You have created your items and now need to make this your inventory (you need to add quantity to the items). This can be done in a number of ways, including through the receiving function.
Merchandise Receiving provides merchants the ability to create inventory quantity. This could be a continuation of inventory for items already found in the system or new opening balances. This is the process that tells the Console that items entered are found in inventory for a specific location. Without receiving the items, a store would not have them available to sell.
Merchants can use Inventory Receiving for a number of reasons, the majority of users will use it for recording the number of items received, and it also has the functionality to receive merchandise directly from a Purchase Order. So for merchants weekly, monthly, or individual vendor orders can be received and associated with a store or warehouse in a timely fashion.
Receive Merchandise
Go to Console --> Inventory --> Merchandise Receiving --> Receive Merchandise
Receiving merchandise is created by selecting which Venue and Location (which store or warehouse) the inventory is going to and which vendor (distributor) that merchandise came from. All created locations and vendors will be listed in the drop-down boxes. By checking the warehouse, the warehouse options will be available in the drop downs. Enter Remarks as needed (not a required field).
The Date field on the Merchandise Receiving screen will automatically default to the current date and time, restricting from being modified, ensuring accuracy and consistency in transaction records.
Now users can click on the Item Lookup button or Scan Item option to place items into the receiving. All the items that the user wants to add to the receiving can be checked and added.
UPC, Description, Color, Size, UOM, Selling Price, Receiving Cost, Modified Cost, Original Qty Received, Modified Qty Received, Original Freight, Modified Freight of the items received.
When creating a receiving, the selling price field will initially display the entered value, which the user can modify. However, once the receiving is saved, the selling price can no longer be modified, as the field will not be available on the modify merchandise receipt page.
Cost: When entering a new cost into this field, the system weights the cost with the cost associated with previously received merchandise and will update the item. i.e., you received 5 items with a cost of $1. Then you receive 10 more at a cost of $2. The system adds the cost of both shipments ($5 + $20) and then divides it by the total number of items 15 so $25/15=$1.67. The system would use $1.67 as the cost of that item into the item. The system additionally generates an alert pop-up if there is a variance in the cost price of the items. User can also modify the receiving cost, original qty received and original freight.
UOM: From the drop-down selection, select the quantity that the item is received in from the vendor (an example being pencils - purchased from the vendor in quantity 24, but sold at the store as individual pencils). You would select the Unit of Measurement set up representing that purchasing 1 Unit from the vendor will be broken down to 24 items at the store item level.
The cost of the individual item is based on the quantity (if 1 unit represents 24 items, then the cost when you sell one of the items is 1/24th of the cost indicated here), but the Selling Price is entered at the per item amount (not quantity 24).
In summary, using 24 as an example: The cost is for all 24 items, and the selling price is for 1 as sold in the store. When the item is sold the cost will be 1/24th of the cost entered here.
Once complete, the user clicks Save and a merchandise receipt will be generated as pdf, with the location, and inventory received. This can be saved for records and can be recalled from the Receipt link on the merchandise receiving page
Modify Merchandise Receiving
Merchandise receiving is a key step in inventory management, helping ensure that all incoming goods are recorded accurately. While you may often create new receiving entries when stock arrives, there may also be times when an existing entry needs to be updated, for example, to correct errors or adjust received quantities or costs.
Steps to Edit Merchandise Receiving
Step 1: Navigate to the Merchandise Receiving section
Go to: Inventory → Merchandise Receiving
Step 2: Find the receiving transaction
On the Merchandise Receiving page, use the search bar or browse the list to locate the transaction you want to edit.
Step 3: Open the modification page
Click on the transaction number to open the Modify Merchandise Receipt page.
- This page will show a form pre-filled with the existing data.
- You can update fields such as UOM (Unit of Measure), Modified Cost, Modified Quantity Received, and Modified Freight. (These fields only appear after the initial creation.)
Step 4: Save your changes
After making the updates, click Save to confirm your modifications.
Step 5: Address variance warnings (if applicable)
If your edits result in cost or price variances, a confirmation prompt will appear. Review the details and click Receive to proceed if the changes are correct.
Step 6: Review the updated receipt
Once saved, you’ll be redirected back to the Merchandise Receiving grid. From here, click on the Receipt link for the updated transaction to view the details.
- Receipt Visual differences: Modified quantities or entries will be highlighted in red, making it easy to identify the changes.
- History tracking: You can view the original entry along with any modifications by clicking on the History icon within the Modify Merchandise Receipt page. This provides a clear audit trail of all updates.
Receiving Modification with Cost Change
The Receiving Adjustment with Cost Change Review enhancement adds an extra confirmation step when adjusting a receiving record that includes a change to an item’s unit cost. This ensures users clearly understand how the cost change impacts inventory value (WAC) and Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) before saving the adjustment.
When the feature is enabled, the system checks for cost changes during a receiving adjustment:
If you modify a receiving record without changing the item cost, the adjustment saves as usual.
If you modify a receiving record and change the item’s unit cost, the system pauses the save action and displays a review prompt.
Before saving the adjustment, a confirmation window appears showing the financial impact of the change. This screen must be reviewed and confirmed to proceed.
Item Cost Change Summary
This section provides a clear comparison of item costs:
Item ID and UPC
Item name
Current item cost (before the change)
New item cost (after the change)
This allows you to quickly verify what cost values are being updated.
COGS Impact Analysis Summary
This section explains how the cost change affects previously sold units:
Item details (ID, UPC, name)
Total quantity sold since the last cost update
Current recorded COGS
Calculated COGS adjustment amount
The system automatically calculates the adjustment required based on the updated cost.
To complete the receiving adjustment:
You must click Submit to confirm the cost and COGS impact.
-
A Reason Code is required (for example, PO Cost Mismatch or Vendor Price Correction). To know more about reason code, Click Here
This ensures every cost change is intentional, documented, and auditable.
Merchandise Receiving History with Detailed Modification Logs
History feature in Merchandise Receiving allows users to track all modifications made to receiving transactions, ensuring transparency and alignment between retailcloud and Great Plains (GP).
Clicking this button redirects users to the Receiving Modification History page, where they can view a record of all modifications made to merchandise receiving.
The Receiving Modification History page displays all receiving changes in an easy-to-read grid format with the following details:
- Transaction # – The unique identifier for the receiving transaction.
- Date – The date when the modification was made.
- Received By – The user who originally received the merchandise.
- View – A button to access detailed logs of modifications.
Clicking the View button opens a Receiving Modification Details popup, where you can analyze changes in depth. This provides a detailed log of all changes made to merchandise receiving.
What’s Included in the View?
- Date & Time – When the modification was made.
- Transaction # – The modification transaction number.
- Received By – The user who initially received the merchandise.
- Modified By – The user who made the modification.
- Item detail such as Item ID, UPC, Description
- Adjustments to individual items, including Unit of Measure (UOM), Selling Price, Receiving Cost, Qty, and Freight can view from here under the title Original and Modified. Each row highlights any modified fields in red, making it easy to identify changes.
If Multiple Modifications are done to a Receiving, all the transaction details and its pdf can be viewed from here
Return To Vendor (RTV)
The Return to Vendor (RTV) feature allows merchants to easily return damaged, defective, or incorrect items directly from a completed Merchandise Receiving record.
This process ensures accurate inventory updates and seamless accounting synchronization for vendor returns.
Initiating a Return
- On a completed Merchandise Receipt screen, a new Return to Vendor button will be available.
- Selecting this button opens a dedicated Return To Vendor interface, where users can view all items included in the original receipt.
Entering Return Details
- The Return To Vendor screen displays the items from the original receipt along with relevant cost details.
- Reason Code is a mandatory option to select when returning to vendor. To know more about reason code, Click Here
- For each item, users can:
- Specify the quantity being returned.
- View the corresponding Return to Vendor Cost (calculated as Cost × Quantity Returned).
- Once saved, the Return To Vendor record is automatically linked to the original merchandise receipt.
If Multiple RTVs are done for a receiving, all the previous transactions and receipt can be seen from here
Merchandise Receipt PDF Update
- When an Return To Vendor has been processed, the system will automatically update the Merchandise Receipt PDF:
- A new “Return to Vendor” section appears, listing all returned items and totals.
- If no Return To Vendor has been processed, the PDF remains unchanged in its standard format.
New Adjustment Type
- Saving a Return To Vendor automatically creates a new inventory adjustment transaction called Return to Vendor Adjustment.
- This adjustment:
- Is visible under Recent Receivings in the Receiving screen.
- Works similarly to a receiving adjustment but is not included with standard inventory adjustments.
- Decreases the on-hand inventory for the returned items.
New Adjustment Type in Adjustment Posting
- A new adjustment type Return to Vendor will now appear under Accounts Posting → Adjustment Lookup → Adjustment Type.
- A new reason code operation, ‘Return to Vendor’, has been added and will be selectable during Return To Vendor creation.
When merchandise is first received, it is recorded as a standard receiving entry in the system. The initial receipt reflects the total quantity received and appears in both the user interface (UI) and the Merchandise Receipt PDF.
If any changes are made later — such as correcting a quantity — the system automatically creates a receiving adjustment. In this case, the updated quantity is displayed in the UI, and the same quantity appears in the PDF in red font to clearly indicate that an adjustment has been made.
When items need to be returned to the vendor, a Return to Vendor (RTV) adjustment is created. After this action, the UI updates to show the adjusted quantity that remains in stock after the return. The PDF, however, keeps a record of the pre-return quantity to preserve history and adds a new “Return to Vendor” section below the receiving details. This section lists the returned items and quantities so users can easily track what has been sent back to the vendor.
This workflow ensures that the receiving record remains transparent and easy to follow — the UI always shows the latest quantities on hand, while the PDF provides a complete audit trail of all adjustments and returns.
Barcode Label Printing from Merchandise Receiving
In a business, printing labels for goods received might be your next step after receiving a purchase order. The Console portal provides an option to print the labels directly from a purchase order as well as after receiving it. The instructions below explain how to do it.
Go to Console --> Inventory --> Merchandise Receiving
Select the Transaction Number of the Merchandise receiving transaction.
Once you select the purchase order of your choice, go to the "Generate Barcode Label" button at the top right-hand corner of the receiving page.
Once you get to the "Generate Barcode Label" page, you will see at the bottom of the page the items from your Purchase Order.
Select the Label Template from the dropdown and choose the label size you will be using.
Ensure that the quantities of barcodes you would like to have it in the Print Qty field. You can also edit the quantities or remove any item by clicking on the X button.
You would then click on the "Print Barcode" button. This will initiate the barcode generation.
Now you will have to navigate to the History tab to download the generated barcode label.
From here, all you have to do is to click on the Download link to download the generated barcode label.
From here, all you have to do is select the Printer button at the top right-hand corner of the document.
New Templates in Barcode Label
We’ve updated the barcode label functionality (Label Printing New) to include new template options alongside the existing fixed templates with the following features for Merchandise Receiving, Purchase Orders (PO), Item Catalog, Item Bulk:
New Templates: The dropdown menu now displays additional label template options.
Automatic Downloads: Selecting a new template will automatically initiate the download process.
Existing Templates: The older, fixed templates will continue to use the current process, where a download link is provided for manual downloading.
This enhancement provides more flexibility and streamlines the workflow for generating barcode labels.
Note: The "Supplier" column is now called "Vendor Code," and a new "Vendor" column has been added with the correct mappings.
Articles in this section
- Item Import Field Descriptions
- Overview
- Merchant Onboarding
- Navigation Bar
- Reports
- Items
- Settings
- Dashboard Overview
- Company
- Register
Comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.