Why Delivery Notes Matter Before Materials Invoices Are Approved

A supplier invoice can look correct in accounts while the physical delivery tells a different story.

Ten sheets may have been ordered, eight delivered and ten invoiced. Boxes may arrive damaged. A driver may leave materials at the wrong entrance or on another project. A site manager may sign a delivery note without recording a shortage because the delivery arrives during a busy handover.

These are ordinary site events, but they become cost-control problems when the invoice is approved without checking the evidence. A reliable materials workflow connects three records: what was ordered, what arrived and what the supplier charged.

What a delivery note proves

A delivery note records what the supplier says was delivered at a particular time and place. It commonly includes:

• Supplier details.
• Delivery date.
• Site or delivery address.
• Purchase order or customer reference.
• Product descriptions and quantities.
• The recipient’s name or signature.
• Notes about shortages, damage or rejected items.

It is useful evidence, but it is not automatically proof that every line was correct. A signature may only confirm that the driver attended the site. The person signing may not have counted every item, opened each package or compared the delivery with the purchase order.

That is why the receiving process matters as much as the document itself.

Match the order, delivery and invoice

Before a materials invoice is approved, compare:

1. The purchase order: what the business authorised.
2. The delivery record: what the site received and accepted.
3. The supplier invoice: what the business is being asked to pay.

This is often called a three-way match. For a small contractor, it does not need to become a complicated accounts exercise. The practical aim is to answer a short set of questions:

• Is this the correct supplier and project?
• Was the order approved before the purchase was made?
• Do the products and quantities agree?
• Do the invoiced rates match the purchase order?
• Were any items short, damaged, substituted or returned?
• Has the same delivery already been invoiced?
• Is the VAT and invoice total arithmetically correct?

When all three records agree, approval is straightforward. When they do not, the exception should be recorded and sent to the person who can resolve it.

Record shortages and damage when the delivery arrives

The strongest time to record a delivery problem is while the driver and goods are still on site.

If practical, the person receiving materials should:

• Count visible units or packages.
• Check labels against the expected order.
• Note obvious damage.
• Record substituted products.
• Photograph damaged goods or incomplete pallets.
• Write the shortage or damage on the delivery note.
• Keep a copy or clear photograph of the signed note.
• Tell the buyer or project manager promptly.

A note such as “two boxes missing, one board damaged” is more useful than trying to reconstruct the delivery three weeks later when the invoice reaches accounts.

For packaged goods that cannot reasonably be checked immediately, the record can state that the delivery was accepted subject to inspection. The business should then have a clear route for reporting concealed damage or shortages within the supplier’s required timescale.

Do not treat a clean signature as full approval

One common control failure is assuming that a signed delivery note means the corresponding invoice can be paid.

The site labourer, receptionist or security guard who signs for goods may not know:

• Whether the order was authorised.
• Which project or cost code should carry the cost.
• Whether the price is correct.
• Whether the supplier has invoiced a previous delivery twice.
• Whether part of the order was cancelled.
• Whether a substitution was commercially acceptable.

Receipt and financial approval are different decisions. The receiving person confirms what happened at the delivery point. The invoice approver confirms that the charge is valid, correctly allocated and ready for payment.

Keeping those responsibilities clear protects both the site team and accounts.

Use exceptions instead of holding every invoice

The purpose of matching is not to slow down every supplier payment.

Most routine deliveries should move quickly when the records agree. Attention should focus on exceptions such as:

• Quantity differences.
• Price differences.
• Missing purchase order references.
• Delivery to the wrong project.
• Damaged or returned goods.
• Unexpected delivery charges.
• Unapproved substitutions.
• Split deliveries with the full order invoiced early.
• Duplicate delivery or invoice references.

Each exception needs a specific reason, an owner and a next action. “Waiting for site” is too vague. A useful note would be: “Invoice charges 24 light fittings; delivery note records 20. Site manager to check whether four arrived on a separate delivery.”

That gives accounts a clear basis for holding or part-approving the invoice.

Handle split and partial deliveries carefully

Materials orders are often fulfilled across several deliveries.

This creates two opposite risks. The supplier may invoice the full order after the first delivery, or the business may lose track of several valid partial invoices and believe it has been overcharged.

For each purchase order, keep a cumulative view of:

• Quantity ordered.
• Quantity delivered to date.
• Quantity returned or rejected.
• Quantity invoiced to date.
• Remaining quantity.
• Remaining financial commitment.

Suppose 100 ceiling tiles are ordered. The supplier delivers 60, then 40 a week later. If the first invoice charges 100, the unmatched 40 should be queried. If two invoices each charge 60, the cumulative record exposes the overcharge even if each invoice has a plausible delivery reference.

This is where a connected purchase order and invoice record is more reliable than checking documents in separate inboxes.

Keep delivery evidence attached to the job

Delivery notes often disappear into vans, site folders, WhatsApp chats or individual email accounts. By the time accounts needs them, the person who received the goods may be on another project.

Capture the evidence against the correct purchase order or project as soon as possible. A phone photograph is often sufficient if it is readable and includes the full document.

The record should make it easy to identify:

• The project and site.
• The purchase order.
• The supplier.
• The delivery date.
• The person who received it.
• Any discrepancy.
• Related photographs or correspondence.

Clear project codes and site references help the delivery evidence reach the correct job rather than sitting in a general accounts folder.

Decide what can be approved

A mismatch does not always mean the entire invoice is invalid.

If 90 out of 100 units were received correctly, accounts may be able to approve the accepted amount and query the remaining ten. The right treatment depends on the accounting system, VAT position, supplier agreement and whether a credit note or replacement invoice is needed.

The operational record should separate:

• Amount supported by the order and delivery evidence.
• Amount under query.
• Reason for the query.
• Evidence requested.
• Person responsible.
• Expected resolution date.

This prevents a small shortage from becoming an unexplained full-invoice delay while keeping the disputed value visible. The same principle applies when handling disputed supplier invoices.

Protect job costing as well as payment control

Delivery matching is not only an accounts-payable check. It affects the accuracy of project costs.

If materials are charged to the wrong job, invoiced before delivery or omitted from the current cost view, a project can appear more or less profitable than it really is. Site managers and directors may then make decisions using incomplete information.

The purchase order shows the commitment. Delivery records show how much of that commitment has physically arrived. Invoices show the financial liability being processed. Looking at the three together gives the business a more useful view of:

• Committed cost.
• Delivered value.
• Invoiced value.
• Approved value.
• Remaining order value.
• Exceptions that may change the final cost.

That distinction supports better forecasting than relying only on invoices already entered into bookkeeping.

How BuilderDash supports the workflow

BuilderDash helps connect purchase orders, project references, delivery evidence, invoices and approvals in one operational process.

The site team can provide the delivery information, while accounts and approvers can see the supporting record when the supplier invoice arrives. When something does not match, the query stays linked to the job and purchase order rather than becoming an isolated email chain.

The practical result is a shared answer to four questions:

• What did we authorise?
• What did the site receive?
• What has the supplier invoiced?
• What can be approved now?

That visibility helps routine invoices move faster and gives genuine exceptions the attention they need.

A practical delivery-to-invoice checklist

Review your current materials process and ask:

• Does every delivery carry a project or purchase order reference?
• Can site staff record shortages, damage and substitutions?
• Is a readable copy of the delivery note retained?
• Can accounts find the evidence without chasing several people?
• Are split deliveries tracked cumulatively?
• Are invoice quantities and rates checked against the purchase order?
• Does every mismatch have a specific reason and owner?
• Are returned goods and expected credit notes followed through?
• Does the final approved cost sit against the correct job?

If these checks depend on one person’s memory or inbox, the process is vulnerable when projects get busy.

Make receipt evidence part of cost control

A delivery note should not be treated as paperwork to file after the event. It is the link between an approved commitment and the physical goods received on site.

Record delivery exceptions when they happen, retain readable evidence, match the order, delivery and invoice, and route only genuine differences for investigation. That gives suppliers clearer queries, helps accounts approve valid charges and keeps job costs tied to what actually happened on site.

Suggested internal links: Why project codes and site references matter, handle disputed supplier invoices, and prevent duplicate supplier invoices.

Call to action: Use BuilderDash to connect purchase orders, delivery evidence, project references, supplier invoices and approvals, so materials costs can be checked before they reach the payment run.