Salon delivery discrepancies: record missing, damaged and incorrect items accurately
- 14 min reading time
Separate received, present and usable stock. Follow a practical receiving check with a fictional quantity example and a clear follow-up process.
Prohaar Magazine editorial team · Checked on 21 October 2026.
When a salon delivery does not match the order, count what actually arrived before putting it into everyday stock. Compare the order, packing slip and your own count for each exact variant. Record missing units, damaged units and incorrect items separately. Release only checked, usable goods for treatments or sale, and give one person responsibility for completing the record.
The essential distinction is between physically present and usable. A damaged bottle may be inside the parcel; a missing bottle is not there at all. Both affect what you can use today, but they need different records. Writing down only the difference between the ordered quantity and the usable quantity loses that information.
This guide follows one delivery discrepancy from discovery to closure. All numbers in the examples are explicitly fictional; they are not Prohaar delivery records or reports of actual incidents. You can apply the principles using a simple shared list or your existing stock records. Check the procedure and supplier arrangements that apply to the particular order.
1. Keep the delivery together while you check it
Check an incoming delivery before its contents are distributed among cupboards and treatment stations. This keeps the goods, packaging and documents connected to the same receipt. Choose a suitable place where the delivery remains identifiable without obstructing normal work. One person counts; another can independently check a discrepancy. That is different from two people each adding the same delivery to stock.
Record the date, order reference and parcels received. Check whether the available delivery information shows more than one shipment. An order for twelve items may be split across two parcels. If a second parcel is confirmed as still on its way, describe the receipt as incomplete for now. Do not assume an item was forgotten before checking that information.
Keep incoming goods distinguishable from existing stock during the check. If a colleague needs to take an item to a workstation, make that movement visible in the count. Otherwise, a correctly received unit may appear to be missing later. A short record of the item, quantity and destination is more useful than trying to remember who took something while the box was open.
Inspect the outer packaging without treating it as conclusive evidence of the condition inside. A dented carton and a damaged product are separate observations. Describe what you see and preserve relevant evidence. Handle leaking or apparently unsafe items according to their applicable safety instructions; do not open, test or decant them just to take a photograph.
2. Count the same item in the same unit
A delivery check only makes sense when the unit of counting is clear. A shipping carton, a retail pack and one individual piece can represent three different quantities. Put the unit beside each number. “Four received” is ambiguous if the order lists four packs and the person counting means four individual pieces.
Use the item reference together with colour, size and pack contents. A brand name or familiar-looking package is not enough. Two glove sizes or two bottle sizes can have very similar packaging. Compare the received item code with the ordered variant. If the code cannot be read, or the name differs unexpectedly, leave that line awaiting identification rather than inventing a match.
For a fictional example, suppose you expect three packs containing twenty pieces each. Seeing three unopened packs establishes the observed pack count; sixty pieces is the stated combined content. Do not record that sixty individual pieces were physically counted when you only checked three packs. The distinction matters if a pack later turns out to be incomplete.
Do not break seals or open hygienically packaged items merely to carry out an arbitrary spot check. Follow the applicable receiving procedure and product instructions. State what was actually checked: number of packs, correct reference, visible condition and labelled contents. Leave an unperformed check unconfirmed.
When planning a future order, you can compare current pack information in the salon consumables collection. For an order you are receiving now, use its own order records as the reference. A subsequently updated product page does not rewrite what was originally ordered.
3. Separate shortages, damage and incorrect variants
Record what you physically found for each type of discrepancy. A missing unit is absent. A damaged unit is present but has not been released for use. An incorrect item is a different variant from the one expected. Do not quietly receive it under the ordered item code, even if the price or packaging looks similar.
Consider this entirely fictional delivery: twelve identical packaged items were ordered, and the packing slip also states twelve. You find ten undamaged items and one damaged item. A recount does not locate the twelfth. The result is eleven units physically present, ten usable after checking, one damaged and one missing. The gap between ordered and usable is two; the physical shortage is one.
| Record | Fictional quantity | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Ordered | 12 | Expected according to the order |
| On the packing slip | 12 | Quantity stated by the document |
| Physically found | 11 | 10 undamaged + 1 damaged |
| Usable after checking | 10 | Can be released for the intended use |
| Damaged and held separately | 1 | Present but not yet usable |
| Missing after recounting | 1 | Not found in this receipt |
Do not add every row in this table together. Several rows describe the same goods from different perspectives. The eleven present already include the ten usable items and the one damaged item. The order for twelve is an expectation, not an extra quantity physically on the shelf.
In a separate example, imagine ordering six black items but receiving five black and one white. The total physical count is six. Nevertheless, one ordered black item is missing and one white variant needs clarification. Record both lines. A single “six received” entry hides the variant error.
4. Make the discrepancy understandable to someone else
A useful receiving note contains the order reference, date, exact item code, counting unit, ordered quantity, documented quantity and actual count. Add the condition, the location of goods held aside and the checker’s name or role according to your working arrangements. State whether a second count was completed and whether any other parcels are still expected.
Take photographs that explain the specific issue: an overview of the relevant received items, a readable product reference and the damage in question. Attach them to the same record. Keep clients, appointment lists and unrelated personal information out of the photographs. Retain relevant original packaging and documents while they are needed for assessment and can be stored safely.
Keep the supplier message factual. A fictional example would be: “Order EXAMPLE-01 lists twelve units of item A. The packing slip also states twelve. Following a recount, we have ten undamaged units and one damaged unit; one unit has not been found. We have kept the damaged item aside. The count, product reference and photographs are attached. Please confirm the agreed next steps for the missing unit and the damaged unit.”
This requests a practical response without inventing a cause or an outcome. “Two units are missing” would be inaccurate in this example. “The carrier broke it” goes beyond observation unless that has actually been established. Keep what you observed, what remains uncertain and what you are asking for separate.
For a Prohaar order, use Prohaar’s contact page for order enquiries together with the information supplied for that order. This article does not create a universal claim deadline, automatic refund or guaranteed replacement. Check the applicable terms and the specific instructions for the situation.
5. Distinguish received, present, usable and still expected
Combining every quantity into one “stock” field does not improve the record. Keep four questions separate: how much has been received against this order, how much is physically at the location, how much is usable after checking, and how much is still expected? A damaged item may belong in the first two counts while remaining excluded from usable stock.
Return to the fictional delivery of ten good items and one damaged item. Suppose five good units were already on the shelf and nothing was used or sold during the check. There are now sixteen physical units: five existing plus eleven newly received. Fifteen are usable; one damaged unit is held separately. The missing twelfth unit remains an issue to resolve.
If your records automatically add all twelve ordered units to the five existing units, they show seventeen. That does not match the observation. The appropriate correction depends on the meaning of the field. Sixteen is the physical total; fifteen is the usable total. You cannot say “subtract two everywhere” without knowing which quantity each field represents.
Have someone familiar with your records identify where the error entered: the original receipt, the variant mapping, a stock movement or a separate availability status. Correcting the original receipt and then making a second general stock adjustment can process the same shortage twice. Check the previous action and the intended final result before changing anything.
The general explanation of inventory errors at receiving and variant mismatches supports the distinction between counting and recording accurately. Your own records may use different names and options. This guide does not assume a particular app, an automatic connection or a separate Prohaar warehouse.
6. Give one person ownership of the correction and follow-up
Assign the discrepancy one recognisable reference and one responsible person. That person gathers the count, retains the supplier’s response and checks whether the administrative action has already been completed. Colleagues can add information without starting the same correction again from a separate email or verbal message.
Before changing a quantity, note its current value and what it represents. Then record the action taken, the reason, the person responsible and the result. Link it to the existing discrepancy. Do not erase the original observation to make the record look tidier. A later reader should understand why the order said twelve, the physical receipt was eleven and only ten were initially usable.
A short check after the action is more useful than relying on a success indicator: does the usable quantity match the checked goods, is the damaged item still identifiable, and is the missing unit being counted neither as received nor twice as incoming? Also check that several treatment stations have not each applied a correction for the same central receipt.
Some stock systems support controls against duplicate records, as illustrated in the documentation on counting and correcting inventory. Do not assume your own process has those safeguards. Even with a shared list, it must be clear who completes the final entry.
If the missing unit arrives later, record that new receipt against the same original order and check the item again. In our fictional example, the usable quantity rises from fifteen to sixteen, provided no other stock movements have occurred. The damaged unit does not become usable because a missing item has arrived; it remains a separate part of the case.
7. Close the incident before treating it as a purchasing problem
A receiving discrepancy is resolved when the physical goods, relevant records and agreed next steps align. A reply from the supplier is not always the endpoint. A promised replacement may still be on its way, an agreed return may still need to happen, or a correction may still need checking.
Keep a brief follow-up line: what remains open, who will act and when the status will next be reviewed? Use an actually agreed date or your own internal review point. Do not describe it as a universal legal deadline. Keep evidence of any subsequent receipt or return with the same case.
If a shortage affects planned treatments, assess the available, suitable supplies through your normal salon procedure. A similar product or an incorrect variant is not automatically an appropriate substitute. Do not alter a product-use protocol to hide a stock discrepancy. Establish what is actually usable, then make a workable plan.
Calculating the next purchase is a separate task. The guide to reorder points based on usage and replenishment time covers that decision. For periodic reconciliation of counts and open orders, continue with closing the monthly stock record. Resolve the specific receipt discrepancy first; a larger purchasing buffer does not repair an incorrect receiving entry.
8. Questions about salon delivery discrepancies
Does the packing slip prove how many units I received?
It states the quantity according to the document. Your own check establishes what you found. Compare both using the same item reference and counting unit, and keep any difference visible.
Are two unusable items the same as two missing items?
No. One damaged item that is present and one missing item mean two units cannot be used, but the physical shortage is only one. Record the condition and missing quantity separately.
Can I count a different colour under the ordered item code?
Not as though the ordered variant arrived. Record the actual variant and keep acceptance or follow-up unresolved until it is clarified. Otherwise, a shortage of the correct item disappears inside a combined total.
Should damaged stock disappear from every record?
No. An item can remain physically present while being unavailable for use or sale. Keep its quantity, location and status traceable until the agreed next step has been carried out.
What if someone has already booked in the full order?
Check the original entry and the meaning of the stock fields. Let one responsible person perform the appropriate correction and compare the result with the count. Do not automatically add another adjustment for the same discrepancy.
How do I avoid counting a later delivery twice?
Connect it to the original order and outstanding quantity. Check what has already been recorded as received, count the new goods and enter one actual receipt. Then close the relevant outstanding line in your records.
9. Use a short receiving sequence everyone understands
Follow this sequence: identify the order, count the exact variant in the correct unit, separate usable and disputed goods, document the discrepancy, agree the next step, and verify one completed record. The next colleague can then see what happened without reconstructing it from scattered messages.
For your next delivery, ask one practical question: “Can another person tell from this note what was ordered, received, usable and still outstanding?” If they can, you have a sound starting point for salon planning and a clear conversation about the order.