External receipts

An external receipt is a supplier delivery prepared as a document. It has a number, a supplier, a date and a list of what should arrive. Writing the document changes no stock. Stock goes up only when the goods are received against it, in one go or in stages.

Where to find it: Warehouse → Operations → External receipts

When you'll use it

• You want a delivery on record before it arrives, so the person receiving it knows what to expect.
• A delivery arrives in parts over several days.
• You want to link a receipt to the supplier's own invoice or delivery note.
• You want to print the labels before the goods arrive, so that each label already points to the document.

For goods that are already here and only need to go on stock, use Goods receipt without a document.

Key concepts

• Document — holds the supplier, the document date, the supplier's own document number, a warehouse (advanced warehouse type only) and notes.
• Document number — Complaia numbers the documents by itself, for example GRN-2026-0001. Numbering starts again every year. The letters at the start depend on your company's language: a Polish company gets PZ-2026-0001. Search and the scanner accept every variant.
• Line — one product or component that should arrive, with the expected quantity. Products and components can be mixed. Adding the same item twice increases the quantity of its line.
• Issuing — confirms the list and makes the document ready for receiving. It does not change stock. A document cannot go back to draft after it is issued.
• Receiving in stages — every time goods are received against the document, only the new quantity goes onto stock. The document stays open until every line has arrived. Then it closes by itself.
• Surplus — if more arrives than the document expected, or something that was not on it, Complaia accepts it and marks the document with an overage icon.
• Document labels — labels printed for an issued document belong to it. When someone scans such a label on Goods receipt or on a POS (point of sale) terminal, the document opens by itself. The same label cannot go onto stock in any other way while the document is open.

The five statuses

Status	Meaning	What you can do
Draft	Being prepared. May be empty.	Edit everything. You cannot print labels or receive goods.
Issued	Ready. Nothing has been received.	Print labels, receive. Clicking the document opens the receiving screen.
Receiving	Part of the goods has been received.	Receive the rest. Editing is locked.
Closed	Every line has been received in full. Closing happens by itself.	Read, reprint labels.
Cancelled	The document was cancelled.	Read. There is no button for cancelling a document.

The screens

The list

The list has a search box. It finds a document by its number, by the supplier and by the supplier's document number.

Columns:

• Number;
• Status — with an overage icon next to it when more arrived than expected;
• Supplier;
• Document date;
• Supplier doc. — the supplier's own invoice or delivery note number;
• Labels — a Download button for an Issued or Receiving document that has product lines. It downloads the document's labels as a PDF file.

Header buttons: Refresh and New receipt.

Clicking a row does one of two things:

• an Issued or Receiving document opens the Goods receipt screen for that document, ready to scan;
• a Draft, Closed or Cancelled document opens the form.

The form

📷 Screenshot to add: the external receipt form with the Document data card at the top, two lines in the Lines table and the add row at its end, and the buttons for saving a draft and issuing the document.

Document data, at the top:

Field	Meaning
Supplier	Required. Choose one of your entities (customers & suppliers) of the supplier type, or type a name that is not on the list.
Supplier document	The supplier's invoice or delivery note number. Optional.
Document date	Filled in with today. It may be in the past, never in the future.
Warehouse	Advanced type only. Required to issue the document.
Notes	Free text.

Lines, below. A table with the columns Item, Code, Quantity and Unit:

• each line has an editable quantity and ✕ to remove it;
• a component with a purchase unit has a switch between the purchase unit and the stock unit. The line shows the converted quantity, for example = 1000 pcs;
• the last row adds a line: the Product / Component switch, a search field, a quantity and Add;
• Clear at the top of the table removes all lines at once;
• a summary under the table counts the lines.

Header buttons:

• Save draft and Issue document — while the document can be edited;
• Print labels — on a saved document that is not a draft and has a product line;
• Receive — instead of the saving buttons, when the document can no longer be edited. The note Document in progress or closed: data can no longer be edited. tells you why.

Common tasks

Create a document

1. Open Warehouse → Operations → External receipts and click New receipt.
2. In Supplier, choose the supplier from the list, or type a name and choose Use value.
3. Check the Document date. It is filled in with today.
4. Type the Supplier document if you have one.
5. With the advanced warehouse type, choose the Warehouse the delivery goes to.
6. Add a line: choose Product or Component, find the item, set the quantity and click Add. Repeat for each line.
7. Click Save draft to keep working on it later, or Issue document to make it ready for receiving.

When you issue the document, a window explains that issuing does not change stock. It also tells you where the goods will be scanned: on the web, under Warehouse → Operations → Goods receipt, or on a POS terminal, under Warehouse → Receive to stock. Confirm with Issue document.

After saving, the screen returns to the list.

Check the document before you issue it

After issuing, the list opens the receiving screen, not the form. There is no button to edit an issued document.

Print labels before the goods arrive

Labels can be printed only for an issued document. A draft does not print labels.

1. Issue the document. Right after issuing, Complaia asks Print the labels for …? if the document has products. Click Print labels, or Later.
2. To print later, click Download in the Labels column of the list. You can also click Print labels on the receiving screen of the document.
3. Stick the labels on the goods as they arrive, then scan them.

The PDF holds one label for each parcel of every piece of every product on the document. If more arrived than expected, the labels cover the surplus too. Components have no labels and are skipped. Printing again gives the same label codes, so labels already on the goods stay valid.

Receive against a document

1. Click the document on the list. If it is Issued or Receiving, the receiving screen opens. You can also scan the document number, or one of its labels, on Goods receipt.
2. Scan the goods, or type the quantity on each component line, as described on Goods receipt.
3. Click Confirm receipt, then Post.

What you confirmed goes onto stock. Each line is recorded as a Receipt with the document number as its reference. The document becomes Receiving, or Closed when nothing is left to come. When the whole document has been received, the screen returns to this list.

Goods can also be received against the document on a POS terminal, in Warehouse → Receive to stock.

Receive a delivery in stages

1. When the first part arrives, receive it as above.
2. When the next part arrives, open the same document again and receive that part.
3. Repeat until the document closes by itself.

Each confirmation books only what is new, so nothing is counted twice.

Correct a document that has been received

A document that has had goods received cannot be edited or cancelled. Correct the stock itself instead, in one of two ways:

1. Take a surplus off with Goods issue.
2. Count the item in a stocktaking session.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
Stock did not change after saving the document	A document changes nothing by itself.	Receive against it.
Provide a supplier.	The supplier field is empty.	Choose or type a supplier.
The supplier list shows No results	Your role cannot read the list of entities. Typing a name still works.	Type the supplier's name and choose Use value, or ask for access to entities.
Add at least one line.	You are issuing a document with no lines.	Add a line, or save it as a draft.
Choose the warehouse the delivery goes to.	Advanced type: a document needs a warehouse to be issued.	Choose the warehouse.
Warehouse “…” has the purpose “…” and does not accept …	The chosen warehouse accepts only products or only materials.	Choose a warehouse that accepts every kind of goods on the document.
The document date cannot be in the future. Choose today or an earlier date.	Future dates are refused.	Use today or an earlier date.
A draft does not print labels.	Labels belong to an issued document.	Issue the document first.
The external receipt has no product items to print labels for.	The document has only components, and components have no labels.	Nothing to print.
The fields are locked	Goods have already been received, or the document is closed.	Receive what actually arrived. Correct differences on stock.
You need to change an issued document	The list opens issued documents on the receiving screen. There is no edit button.	If nothing has been received yet, receive what really arrives. Correct differences on stock afterwards.
A document stays Receiving although nothing more will come	A document closes only when every line has arrived. There is no button to close it by hand.	Nothing to do. The document does not block other work.
Goods cannot be received on this external receipt right now.	The document is a draft, closed or cancelled.	Issue the draft first. For a closed document, create a new one.
One of the external receipt items is a variant template.	A line points at a product that only groups variants.	Create the document with the specific variant.
The external receipt has no warehouse. Choose a warehouse on the receipt.	Advanced type: neither the document nor the receiving screen names a warehouse.	Choose the warehouse on the receiving screen before you confirm.
The warehouse on the external receipt was not found.	The warehouse was deleted.	Create a new document with an active warehouse.
The banner Warehouse frozen: stocktake … in progress	A stocktaking session is open. Creating, editing and receiving are blocked.	Wait until the session is posted or cancelled.

Permissions

To do this	You need
See External receipts in the menu; create, issue and receive documents, including their component lines	Warehouse: Stock movements (the role editor ticks Warehouse: View with it)
Print or download a document's labels	Warehouse: View
Choose a supplier from the list of entities	Access to entities, for example Entities (B2B/B2C): View

Related

• Goods receipt — the screen you receive on
• Stock levels — where received quantities appear
• Warehouses — warehouses and segments for the advanced type
• Identifiers & labels — what the printed labels contain
• Entities (customers & suppliers) — where suppliers are kept
• Glossary