapping and cost, reorder points and suggested orders, purchase orders even for a small shop, lead times, the goods received note, short and damaged and wrong deliveries, expiry at the door, counterfeit stock, receiving fraud, who receives, cost updates and margin, price variance, invoices and tax compliance, payables and terms, paying by M-Pesa and bank, credit notes, cash and informal suppliers, petty cash, supplier performance, consolidation and negotiation, promotions, multi-branch purchasing and reporting.
The value of POS supplier and purchase management Kenya is a cost price that is true and stock that entered the system the moment it entered the shop, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that receives every delivery against an order is what makes the next stock count mean something — which is why POS supplier and purchase management Kenya is the control the cashier article’s variance depends on.
Table of Contents
- Why Purchasing Is Where Margin Is Decided
- The Kenyan Context
- What the Loop Covers
- The Supplier Record
- Supplier Onboarding and Vetting
- Product-to-Supplier Mapping and Cost Price
- Reorder Points and Suggested Orders
- Purchase Orders
- Why a Purchase Order Even for a Small Shop
- Lead Times and Minimum Orders
- The Goods Received Note
- Receiving Against the Order
- Short Deliveries
- Damaged and Wrong Goods
- Expiry at Receiving
- Counterfeit and Grey Stock
- Receiving Fraud and Collusion
- Who Receives
- Cost Price Updates and Margin
- Price Variance and Volatility
- Supplier Invoices
- Tax Invoices and Compliance
- Payables and Payment Terms
- Paying Suppliers by M-Pesa and Bank
- Credit Notes and Returns to Supplier
- Cash Purchases and Informal Suppliers
- Petty Cash and Small Purchases
- Supplier Performance
- Consolidation and Negotiation
- Promotions, Deals and Bulk Buying
- Multi-Branch Purchasing
- Reporting
- Records and Data
- Systems and Costs
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Purchasing Is Where Margin Is Decided {#margin}
The selling price is public and the buying price is where the shop actually makes or loses money.
Every shilling saved on cost is a shilling of margin.
Every unit paid for and not received is a loss the till never shows.
Every cost price that is out of date makes the margin report wrong.
Every expired item accepted at the door is a write-off later.
Every short delivery signed as complete is theft by paperwork.
The front of the shop protects revenue; the back protects margin, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya is the discipline at the back, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that receives against orders and updates cost prices is what makes the profit report true.
The retail analytics article measures margin; this is where margin is made.
The Kenyan Context {#kenyan-context}
Local conditions shape supply and purchasing.
Distributors and wholesalers deliver by van, with drivers who are not the supplier and who count in their own favour.
Short deliveries are common and rarely challenged.
Informal suppliers — market traders, artisans, small producers — supply without invoices.
Cash purchases are substantial.
M-Pesa payment to suppliers is normal and produces a record where cash does not.
Credit terms from distributors are available to established shops and are a source of working capital.
Price volatility is real, particularly on imported and fuel-sensitive goods.
Counterfeit and grey stock enters through informal channels.
Tax invoice requirements have developed and continue to, which the compliance section addresses.
Receiving happens at the back door while the cashier is busy at the front, and nobody counts.
Each of these is what POS supplier and purchase management Kenya must handle, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that assumes formal suppliers, invoiced deliveries and card payments would miss most of how stock actually arrives.
What the Loop Covers {#the-loop}
Purchasing is a cycle and each step feeds the next.
Know what is running low.
Decide what to order and from whom.
Order it, in writing.
Receive it, counting and checking against the order.
Put it into stock at the received quantity.
Update the cost price.
Match the invoice to the receipt.
Pay on terms.
Measure the supplier.
Reorder.
A step skipped breaks the next, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that orders without receiving against the order cannot know what was short, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya is only as strong as its weakest step, which is almost always receiving.
The Supplier Record {#supplier-record}
Every supplier should be a record with everything the shop needs to buy from them.
Name, contact and location.
Products supplied.
Agreed prices and their dates.
Payment terms.
Lead time.
Minimum order.
Delivery days.
Bank and M-Pesa details for payment.
Tax status and registration where applicable.
Performance history.
Notes.
The record is where price and terms live, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya with a supplier record per supplier means the person ordering knows the agreed price and the person receiving knows the terms, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya with supplier details in the owner’s phone means nobody else can order or pay correctly when the owner is away.
Supplier Onboarding and Vetting {#vetting}
New suppliers should be checked before the first order.
Who they are and where they operate.
Whether they are the manufacturer, an authorised distributor or a reseller.
Product authenticity, particularly for goods where counterfeits exist.
Tax registration where the shop needs tax invoices.
References from other shops.
Terms agreed in writing: price, delivery, returns, credit.
A trial order before volume.
Vetting prevents the counterfeit and the disappearing supplier, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that checked a new supplier is an authorised distributor has protected the shop’s shelves, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that bought from whoever offered the lowest price has bought whatever that price was hiding.
Product-to-Supplier Mapping and Cost Price {#mapping}
Each product should know its supplier and its cost.
Primary supplier per product.
Alternate suppliers where they exist.
Cost price per supplier, dated.
Pack size and unit conversion, since a supplier sells cartons and the shop sells pieces.
Last purchase price and date.
The mapping is what makes suggested orders possible, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that knows product X comes from supplier Y at price Z in cartons of twelve can build the order automatically, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya without the mapping leaves ordering to memory.
Get the unit conversion right, since a carton received as one unit instead of twelve is a stock and cost error that compounds.
Reorder Points and Suggested Orders {#reorder}
The system should say what to order before the shelf is empty.
Reorder point per product from sales rate and lead time.
Reorder quantity from sales rate, pack size and minimum order.
Suggested order generated from products below their point.
Grouped by supplier.
Reviewed and adjusted by a person.
Seasonality adjusted, since the agrovet and bookshop articles show how much sales rate moves.
Slow lines flagged so they are not reordered by habit.
Suggested ordering is where the system earns its keep, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that produces Tuesday’s order for the distributor from what actually sold last week orders what will sell, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that leaves ordering to what the owner remembers running out of orders what they noticed.
Review the suggestion; do not send it blind.
Purchase Orders {#purchase-orders}
A purchase order is the written statement of what was agreed before anything arrives.
Supplier.
Products, quantities and unit.
Agreed price per unit.
Total.
Delivery date and location.
Terms.
Order number.
Sent to the supplier.
Held in the system as the reference for receiving and invoicing.
The order is what the delivery and the invoice are checked against, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya with an order on record can say the driver brought thirty-eight against forty ordered, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya without one can only say the driver brought thirty-eight.
Every order in the system, even the ones placed by phone.
Why a Purchase Order Even for a Small Shop {#po-small-shop}
Small shops skip orders because the supplier is a phone call, and the skip is where the loss starts.
A phone order is an order with no record.
The driver’s delivery note is the supplier’s version of what was ordered.
Without the shop’s version there is nothing to dispute.
Prices agreed by phone are prices the invoice can differ from.
A two-minute order in the system before the call is the shop’s record, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya for a duka is the same discipline as for a supermarket at a smaller scale, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya without the order is receiving on trust.
Enter the order, then call.
Lead Times and Minimum Orders {#lead-times}
Each supplier’s constraints shape when and how much to order.
Lead time from order to delivery.
Delivery days where the supplier has a route.
Minimum order value or quantity.
Pack sizes.
Order cut-off times.
Held on the supplier record so the reorder point accounts for them, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that knows the distributor delivers Tuesdays and Fridays with a three-day lead time sets the reorder point so stock lasts until Friday, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that ignores lead time reorders when the shelf is already empty.
The Goods Received Note {#grn}
The goods received note is the shop’s record of what actually arrived and it is the single most important document at the back door.
Supplier and order reference.
Date and time.
Each product with quantity ordered, quantity received and variance.
Condition.
Expiry dates where applicable.
Received by, with signature or login.
Driver’s name and delivery note number.
Stock updated from the received quantity, never from the ordered quantity or the supplier’s note.
The GRN is the shop’s evidence, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that records thirty-eight received against forty ordered has the basis to short-pay the invoice, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that updated stock from the delivery note has recorded two cartons that do not exist.
Every delivery, no matter how small.
Receiving Against the Order {#receiving-against}
Receiving is a comparison, not a signature.
The order open on the screen or in hand.
Each line counted.
Received quantity entered.
Variance shown immediately.
Substitutions noted.
Prices on the delivery note compared to the order.
Driver’s note signed only for what was counted, with variances written on it.
Stock updated from the count.
The comparison is the control, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that requires the receiver to enter a quantity per line forces the count, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that lets the receiver accept the whole delivery in one tap has invited the count to be skipped.
Count before the driver leaves, since a variance discovered after is the shop’s word against the driver’s.
Short Deliveries {#short}
Short deliveries are routine and the shop pays for them unless it catches them.
Fewer units than ordered.
Fewer units than the delivery note claims.
Cartons that are not full.
Recorded on the GRN with the variance.
Written on the driver’s note before signing.
Supplier notified the same day.
Invoice matched to received, not ordered.
Short-paid or credit note requested.
Pattern by supplier and by driver tracked.
Every short delivery signed as complete is paid for, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that records the variance and short-pays has recovered it, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that signs and sorts it out later sorts it out never.
A driver who is consistently short is a pattern to raise with the supplier.
Damaged and Wrong Goods {#damaged}
Goods that arrive damaged or not as ordered should not enter stock as good.
Inspected at receiving.
Damaged units recorded and set aside.
Wrong products recorded and refused or held for collection.
Photographs where the value warrants.
Supplier notified.
Credit note or replacement requested.
Not put on the shelf, since damaged stock sold or written off later is a loss the receiving should have prevented.
Record it at the door, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that logs six damaged units at receiving has the claim, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that discovers them on the shelf a week later has lost the claim and the stock.
Expiry at Receiving {#expiry}
Perishable and dated goods should be checked for expiry before they are accepted.
Expiry date recorded per batch.
Minimum remaining shelf life agreed with the supplier.
Short-dated stock refused or accepted at a discount, by decision.
Batch tracked so the shop knows which units expire when.
First-expiry-first-out on the shelf.
The agrovet, pharmacy and butchery articles depend on this, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that records expiry at the door knows what must sell by when, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that accepts whatever arrives will find the expired units when a customer does.
A supplier who consistently delivers short-dated stock is unloading it on the shop.
Counterfeit and Grey Stock {#counterfeit}
Fake and diverted goods enter through the back door and the receiving is the check.
Known counterfeit categories: cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, spirits, electronics, agrochemicals, branded fast-moving goods.
Buy from authorised distributors where authenticity matters.
Check packaging, seals, batch numbers and any authentication features.
Refuse suspect stock.
Record the supplier and the batch.
The reputational and legal exposure of selling counterfeit is the shop’s, not the supplier’s, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that traces every batch to a vetted supplier has a defence, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that bought from a van at the market has none.
The agrovet article’s counterfeit section applies across categories.
Receiving Fraud and Collusion {#receiving-fraud}
The back door has its own fraud and it is quieter than the till’s.
A receiver who signs for forty and takes two.
A receiver and a driver who agree on the count.
A receiver who records a higher quantity than arrived and sells the difference.
Goods received and never entered.
Invoices approved for goods that never came.
Controls: receiving against an order the receiver did not create; counts entered per line; spot checks by a second person; stock counts reconciled to receipts; supplier statements reconciled to recorded deliveries; variance patterns by receiver.
Separation matters, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya where the person who orders is not the person who receives, and neither approves the invoice, has made collusion require three people, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya where one person does all three has trusted them with everything.
Investigate patterns before accusing, and the cashier article’s fair process applies.
Who Receives {#who-receives}
Receiving should be a defined responsibility, not whoever is nearest the door.
A named person or role per shift.
Trained on the GRN and the count.
Logged in as themselves.
Not the cashier mid-shift, since a cashier called to the back leaves the till and counts badly.
Not the driver.
A second person for high-value deliveries.
The owner for the first deliveries from a new supplier.
Define it, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya with a named receiver has someone accountable for the count, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya where anyone signs has nobody.
In a small shop the owner receives, and that is the right answer for a small shop.
Cost Price Updates and Margin {#cost-updates}
The cost price is what margin is calculated on and it should change when the buying price changes.
New cost from each receipt or invoice.
Method for valuing stock: last cost, average cost or another, applied consistently.
Margin per product recalculated.
Selling price reviewed where margin falls below target.
Alert when cost rises and selling price has not.
Out-of-date cost prices are the most common reason margin reports are wrong, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that updates cost at every receipt keeps the margin report true, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya with cost prices from last year is reporting margin the shop is not making.
The retail analytics article’s margin contribution depends entirely on this.
Price Variance and Volatility {#price-variance}
Prices move and the shop should see them move.
Invoice price compared to order price.
Order price compared to last purchase price.
Variance flagged.
Supplier price increases recorded with dates.
Trend per product.
Selling price decisions informed by cost trend.
Volatile categories watched, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that shows cooking oil up eleven percent over three deliveries lets the owner reprice before the margin is gone, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that pays whatever the invoice says has absorbed every increase silently.
Challenge unexplained increases, since a supplier who raises the price without notice may have raised it only for shops that do not check.
Supplier Invoices {#invoices}
The invoice is the supplier’s claim and it should be matched, not paid.
Invoice received, dated and numbered.
Matched to the order and the GRN: three-way match.
Quantities on the invoice against received.
Prices on the invoice against ordered.
Discrepancies raised before payment.
Approved for payment only when matched.
Recorded as a payable with its due date.
The three-way match is the control, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that pays only what was ordered, received and invoiced at the agreed price has paid the right amount, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that pays the invoice as presented has paid the supplier’s version of events.
Never pay from the delivery note.
Tax Invoices and Compliance {#tax-invoices}
Invoice requirements have developed and the shop’s obligations should be established.
Tax-compliant invoices from suppliers where the shop needs them for its own tax position.
Electronic invoicing requirements administered by the revenue authority, whose current rules should be confirmed directly rather than assumed.
Supplier tax registration status.
Input tax and its treatment, which depends on the shop’s own registration.
Records retained for the required period.
This guide does not state what applies, since the position depends on the shop’s registration and the rules develop, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya can hold the invoice records that compliance requires while the revenue authority and qualified advice determine what those requirements are, which POS supplier and purchase management Kenya should be configured to support.
Take advice, since the consequence of non-compliant purchasing records falls on the shop.
Payables and Payment Terms {#payables}
What the shop owes suppliers is working capital and it should be managed as such.
Each invoice as a payable with amount and due date.
Payment terms per supplier: cash on delivery, seven days, thirty days.
Ageing of payables.
Cash flow forecast from due dates.
Early payment discounts where offered and worth taking.
Late payment consequences, including lost credit.
Credit from suppliers is a source of funding, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that tracks payables lets the shop use its terms fully without going over them, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya without a payables record either pays early and loses cash or pays late and loses the supplier.
Pay on time, since suppliers give their best prices and terms to shops that do.
Paying Suppliers by M-Pesa and Bank {#paying}
Supplier payments should be recorded against the invoice they settle.
M-Pesa to the supplier’s registered number or paybill, with reference.
Bank transfer with reference.
Cash with a signed receipt from the supplier, where cash is unavoidable.
Payment recorded against the payable.
Payable closed.
Supplier statement reconciled periodically to the shop’s payments.
Pay to the supplier’s record, not a number the driver gives, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that pays only to the details on the supplier record prevents the redirected payment, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that pays whoever presents the invoice has paid whoever presented it.
The cashier article’s point about M-Pesa to personal numbers applies in reverse here.
Credit Notes and Returns to Supplier {#credit-notes}
Goods going back to the supplier need the same discipline as goods coming in.
Return for damage, wrong delivery, expiry or agreed sale-or-return.
Return note with products, quantities and reason.
Stock reduced.
Credit note requested and recorded.
Credit applied against the next invoice or refunded.
Outstanding credits tracked, since a credit note promised and never issued is money owed to the shop.
Returns are the shop’s money, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that tracks every return until the credit lands recovers it, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that hands goods to the driver and hopes has given them away.
The bookshop article’s sale-or-return depends on this.
Cash Purchases and Informal Suppliers {#informal}
Not every supplier issues an invoice and the shop still needs a record.
Market purchases, small producers and artisans.
Cash paid at the point of purchase.
No invoice, sometimes no receipt.
The shop creates its own record: supplier, products, quantities, price, date, who bought.
Stock received against that record.
Cost price recorded.
A purchase record even where the supplier gives nothing, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that records the morning’s market purchases at the door has the cost and the stock, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that puts vegetables on the shelf with no record has stock the system does not know about at a cost it cannot state.
The tax treatment of purchases without invoices warrants advice.
Petty Cash and Small Purchases {#petty-cash}
Small purchases from the till or a cash box are a leak unless recorded.
A petty cash float, separate from the till.
Every purchase recorded with what, how much and who.
Receipts where available.
Reconciled and topped up on record.
Never from the till drawer, since a purchase from the drawer is an unrecorded paid-out that shows as a cash shortage.
Small purchases add up, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that records petty cash purchases as expenses or as stock keeps them in the books, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya where the cashier takes two hundred from the drawer for bread has produced a variance nobody can explain.
The expense tracking feature is where these land.
Supplier Performance {#performance}
Suppliers should be measured, since price is only one dimension.
Fill rate: ordered against delivered.
On-time delivery.
Short delivery frequency.
Damage and return rate.
Expiry compliance.
Price stability and notice of increases.
Invoice accuracy.
Credit note responsiveness.
Measured from the GRNs and invoices the system already holds, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that reports one distributor short on a third of deliveries and another never short has the basis for a conversation or a change, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that judges suppliers by relationship keeps the friendly one who is quietly short every week.
Review quarterly.
Consolidation and Negotiation {#consolidation}
Fewer, larger supplier relationships usually mean better terms.
Volume with fewer suppliers earns price and credit.
Fewer deliveries to receive.
Fewer invoices to match.
Negotiation from data: the shop’s annual volume by product and supplier.
Alternate suppliers kept for resilience and leverage.
The purchase history is the negotiating position, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that knows the shop bought a specific volume from a supplier last year can ask for the price that volume deserves, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya without the history is negotiating from impression.
Do not consolidate to a single supplier for any critical line.
Promotions, Deals and Bulk Buying {#promotions}
Suppliers offer deals and the shop should evaluate them rather than accept them.
Bulk discounts against the cash tied up and the shelf life.
Promotional stock against whether it will sell through.
Bonus units recorded at zero cost so margin is not overstated on the paid units alone.
Deal end dates.
Whether the deal price is actually below the normal price.
Slow lines bought in bulk are a write-off in waiting, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that compares the deal quantity to the product’s sales rate shows whether it will sell before it expires, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that buys the deal because it is a deal has bought stock the shop does not need at a price that was not a saving.
Record bonus stock, since free units unrecorded are variance later.
Multi-Branch Purchasing {#multi-branch}
Several branches raise the question of who buys.
Central purchasing for volume and consistency.
Branch purchasing for local and perishable lines.
Central catalogue and cost prices.
Deliveries to a central store or direct to branches.
Transfers between branches recorded, since a transfer is a receipt at one branch and an issue at another.
Branch-level GRNs for direct deliveries.
Consolidated payables.
Supplier performance across branches.
The hybrid is usual, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that buys centrally for dry goods and lets branches buy fresh locally, with every receipt recorded where it lands, has the best of both, while POS supplier and purchase management Kenya where each branch buys everything independently has lost the volume and the visibility.
The multi-branch capability the site describes rests on this.
Reporting {#reporting}
A focused set shows whether purchasing is under control.
Purchases by supplier and product.
Short delivery variance by supplier.
Damage and return rate.
Cost price changes and their effect on margin.
Payables ageing and due this week.
Open orders awaiting delivery.
Outstanding credit notes.
Suggested orders pending.
Stock received not yet invoiced.
Invoices not matched.
Short delivery variance and unmatched invoices are the two that catch money, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya reporting both shows where the shop paid for what it did not get, and cost change against margin is the one that protects profit, which POS supplier and purchase management Kenya should put in front of the owner monthly.
Records and Data {#records}
Purchasing records are business records and some contain personal data.
Orders, GRNs, invoices, credit notes and payments retained for the period tax and dispute could require.
Supplier contact details as personal data where the supplier is an individual.
Payment details secured.
Access limited by role.
Retention defined.
Confirm obligations with qualified advice on both tax record retention and Data Protection, and POS supplier and purchase management Kenya should hold what is required for as long as it is required, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya whose invoices are in a box is holding records it cannot search when asked.
Systems and Costs {#systems}
Purchasing capability is part of a POS with inventory and the receiving workflow is what to assess.
Supplier records with terms, lead times and payment details.
Product-to-supplier mapping with cost and pack conversion.
Reorder points and suggested orders by supplier.
Purchase orders with numbering and status.
Goods received notes against orders with per-line quantities, variance, condition and expiry.
Stock updated from received quantity.
Cost price update on receipt.
Three-way invoice matching.
Payables with ageing and due dates.
Payment recording by M-Pesa, bank and cash.
Credit notes and returns.
Supplier performance reports.
Multi-branch purchasing and transfers.
Pricing for the platform commonly from a modest monthly figure for a single shop, rising with branches and users, with purchasing included in inventory-capable tiers.
Implementation should begin with supplier records and product mapping, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya cannot suggest or receive without them, then orders in the system for every purchase from the first week, then receiving against orders with a named receiver.
Weigh it against the short deliveries, since POS supplier and purchase management Kenya that recovers two cartons a week from a distributor who was quietly short has paid for the platform, and the cost prices that are finally true have made every margin decision since a better one.
Frequently Asked Questions {#faqs}
Why does purchasing matter more than the till for margin?
Because the selling price is public and the buying price is where money is actually made or lost. A unit paid for and not received, a cost price eight months out of date, an expired item accepted at the door and a short delivery signed as complete all come out of profit and none of them show on the till. The front protects revenue; the back protects margin.
We order by phone. Do we really need a purchase order?
Yes, because a phone order has no record, and the driver’s delivery note is then the only version of what was ordered. Two minutes entering the order before the call gives the shop its own version to check the delivery and the invoice against. Without it, the shop is receiving on trust and paying the supplier’s account of events.
What is a goods received note and why is it the most important document?
It is the shop’s record of what actually arrived — per line, ordered against received, with variance, condition and expiry, signed by a named receiver. Stock updates from it, never from the delivery note. It is the evidence for short-paying an invoice, claiming a credit and tracking which supplier is quietly short every week.
How do we stop short deliveries?
Count every line against the order before the driver leaves, write variances on the driver’s note before signing, notify the supplier the same day, match the invoice to received rather than ordered, and short-pay or request a credit. Every short delivery signed as complete is paid for. A driver consistently short is a pattern to raise with the supplier.
Our margin reports look wrong. Why?
Almost always because cost prices are out of date. Margin is calculated on the cost price in the system, and if that was last updated when prices were lower, every margin figure is overstated. Update cost at every receipt, recalculate margin per product, and alert when cost rises and selling price has not.
What is a three-way match?
Paying only what was ordered, received and invoiced at the agreed price — order, GRN and invoice agreeing before payment is approved. It is the control that stops the shop paying the supplier’s version of events. Never pay from the delivery note.
What about suppliers who don’t give invoices?
The shop creates its own record at the door — supplier, products, quantities, price, date, who bought — and receives stock against it. Vegetables on the shelf with no record are stock the system does not know about at a cost it cannot state. The tax treatment of purchases without invoices warrants advice.
Do we need tax-compliant invoices from suppliers?
Establish that with the revenue authority and qualified advice, since electronic invoicing requirements have developed and continue to, and what the shop needs depends on its own registration. A POS supplier and purchase management Kenya system holds the records compliance requires; what those requirements are is not something this guide can state, and the consequence of getting it wrong falls on the shop.