Procure to pay, step by step
Procure to pay is the chain that runs from someone asking for material to the supplier being paid for it. In IndustryMax the chain is: indent, approval, RFQ, supplier quotations, comparison or reverse auction, purchase order, approval, gate entry, store receiving, goods receipt note (GRN), supplier bill, and payment. Four of those steps are optional and are named as such below. The two facts that matter most: a purchase order is a promise and moves no stock, and the goods arriving and the money becoming owed are separate events that can differ in both date and amount.
The chain
- 1
Indent
A department asks for something. Required to start the standard chain. The form warns if the same item is already sitting on another open, unissued indent, so two people do not ask for the same steel twice.
- 2
Indent approval
Optional, and on by default for most customers. An approver signs, rejects with a reason, or folds a duplicate line onto the request that is going ahead anyway.
- 3
RFQ
Optional. The enquiry goes to several suppliers at once by email and WhatsApp. Each supplier gets their own link; none of them needs an account.
- 4
Supplier quotations
What came back. A supplier can also decline the enquiry outright, which is recorded rather than left as silence.
- 5
Comparison, or a reverse auction
Either the buyer compares the quotations on a landed-rate grid and writes down why they picked who they picked, or the same enquiry is run as a live reverse auction where invited suppliers reduce their price against a clock.
- 6
Purchase order
The commitment to buy, at a price, from one supplier. Moves no stock and creates no liability.
- 7
PO approval
Optional. Where it is on, the rule can require different people at different amounts, and can require all of them or any one of them. An amendment to an approved order goes back through the same rule.
- 8
Gate entry
Optional, and switched on per customer. The security gate logs the vehicle and the material arriving, before the store has looked at it.
- 9
Store receiving (SR)
The storekeeper counts what physically arrived against the order. Counting and inspecting are deliberately two documents — the storekeeper counts, the inspector judges.
- 10
Goods receipt note (GRN)
What was accepted after checking it. This is the step that adds stock. Order 500 kg, 300 turn up, 290 pass inspection and 10 are damaged: the GRN records 290.
- 11
Supplier bill
The supplier's invoice, booked against the order or against the receipt. This is when money becomes owed and when the input GST on the purchase is recorded.
- 12
Payment
What was paid, allocated against particular bills. A payment made before any bill exists is an advance and stays visible as one until a bill claims it.
Which steps are optional
A chain that cannot be shortened does not survive contact with a factory. These four steps can be skipped, and each one is skipped for a reason somebody real has.
| Step | When it is skipped |
|---|---|
| RFQ and comparison | A repeat purchase at a price already agreed, or a rate contract that already fixes the price. |
| Gate entry | Sites without a manned gate. It is a per-customer switch. |
| Purchase order | Material that simply arrives — a Direct GRN receives it with no order behind it, and it is billable once, in full. |
| Approvals | Each document type can be set to need approval or not, independently of the others. |
What each step actually changes
This is the table that answers most questions about the chain, and the one most often got wrong when people describe an ERP.
| Step | Stock | Amount owed to the supplier | Order balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indent | — | — | — |
| Purchase order | — | — | opens it |
| Gate entry | — | — | — |
| Store receiving | — | — | — |
| GRN | adds the accepted quantity | — | reduces it by what was accepted |
| Supplier bill | — | creates it, with the input GST | — |
| Debit note | — | reduces it | — |
| Payment | — | settles it | — |
Stock effects are immediate. Book-keeping effects are opt-in per document type and off until switched on, so a customer can run the operations without IndustryMax writing anything into their accounts.
Material that was refused
Rejected goods never enter stock. What happens next is its own short chain: the refusal is recorded on the goods receipt, the material goes back to the supplier on a non-returnable gate pass, and the value is claimed back with a debit note. A goods receipt that accepted nothing at all is refused rather than recorded as a receipt of zero.
Traceability
- Every document in the chain links to the one before it, so a payment can be walked back to the indent that started it.
- A timeline drawer on every register shows that walk, derived from the documents rather than from a separate log that could disagree with them.
- Approvals record who signed, when, and on which version of the document — a signature expires if the document is edited under it.
- An amendment to an approved order keeps a ledger of what changed.
- Where the customer's books are in Tally, each document carries the reference numbers that tie it to the matching Tally voucher.
Questions
Can IndustryMax manage procure-to-pay end to end?
Yes. Indent, approval, RFQ, quotation, comparison or reverse auction, purchase order, gate entry, store receiving, GRN, supplier bill and payment are all documents in the product, and each links to the one before it.
What is the difference between a purchase order and a GRN?
A purchase order is a promise to buy and moves no stock. A GRN records what was actually accepted after the goods were checked, and it is the step that adds stock. They routinely differ: you can order 500 kg, receive 300 and accept 290.
What is the difference between a GRN and a supplier bill?
The GRN says goods came in. The bill says money is owed. They are separate events that can be days apart and for different amounts, which is why they are separate documents rather than one.
Do we have to raise a purchase order for everything?
No. A Direct GRN receives material that arrives with no order behind it, and that receipt can be billed once, in full.
What happens to material we refuse?
It never enters stock. The refusal is recorded on the goods receipt, the material leaves on a non-returnable gate pass, and the value is claimed back from the supplier with a debit note.
Related
- ProcurementIndustryMax runs the whole buying chain for Indian factories — indent, approval, RFQ, supplier quotations, comparison, reverse auction, purchase order, goods receipt, supplier bill and payment — in one system, with every approval recorded.
- Inventory & StoresLive stock by location, a full movement ledger, issues and gate passes, transfers, adjustments, physical stock take and ten inventory valuation methods — the stores half of IndustryMax, built for multi-location Indian factories.
- Approvals & PermissionsWho may raise a document, who must sign it, and at what value a second signature starts being required — multi-level approvals, 153 role permissions, delegation and an audit trail in IndustryMax.
- AccountingChart of accounts, posting rules, opening balances, journal and contra vouchers, trial balance, general ledger, profit & loss, balance sheet and cash flow in IndustryMax — with automatic posting from operational documents that is off until you switch it on.
See it against your own documents
A demo runs on real screens with real documents, not slides. Bring one of your own purchase orders and we will walk it through.
Book a 20-minute demoLast reviewed 2026-09-12. Everything on this page describes what IndustryMax does today. Tell us if you find something that has moved on.
