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GRNI Investigation Guide
Free GetTheDocs finance resource. Goods Received Not Invoiced (GRNI) usually represents the accrued value of accepted goods or services for which the related invoice has not yet been fully matched. The exact accounting treatment depends on your policies and circumstances.
Build the population
- Export open receipt and matching data as of the reporting cutoff.
- Keep purchase-order references, receipt dates, supplier identifiers, quantities, rates, currency and matching invoices.
- Reconcile the extracted total to the GRNI general-ledger account, documenting exclusions and manual journals.
Analyse exposure
- Calculate the signed receipt value less the matched invoice value using consistent currency and tax bases.
- Analyse ages by receipt date, using a documented reporting as-at date.
- Separate old unmatched positive balances from negative differences, which may indicate over-invoicing or timing/coding mismatches.
- Investigate changes involving credit notes, returned goods, cancelled purchase orders and reversals.
Resolve responsibly
- Confirm whether the goods were accepted and the invoice was received, posted or incorrectly matched.
- Request supporting evidence from procurement, the receiving team and AP.
- Document the reason for each unmatched amount, assigned owner and next action.
- Propose adjustments only with required accounting authorization; maintain an audit trail.
Management controls
Report reconciled balance, aged exposure, negative exceptions, unassigned items and unresolved material differences. A blank invoice field, missing exchange rate or invalid receipt date must trigger an explicit data-quality warning rather than silently disappearing from totals.
GRNI calculation: two worked examples
Fictional educational examples, not workbook results. Use a consistent currency, valuation basis and reporting cutoff. These simplified examples exclude tax and foreign-exchange differences.
Example 1: a receipt is only partly invoiced
A receipt records 100 units at USD 20 each: USD 2,000. Matched invoices total USD 1,600. The signed unmatched amount is 2,000 − 1,600 = USD 400.
Check the receipt, purchase order and invoice matching before deciding what the USD 400 represents. It may be a remaining invoice, a matching issue or a supported change to the receipt. Age the item using the documented receipt date and reporting date, and assign the next action.
Example 2: invoices exceed the recorded receipt
A recorded receipt is USD 500 and matched invoices total USD 650. The difference is 500 − 650 = negative USD 150. Investigate receipt completeness, matching, pricing, returns and cutoff. A negative amount is not automatically proven supplier overbilling or a recoverable loss.
Can old GRNI balances be cleared automatically?
No. Age alone does not establish that a liability can be released. Retain the source evidence and obtain the accounting review and approval required by your organisation before proposing an adjustment.
Use the AP month-end checklist to connect this investigation to close evidence. Use the supplier statement reconciliation guide when comparing supplier statements with AP.
Put this review into practice
For an Excel workflow that supports this review, explore the relevant GetTheDocs system and its requirements. Choose the workbook only if its inputs and review steps fit your team. Browse all free finance resources.