The quick answer
Open Receive Orders (from the Orders to Receive reminder, or Transactions > Purchases > Receive Orders), pick the vendor in the Vendor filter and open the matching purchase order. Click Receive. On the item receipt, change Quantity on any line where the vendor shipped less than Remaining, then click Save. The receipt records only what you received, and the purchase order stays open for the rest.
The example is purchase order PO4410 to Northfield Hardware Supply: 12 DR-180 Cordless Drill Kits at 84.50 and 20 GL-310 Work Gloves at 6.25. The truck delivered 9 drill kits and all 20 pairs of gloves, so the receipt is 760.50 plus 125.00, or 885.50. The screenshots use sample data and fictional person and operating-company names.
Before you start
Your role needs access to Receive Orders and permission to create item receipts at the receiving location. Advanced Receiving has to be on for the receipt and the vendor bill to be separate transactions. Without it, receiving from an order combines receiving and billing, so check this setting first. The purchase order has to be approved if your account uses approval routing, and it needs a quantity still open to receive.
The Orders to Receive reminder is a dashboard reminder, and your Home page may not show it. If it isn't there, open Receive Orders from Transactions > Purchases > Receive Orders. The reminder, the columns, the filters and the queue contents depend on your role, enabled features, release and custom forms. Drop-ship, special-order, outsourced, inbound-shipment, centralized-purchasing and WMS receiving can follow different flows.
In this example the items are plain inventory items. Lot, serial and bin-managed items, and accounts that use inventory status, ask for Inventory Detail on the receipt. Serialized items need a label for each serial number.
01. Open the Orders to Receive reminder
On Home, find the Reminders portlet. It shows 7 Orders to Receive. Click it.
Receive Orders lists the open purchase orders that still have something to receive. In the example there are 7, shown by date. The Vendor and Target Subsidiary filters both show - All -. Target Subsidiary matters mainly with centralized purchasing and multiple subsidiaries.
02. Narrow the queue to the vendor on the dock
Open the Vendor list and choose Northfield Hardware Supply. The list is limited to that vendor's orders. In the example that is 3: PO4404, PO4410 and PO4415.
If the delivery note shows a purchase order number, type it in Select Order Number instead. The field narrows the list to that number. A barcode scanner that types like a keyboard can fill it in, but it only filters the list. It doesn't receive anything.
03. Open the purchase order and click Receive
Click the date link of PO4410 to open the order. It is Pending Receipt.
On the Items sublist, DR-180 Cordless Drill Kit has Quantity 12 and GL-310 Work Gloves has 20. Received is 0 on both. Compare the lines with the delivery note, then click Receive.
You can also click Receive on the order's row in the queue. That opens the item receipt straight away, without showing the order first.
04. Enter the quantity that arrived and save
The Item Receipt opens with Created From Purchase Order #PO4410. Both lines are checked to receive at Central Warehouse. Remaining is 12 and 20, and Quantity starts at the same figures.
Before you save, check the receipt Date and Posting Period, confirm To Location on each line, and uncheck Receive on any line that didn't arrive. Complete Inventory Detail if an item needs it, and use the Expenses subtab if the order has expense lines to mark received.
The driver unloaded 9 drill kits. Change Quantity on the DR-180 line from 12 to 9 and leave the gloves at 20.
Click Save. NetSuite shows "Transaction successfully Saved" and the receipt's reference number. The line quantities are 9 and 20.
Don't receive the full 12 and fix it later. A receipt for goods that never arrived overstates on-hand stock and the accrued balance.
05. Read the GL Impact
Open the GL Impact subtab on the saved receipt if your role and form show it. Some accounts also offer GL Impact on the Actions menu. In the example the receipt debits 1310 Inventory : Tools 760.50, which is 9 at 84.50, and 1320 Inventory : Safety Supplies 125.00, which is 20 at 6.25. It credits 2150 Accrued Purchases 885.50.
The accounts and amounts come from your item, subsidiary, costing and currency setup. Landed cost, standard costing and variances can change them. A vendor bill later offsets the accrued balance for the amount billed and records the payable, and differences in quantity or rate can leave a variance. The receipt itself doesn't create a bill. The tab can be missing because of the transaction type, your role, the form or the account configuration.
06. Print the item labels
Click the printer icon on the saved receipt. In the example account the label sheet opens, in a new tab or window in some accounts. It holds 29 labels, one for each unit received: 9 for the drill kits and 20 for the gloves, each with its barcode, item code, name and price. Label count and fields depend on your label setup.
In many accounts the same icon prints the receipt form as a PDF instead. Item labels can need a separate label or WMS process, a template and printer setup. Check what opens, and check the label count against what you received, before you rely on it.
07. Check the order is still open
Go back to the receipt and click Purchase Order #PO4410 in Created From. The order now shows Partially Received. Status wording can vary with your features and forms, so check the received and remaining quantities too.
On the Items sublist, the drill kits show Received 9 against Quantity 12, so 3 are still outstanding. The gloves show 20 of 20.
The 3 missing drill kits stay on the order until you receive them on another receipt. If the vendor won't ship them, receiving doesn't close the quantity. Close that line, following your purchasing policy, and leave any other open lines alone.
Common questions
Does a partial receipt close the purchase order?
Usually not. A receipt for less than the remaining quantity leaves the rest open, and the order commonly shows Partially Received. Check the Received and Quantity columns instead of relying on the status alone. The quantity stays open until it is received or the line is closed.
Can I scan a purchase order barcode into Receive Orders?
A scanner that types like a keyboard can put the number on the paperwork into Select Order Number, and the field narrows the list to that order. It only filters the list. You still click Receive and set the quantities. Scanning in the WMS mobile app is a separate workflow.
What does Remaining mean on an item receipt?
Remaining is the quantity still open to receive on the purchase order line. Quantity is what you are receiving on this receipt. Quantity can be lower than Remaining. Receiving more than Remaining is usually limited, unless the Allow Overage on Item Receipts accounting preference is on.
What does the printer icon on an item receipt print?
It depends on your setup. In an account with item labels configured it can open a sheet of barcode labels. In many accounts it prints the receipt form as a PDF. Item labels can need a separate label or WMS process, a template and a printer. Check what opens and check the label count against the quantities you received.
Where do I find the accounting entries for an item receipt?
Open the GL Impact subtab on the saved receipt, or use GL Impact from the Actions menu where your form offers it. A receipt for inventory items usually debits the inventory asset account and credits an accrued purchases account. Whether you see the tab depends on your role, the form and the account configuration.
Why can't I find the Orders to Receive reminder?
The reminder may not be on your Home dashboard, your role may not have access, or there may be no orders to receive. Open Receive Orders from Transactions > Purchases > Receive Orders, or ask your administrator to add the reminder to your dashboard.