# Supplier management and receiving stock into your POS

> In Wave POS you receive stock by entering a purchase. It starts as a draft while you check the delivery, and when you receive it the goods go into stock at the cost you paid. Each supplier has an account showing what you owe and the payments you make, and the creditors report shows how long each balance has been owed.

- **Receive goods at cost**: Purchases start as drafts and bring stock in at what you paid when you receive them.
- **Supplier accounts**: What you owe each supplier, and every payment you make against it.
- **Creditors ageing**: Supplier balances by how long they have been owed, so you pay the oldest first.
- **Costs that stay right**: Every purchase updates the average cost that profit is measured against.

## Receive stock from a draft purchase

A purchase in Wave POS starts as a draft and puts goods into stock only when you receive it. The draft holds the supplier, their invoice number, the branch, and each item with its quantity and cost. A draft you no longer need can be cancelled.

That matches how deliveries really arrive. The lorry from your supplier pulls up in Nakuru, your stock clerk starts the draft from the delivery note, counts the cartons as they come off, and corrects a line where two were short. Once the count and the delivery note agree, they receive it. Nothing enters stock before then, so a half-checked delivery never shows up as stock you can sell.

When the purchase is received:

- stock at that branch goes up by what came in, at the cost on the purchase;
- each item's average cost is updated;
- what you owe the supplier goes up by the purchase total.

If the supplier delivers by the crate or carton, enter the packs as they came. They go into stock as the single units they hold, the same way they sell at the till: see [retail and wholesale](https://wavepos.app/features/wholesale-pricing).

## Batch numbers and expiry dates

When you receive a purchase, you enter batch numbers and expiry dates for the goods that need them. A chemist receiving antibiotics or an agrovet receiving vaccines records the batch and the expiry date on that line; a carton of washing powder needs neither.

Batch tracking is switched on product by product, so only the goods that need it carry batch details, and everything else is received as usual. More on how this fits a chemist's day is on the [pharmacies](https://wavepos.app/industries/pharmacies) page.

## Average cost, updated by every purchase

Each purchase updates the item's average cost: the cost your profit is measured against. It blends what you just paid with what the stock already on the shelf cost you.

Say you have 40 packets of 2 kg sugar at an average cost of KSh 250, and you receive 60 more at KSh 260:

| | Packets | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Already in stock | 40 | KSh 10,000 |
| Received | 60 | KSh 15,600 |
| **New total** | **100** | **KSh 25,600** |

The new average cost is KSh 256 a packet. Sales from then on are costed at KSh 256, so your [profit and loss](https://wavepos.app/features/expenses-and-profit) shows what the sugar really cost you, not last year's price.

## Supplier accounts and payments

Each supplier has an account: every purchase you receive from them and every payment you make. When you pay, by M-Pesa, bank transfer, cheque or cash, you record the payment against the supplier and their balance drops.

So when a supplier's salesman in Mombasa says you owe KSh 184,000, you can open the account and check it line by line before you pay.

## Creditors ageing

The creditors report shows what you owe each supplier and how long it has been owed. Each balance is split into what is not yet due and what is overdue by 1–30, 31–60, 61–90 or over 90 days.

Use it to plan the week's payments: pay what is most overdue first, and keep the suppliers who give you credit happy to keep giving it. It exports to Excel, CSV or PDF like every other report.

## Low stock tells you what to buy

Wave POS shows you what is running low so you know what to order. Give each item a reorder level, and when its stock falls to that level it appears in low stock on the dashboard and in the low stock report, branch by branch.

You then order from your suppliers the way you do now, by phone, WhatsApp or a visit, and enter the delivery as a draft when it arrives. Counting what is on the shelf now and then keeps those levels honest: our guide to [stock takes](https://wavepos.app/guides/how-to-do-a-stock-take) explains how. The rest of your stock control is under [inventory management](https://wavepos.app/features/inventory-management).

## Who can do what

Recording purchases and managing suppliers are separate permissions. You can let a stock clerk receive deliveries without letting them record payments to suppliers, and keep supplier payments with the owner or a manager.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I receive stock into the POS?

Enter a purchase as a draft with the supplier, the items, their quantities and costs, check it against the delivery, then receive it. The goods go into stock at that branch at the cost you entered, each item’s average cost updates, and what you owe the supplier goes up.

### What is creditors ageing?

A list of what you owe each supplier, split by how long it has been owed. In Wave POS the creditors report shows what is not yet due and what is overdue by 1–30, 31–60, 61–90 or over 90 days, so you can pay the most overdue balances first.

### Can I record batch numbers and expiry dates?

Yes, for the goods that need them. When you receive a purchase, enter the batch number and expiry date on each of those lines. Batch tracking is switched on per product, so it suits chemists, agrovets and food shops without slowing down everything else.

### Does Wave POS send purchase orders to suppliers?

No. You place orders with your suppliers the way you do now, by phone, WhatsApp or in person. Wave POS shows you what is running low so you know what to order, and you enter the delivery as a purchase when the goods arrive.

### How is average cost worked out?

Each purchase blends the new cost into the cost of the stock you already have. With 40 packets at KSh 250 and 60 more received at KSh 260, the average becomes KSh 256 a packet. Profit on each sale is measured against the average cost at the time of that sale.

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Source: https://wavepos.app/features/purchasing-and-suppliers
Last updated: 2026-10-11