It is Thursday afternoon and you are out of something you need for tomorrow. You phone the supplier, they say it will arrive in the morning, and you hang up without writing a thing down.
A week later a bill lands. You are not sure what you ordered, what it was meant to cost or whether everything showed up. You pay it anyway, because digging through texts and memory is the last thing you want to do.
Free: the course Order From Suppliers Without the Paperwork Mess. Short lessons that take you from a supplier request to a delivery check and a matched bill. Start the course
What phoning in orders costs you
You pay the price you remember instead of the price you were quoted, you accept short deliveries because you cannot prove them, and a bill that slips past its due date strains the relationship with a supplier you rely on. None of it arrives as one big loss. It leaks out a little at a time.
Why supplier orders go unrecorded
Three ordinary causes. Orders happen in a rush, mid-job, when writing things down feels like a delay. The order itself lives in a text message or in someone’s memory. And the bill arrives by a different route than the order, so nothing ties the two together.
The process: 4 steps from a phone call to a paid bill
1. Write down the order
Before you place it, put the item, the quantity, the agreed price and the date you need it on one list, then send it to the supplier.
Example: “Twelve boxes of 2-inch fasteners, quoted price per box, needed by Friday morning.”
Pro tip: Keep one list for every supplier so you can see all your open orders at a glance.
2. Ask two suppliers for the same list
Send the identical list to two suppliers and compare the total price, the delivery date and the payment terms side by side, not just the price of one item.
Example: “Supplier A costs less per box but delivers Monday. Supplier B costs a little more and delivers tomorrow. Which one keeps the job moving?”
Pro tip: Keep the quote you did not choose. It is your price check the next time you order.
Free: the course Order From Suppliers Without the Paperwork Mess. Short lessons that take you from a supplier request to a delivery check and a matched bill. Start the course
3. Check the delivery against the order
When the goods arrive, tick off each line against your written order before you sign for anything.
Example: “Ordered twelve, received ten. Write “10 received, 2 to follow” on the slip and tell the supplier the same day.”
Pro tip: Take a quick photo of the packing slip so you have proof of what actually arrived.
4. Match the bill, then pay it on its due date
Compare the supplier’s bill with your order and your delivery check. When all three agree, note the due date and pay on it.
Example: “The bill says twelve boxes and you received ten. Ask for a corrected bill before you pay.”
Pro tip: Choose one day a week to pay supplier bills so due dates never catch you off guard.
Where this runs
The process works on paper or a spreadsheet: one row per order, with columns for the supplier, the price, the date needed, what arrived, the bill and its due date. When volume grows, we run it in the business system we set up for clients (Odoo Community), which has requests for quotation, purchase orders, receipts and vendor bills built in. The process is the point. The tool just keeps it going when you are busy.
Your next step
This week, take your next supplier order and write it down before you place it: item, quantity, price and the date you need it. When the bill arrives, check it against that note. The free course walks through the same four steps.
Free: the course Order From Suppliers Without the Paperwork Mess. Short lessons that take you from a supplier request to a delivery check and a matched bill. Start the course