Medical Teams IT Service Desk

 

 Overview 

 

The procure-to-pay process implemented on Unit4’s Business World ERP system ensures that requests for goods and services required by MTI staff in carrying out their work are registered, approved, received and paid for in a manner that is efficient and auditable.   A critical element of this process is the generation of goods receipt notes (GRNs).

 

What is a “goods receipt note” and why do we need them?

GRNs are digital receipts created by users on the ERP system to formally record the quantities of goods and services received from the approved PO supplier. The quantities of the order recorded as received are by implication those quantities accepted by the user on behalf of MTI, thereby committing the organisation to pay for those items. By formally recording receipts of ordered items, staff will enable budget holders and other stakeholders to track and monitor MTI’s outstanding commitments to 3^rd party suppliers against budget.

 

 

1. The Process

The following diagram is a high-level summary of part of the procurement process, with the GRN step highlighted:

 

 

 

 

 

The goods receipting step falls between the delivery of the goods and the registration of the supplier’s invoice.  Ensuring GRNs are recorded on the system before invoices are received from the supplier is vitally important as this minimises the risk of unnecessary delays to suppliers receiving payments from MTI.

 

 

 

 

The following paragraphs set out the process for creating a GRN on the ERP system:-

 

1. Navigate to the Purchase Order section within the Procurement module and click on the Goods receipt menu item:

 

 

 

 

1. Retrieve and verify the Order details: Enter the purchase order number in the Order ID field in the top left-hand corner to retrieve the order:

 

 

 

 

The order record is retrieved and displayed as shown below:  

 

 

 

Accessing Document Archive: If there are any documents linked to the purchase order, the paperclip icon (top right-hand corner) will be highlighted in blue as shown above.

 

Tip: It may be useful to review available attachments before registering an order as received.  Simply click on the paperclip icon to access the document archive:

 

To view a detailed summary of the order and associated invoices, click on the Order number value near the top left-hand corner of the screen:

 

 

A summary of the order details and history to date for that purchase order will then be displayed:

                             

 

The Order Details report above shows that purchase order #30001970 is fully receipted but there are currently no invoices registered on the system against the order.   This is the ideal scenario and conforms with best practice.

 

1. Creating a goods receipt note (GRN)

The GRN is a record of ordered quantities of items received, rather than their value.   To register the quantities of items received from the supplier, navigate to the Order details section.  

 

Only the Qte. received column needs to be completed, and this will already be prepopulated by the system by default:

As a result, no data entry is actually required to complete the GRN in the majority of cases.

Typically, the tasks involved on this screen are:

1. Checking the Previously received column and verifying that the values recorded in that column are as expected, e.g. “0.00” should be displayed if deliveries have not yet been received.

 

1. Verifying that the values on the GL Analysis section are still valid.  These code values would have been entered as part of the original PR and are there to ensure that the order is charged to the correct account and budget:

 

 

If the above codes are no longer valid, an error message will be generated. If this happens, a member of the Finance Team should be notified in the first instance.

Once the values on this page have been entered and checked, click on the Save button and Receipt Number will be generated:

 

 

 

Each line will be tagged with the Receipt Number in the system and this will be displayed in the Receipt History section of the Order Details report:

 

 

 

1. Corrections

An incorrect receipt can be amended by entering an adjusting value into the Qty. Received column. This adjusting value ensures that the quantity subsequently updated in the Previously received entry will be the correct value.  

In the example below, the first three lines of the GRN are being modified such that the receipted quantity for is 0 for Order Line 1, 3 for Order Line 2 and 5 for Order Line 3:

 

After refreshing the page, the adjustments entered in the Qty. Received column are now evident in the updated Previously received column:

The Qte. Received column has also now been pre-populated with the values now required to fully receipt the order.

Finally, the changes in quantity are tracked and visible in the Order Details screen as well as a new receipt number (60000757) with which the modified lines have been tagged:

 

 

1. Missing Goods Receipt Note task

Missing goods receipt note tasks are reminders sent by the ERP’s workflow system to prompt PR requesters to register a goods receipt.  These notifications are prompted when a supplier’s invoice is entered onto the system and linked to an active PO with no receipts.   As a goods receipt note is required before payment can be made, it is important for receipts to be promptly entered onto the system to minimise the risk of delays.

 

To process a Missing goods receipt task, open the task and scroll down until the receipting grid is shown:

 

The Quantity column above identifies the outstanding number of items to be receipted whereas the Receipt No column is showing as missing.  

Ensure the value in the quantity column is correct, then click on the tick box to the left of the Receive goods value in the Action column.  To save and exit, click on the Accept button. 

A new receipt will be generated that will be matched to the PO and the invoice so that the supplier can be paid.

 

 

1. Conclusion

Currently, PR requesters typically register receipts for goods delivered after a Missing GRN reminder task has been generated by the system.  However late receipting not only increases the potential for delays in processing payments, but creates an environment where MTI UG is effectively relying on third-party invoices being entered onto the system in order to effectively track outstanding payments for goods and services that have been accepted and utilized by the business.

 

To mitigate against the above risks, users are encouraged to carry out prompt receipting of orders as soon after delivery as possible, to increase the efficient working of our payment processing and reporting systems.