Accounts payable in food distribution

By Nicolau Matarrodona, founder · Published 3 May 2026 · Updated 24 October 2026

In food distribution, a supplier invoice almost never matches the purchase order to the cent: the product is weighed when it is shipped, ordered in boxes and invoiced in kilos, arrives with shrinkage and is offset months later with volume rebates and credit notes. Accounts payable needs to tell the acceptable difference (the real weight within what was agreed) from the one that is not (kilos invoiced that never arrived), and to link each credit note to what it corrects.

What makes food invoices different

Feature	Example	What needs checking
Variable weight	500 kg of cheese are ordered and 486.2 kg are shipped	That what was weighed and received is invoiced, not what was ordered
Different units	Purchase order in boxes, delivery note in units, invoice in kilos	That there is a demonstrable equivalence between the units before comparing
Shrinkage	Product damaged or past its date on receipt	That what was rejected at the dock does not appear on the invoice, or that its credit note arrives
Volume rebates	Annual volume discount paid with a credit note at the end of the period	That the credit note arrives and is applied, and that its amount reflects what was agreed
Many deliveries	Restocking several times a week against the same purchase order	That each invoice charges only deliveries received and not invoiced before
Freight	Transport charge on the invoice	That it is an agreed charge and is not mixed into the product price

Example in euros: invoiced weight that never arrived (synthetic data)

Example built for this guide with round figures; it does not correspond to any real company.

A distributor orders 500 kg of cured cheese at EUR 8.40/kg before tax. The delivery note signed at the dock records 486.2 kg. The invoice charges 500 kg at EUR 8.40/kg.

Check	Calculation	Result
Invoiced amount of the line	500 kg × EUR 8.40	EUR 4,200.00
Amount of what was received	486.2 kg × EUR 8.40	EUR 4,084.08
Difference	13.8 kg × EUR 8.40	EUR 115.92
Default tolerance (EUR 1.50 or 2% of the line)	2% of EUR 4,200 = EUR 84.00	Exceeded: the line is held

Compared with the purchase order, the invoice is perfect. Compared with the delivery note, it charges 13.8 kg that never arrived. On a single line that is EUR 115.92; repeated on every delivery from a supplier that ships three times a week, it is an amount nobody sees if the check is made against the purchase order.

Variable weight: the organisation's tolerance and the purchase order's tolerance

The real weight never matches the purchase order exactly, and holding every line over a few grams only creates work. There are two reasonable ways to set which difference is accepted: a general tolerance per line, in euros and as a percentage, and the tolerance that the purchase order itself agrees with the supplier (for example, “±7% on theoretical weight”). The second is more precise, because it is the one the supplier accepted.

Shrinkage: on the delivery note or in a credit note

Shrinkage detected on receipt has to be recorded on the delivery note (what is rejected is not received) or come back as a credit note from the supplier. If the warehouse signs the delivery note as complete and the shrinkage is only mentioned on the phone, the invoice will match the delivery note and the shrinkage will be paid for. Accounts payable control therefore starts at the dock: what is not on the delivery note does not exist for the match.

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Volume rebates and credit notes

A volume rebate is usually settled with a credit note at the end of the agreed period: for example, 1.5% on EUR 240,000 of annual purchases would be EUR 3,600 (synthetic figures). That credit note does not correct any specific invoice, so it cannot be linked to a line: it is a balance in your favour that has to be applied to the supplier's account and checked against the contract. Credit notes for returns or price errors do correct a specific invoice and should quote its number.

What ininvoice does with these invoices

Weight in the same unit (kg against kg). It applies the organisation's tolerance (by default it holds the line that exceeds EUR 1.50 or 2%). If the purchase order prints its own quantity tolerance, it reads it and applies it when the unit price matches the purchase order price.
Different units. It converts equivalences that can be demonstrated (dozens, grams and kilos, boxes whose content is shown on the line). If there is no demonstrable equivalence, it does not assume one: the line is left for review.
Several deliveries. Several delivery notes can cover the same purchase order line (18 + 12 units complete an order of 30), and each invoice consumes quantities from the purchase order.
Credit notes. A credit note is linked to its original invoice only by the invoice number it quotes and the same supplier tax ID (NIF), never by amount. A rebate credit note that quotes no invoice is left as a pending credit for a person to apply.
Freight. It is treated as a separate charge, with a warning, without being mixed into the product price.

Limits today: ininvoice does not calculate the rebate due under the contract and has no specific treatment for shrinkage: shrinkage is only reflected if it is on the delivery note or its credit note arrives. It reads invoices as PDF, image, scan or photo; direct reading of structured e-invoices is in development.

E-invoicing 2027 in distribution

According to the Spanish Tax Agency calendar, a distributor with a volume of operations above EUR 8 million will receive structured e-invoices from 6 October 2027, and Royal Decree 238/2026 (article 10) requires it to report to the supplier the rejection and the full payment of each invoice within four days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or national public holidays. With suppliers who invoice several times a week, the match against the delivery note has to be done before the decision to reject is due. The details are in the e-invoicing guide for the recipient.

Frequently asked questions

How are variable-weight invoices reconciled?

By comparing the kilos invoiced with the kilos on the delivery note, not with those on the purchase order, and accepting the difference within a tolerance: the organisation's general one or the one the purchase order itself agrees with the supplier.

What do I do if the purchase order is in boxes and the invoice in kilos?

They can only be compared if there is a demonstrable equivalence between the two units, for example the weight per box shown on the line. Without it, the line has to be reviewed by a person.

How are supplier volume rebates controlled?

The rebate credit note does not correct a specific invoice: it is a balance in your favour that is applied to the supplier's account and checked against what was agreed in the purchasing contract.

And shrinkage?

Shrinkage has to be recorded on the goods receipt delivery note or come back as a credit note from the supplier. If the delivery note is signed as complete, the invoice will match it and the shrinkage will be paid for.