Rejected units and corrections: keeping receiving honest

Two of thirty sofas come off the container with split frames. If all thirty stay recorded as good receipts, the stock count promises furniture the store cannot deliver. The receiving record needs to distinguish what arrived from what was accepted.

Rejected units are pieces the store did not accept as good stock, such as damaged furniture or the wrong configuration. Record the rejection and its reason, then review any costs and replacement commitments affected by it. Here is a worked example using those thirty sofas.

Record the rejection against the actual line

Enter 28 accepted sofas and two rejected sofas, with a reason such as “split frame at rear corner.” Identify the affected pieces through photos, labels, and the delivery record.

OrderPilot keeps rejected units out of good stock. The receiving history and PO attachments provide the evidence for purchasing to discuss the problem with the vendor or carrier. Keep the dock checklist close to the receiving task. A sticky note is very good at attaching itself to a carton and less reliable at remaining there until the next shift.

Review the freight left on the kept units

A whole-PO charge is spread over the units kept, excluding rejections. With $9,336.84 of shared charges, thirty sofas would average about $311.23 each. Across 28 kept sofas, the average becomes about $333.46. That is the app's allocation behavior, not a decision that the good sofas should permanently bear every loss. The carrier bill remains real until its amount changes or the store records a supported recovery or loss treatment. Review the charge with accounting instead of assuming that rejecting a unit automatically reduces the freight invoice.

The two rejected sofas' original proportional share is about $622.46. That calculation can help explain the issue, but it does not establish a legal right to recover that amount. Build any claim from the actual loss and supporting agreement.

The landed-cost guide explains how charge scope and receipt quantities work together.

Match a recovery to the cost it actually corrects

If a supported freight credit reduces the shared charge by $622.46, the remaining charge becomes $8,714.38. Spread across the 28 kept sofas, it averages about $311.23 each again.

Record the correction against the charge being corrected, with the credit and reason attached. If the credit instead corrects the vendor merchandise price, use the corresponding vendor-cost correction. A recovery should explain the cost it changes.

Do not reduce good-unit merchandise cost again for rejected goods that were already excluded from the receipt bill. Reconcile the vendor invoice, the rejected quantities, and the credit before posting another reduction. The vendor-credit routine keeps that matching work visible.

Correct late-found damage without hiding the first receipt

If damage is discovered after a piece was posted as good, preserve the original delivery and inspection evidence. Use a receipt correction to change the accepted and rejected counts where the supported workflow permits it, explaining when the damage was found.

Every receipt correction needs a reason. Write enough for another person to understand the change: “Carton opened during inspection; frame split found; accepted quantity reduced” is more useful than “fix.” A reduction can be refused when the units are already sold or allocated. Resolve the affected order or stock commitment first; do not lower a different receipt to make the overall count look right. Over-receiving is also refused, so accepted extra goods need their own purchasing record.

The activity-history guide explains why a visible correction is more useful than a silent replacement number.

Keep the replacement connected to the rejected piece

Agree the replacement, return instructions, transport responsibility, and expected timing with the vendor in writing. Preserve the rejected unit's history when creating the replacement commitment.

A separately authorized replacement PO can make the new shipment clear. If the existing PO is revised instead, record and communicate the change so the vendor does not interpret it as an unrelated additional order. Do not receive a replacement over a line whose ordered quantity has already been fully received or rejected.

Inspect the replacement when it arrives and record its actual cost arrangement, including any no-charge merchandise or separately billed freight. The original claim remains open until the agreed resolution is complete.

Give corrections the right permission and accounting trail

Receiving corrections and cost corrections are separate staff rights. A receiver who can post an arrival does not automatically have authority to change its costs. Route the issue to the person with the required permission and the supporting evidence.

With QuickBooks Online connected, a supported correction can update an open PO's unpaid receipt bill when its accounting period and document state allow it. Otherwise, the difference can reach QuickBooks through a vendor credit or supplemental bill. The receipt is evidence, not a formal freight claim by itself; 49 CFR § 370.3 distinguishes the two. Use the claim-letter template to carry the documented loss into the separate claim process.

Sources

1. 49 CFR § 370.3: filing of claims — U.S. Department of Transportation regulation, reproduced by Cornell Legal Information Institute; U.S. federal law as of October 15, 2025.