Purchase
Goods received note workflow and status
The nine steps from delivery to completed bill, what draft, pending, approved, completed and void mean, and exactly when stock increases.
Updated 12 September 2026
The goods received note sits between the order and the bill. Its workflow makes sure stock goes up only after someone confirms what arrived. It also means a bill can only be raised for goods that were actually received.
The workflow
- Create the goods received note using the supplier and purchase order details.
- Add or check the products and quantities.
- Save the note as Draft, or submit it.
- A submitted note moves to Pending.
- An authorised user reviews and verifies it.
- The note is approved.
- Kuver Books updates inventory.
- You can now convert the approved note into a purchase bill.
- When billing is done, the note is marked Completed.
What does each status mean?
Draft: created but not submitted. Full editing is allowed. Use this stage to prepare the entry.
Pending: submitted and waiting for review by an authorised user. Editing is restricted or controlled by system rules.
Approved: verified and approved. Inventory is updated based on the goods received, and you can now create a purchase bill from the note.
Completed: the process is finished. The purchase bill has been created and processed, and the record is available for reference and reporting.
Void: cancelled and removed from the active workflow. It cannot be used in inventory or billing. It stays available for audit and historical reference.
The two rules worth remembering
Inventory is updated only after approval. You can create a bill only after approval. In both cases, nothing changes your stock or what you owe until a person has checked the note.
So a product can be in the warehouse and still show as out of stock: the goods arrived and the note was created, but nobody approved it. To find these notes, check the pending transactions panel on the dashboard.
Status behaviour
- Each status controls which actions are available on the note.
- Status changes happen through approval and workflow actions. You cannot change the status by editing a field.
- Approved notes update inventory records.
- Completed notes are linked to billing records.
- Void notes are left out of operational workflows but kept for history.
Removing the pending stage
If your business does not need a separate approval step for receiving, you can switch off the pending stage for goods received notes. Go to Configuration, then Inventory configuration, then Inventory validation settings. Think carefully first: the approval step is what keeps the stock in Kuver Books in line with the stock on your shelves.