Catch-weight order reconciliation worksheet

Catch weight becomes difficult when one number is expected to do several jobs. An order target can guide availability and picking, but the net weight actually supplied may drive the final value. Pack count, delivered quantity and the figure shown on an invoice can each be valid records while still disagreeing for a reason.

The control is not to force every number to match. It is to name each quantity, show where it came from and make every difference explainable before the commercial record is issued.

Define the quantities

Six records that should not be collapsed into one field.

Start by agreeing the unit and purpose of each number. A carton count is not a net weight, and an operational target is not automatically the invoiced quantity.

Order requirement

The customer's requested unit and quantity, including whether the figure is exact, approximate or a target for production and picking.

Pack count

The number of cartons, trays or pieces prepared. Keep count separate from kilograms unless a controlled conversion rule genuinely applies.

Gross, tare and net

The measured gross weight, the packaging or container tare used, and the resulting net goods weight. Record which values were measured or configured.

Fulfilled quantity

The quantity the warehouse or production process completed against the order, linked to the relevant stock lot and weighing evidence.

Delivered outcome

What the customer received and accepted, including shortages, rejected goods, returns or other exceptions that need a separate decision.

Commercial quantity

The quantity and unit used to calculate the final line value, alongside the agreed rate, tax treatment and any later credit or adjustment.

Reusable worksheet

Follow one line through eight checkpoints.

Use one row set per order line. Add the actual evidence reference, mark the result complete, review required or not tested, and give every unresolved difference one owner.

Swipe the worksheet sideways to see every column.

Checkpoint	Value to record	Evidence reference	Result / owner
1. Order basis	Requested quantity, unit and whether it is exact or approximate	Customer order or confirmed sales order	__________
2. Price basis	Agreed rate, currency, unit and effective price source	Customer price agreement or approved override	__________
3. Lot and pack	Allocated lot, pack count and product identity	Allocation, pick or production record	__________
4. Weight capture	Gross, tare and net weight with scale, operator and time	Weigh event, device record or controlled manual entry	__________
5. Variance review	Difference from target and the business rule applied	Tolerance result, note and named decision owner	__________
6. Fulfilment	Quantity completed and any shortage or substitution	Pick, pack or completion evidence	__________
7. Delivery	Quantity delivered and accepted, plus any exception	Dispatch record, POD or exception record	__________
8. Invoice	Invoiced quantity, rate, line value and adjustment references	Issued invoice record and any credit or replacement version	__________

Worked example

Show the route from estimate to final value.

A fictional customer requests approximately 80 kg at £14.00 per kg. Ten prepared cartons weigh 85.2 kg gross. The recorded tare is 2.8 kg, giving 82.4 kg net. The business has a 5% operational review threshold for this line.

This threshold is a synthetic internal review rule. It is not a statutory tolerable negative error, a universal industry rule or customer data.

Target: 80.0 kg
Gross weight: 85.2 kg
Tare: 2.8 kg
Net actual: 82.4 kg
Variance from target: +2.4 kg / +3.0%
Agreed rate: £14.00 per kg
Estimated value: 80.0 × £14.00 = £1,120.00
Final line value: 82.4 × £14.00 = £1,153.60
Difference: +£33.60

The calculation reconciles only if 82.4 kg is the approved net commercial quantity, the delivered outcome supports it and the invoice uses the same £/kg price basis. A matching multiplication does not resolve a wrong tare, wrong lot or missing delivery exception.

Delivery exception drill

One carton comes back. What changes, and what stays recorded?

Continue the fictional example above. The customer accepts nine cartons and rejects one. Its original weighing record identifies that carton as 8.3 kg net, leaving 74.1 kg accepted. Do not divide the total weight by ten: variable-weight cartons need their own evidence. If that evidence is missing or disputed, record the gap and obtain an authorised quantity decision before settling the line.

Swipe the delivery evidence table sideways to see every column.

Event	Count / net weight	Evidence to keep
Original dispatch	10 cartons / 82.4 kg	Original order line, lot allocation and weighing references; keep this record intact.
Customer accepts	9 cartons / 74.1 kg	Delivery outcome and accepted quantities linked to that original line.
Customer rejects	1 carton / 8.3 kg	Rejected carton or allocation identity, reason, time and delivery evidence.
Return received	The same 1 carton / 8.3 kg	Receipt, condition, location and held status; keep any later reweigh and discrepancy separately.

At delivery, 82.4 = 74.1 + 8.3 kg. The return receipt is a later event for the rejected 8.3 kg, not another quantity to add to that balance. Until receipt is evidenced, keep its location or custody unresolved rather than assuming the goods are back in stock.

If no invoice has been issued

Where the agreed commercial basis is accepted net weight, the reviewed line is 74.1 × £14.00 = £1,037.40. Preserve the original 82.4 kg dispatch and explain the 8.3 kg difference.

If £1,153.60 was already invoiced

For an agreed reduction of 8.3 kg at the original £14.00/kg, the goods-value credit is £116.20. Keep the issued invoice and link the approved adjustment to its original line: £1,153.60 − £116.20 = £1,037.40.

These are alternative routes to the same goods value. Do not both reduce the invoice to £1,037.40 and deduct another £116.20 for the same rejection. Figures exclude VAT, discounts, rebates and other charges. Finance must check the actual issued amounts, previous adjustments, rounding and tax treatment. HMRC sets separate conditions for VAT credit notes and replacement goods in VAT Notice 700, section 18.

Close three questions separately

Where are the goods? Record the return and hold it under your food safety procedure while the responsible person assesses condition, temperature history, identity and disposition. A credit does not make returned food safe to sell or authorise its release.
What is still owed? Agree replacement or cancellation with the customer. Replacing the rejected 8.3 kg and supplying the 5.9 kg gap to the original 80 kg target are different instructions. Record the agreed quantity and link any separate replacement delivery; a new order number alone is not proof of fulfilment.
Has Finance settled it once? Keep the invoice or credit reference, approval and accounting acknowledgement. If a save or export times out, check the saved record before retrying so the adjustment is not issued twice.

Rehearse with copies or test records. Leave one return receipt missing and record which question remains open, its owner and the evidence needed to close it. Retest after correction. This is a vendor-neutral operating check, not a claim that Larder automates every return, credit or replacement workflow.

Do not merge the rules

Three tolerances can answer three different questions.

Operational tolerance

A business rule for when a target-versus-actual difference needs a note, supervisor review or another action. Define the owner and boundary behaviour explicitly.

Commercial tolerance

What the customer agreement allows for approximate quantities, substitutions, shortages, over-supply, pricing or approval. Keep the agreed term with the order.

Legal quantity control

The statutory requirements that apply to the product, package and transaction. Do not reuse an ERP tolerance as a legal packing tolerance without qualified confirmation.

Exception review

Preserve the original evidence when the line changes.

A reweigh should retain the earlier reading, the reason, the person or device involved and the approved replacement value.
A changed tare needs its own source and authority; do not make the net figure balance by editing tare without evidence.
A manual entry should be identifiable as manual and carry the reason permitted by the operating procedure.
A shortage, rejection or return should remain visible as an operational event rather than being hidden by overwriting the packed quantity.
A later credit or invoice version should refer back to the issued record and the event that justified the adjustment.
A passing weight calculation does not approve the lot, label, device, delivery or tax treatment; each keeps its own acceptance evidence.

What this says about software

A system should keep the order target, actual net weight, price basis, lot context and resulting value explainable without losing the weighing source or later exception. Larder can retain target and actual weights, per-kilogram pricing, tolerance status, lot context and weighing provenance in configured workflows.

The physical device, tare method, calibration responsibility, label output, tax treatment, approval and finance hand-off still have to be agreed and validated for the operation. Larder does not claim that every scale connects automatically or that the worksheet makes a transaction compliant.

See Larder catch-weight boundaries Use the wider parallel-run plan

Primary sources used

Sources checked 19 October 2026. The official guidance says metric units are required for most relevant transactions in Great Britain, trade weighing equipment must be fit for use, and rules for packaged goods depend on their scope and packing system. The Weights and Measures Act also addresses written quantity statements and short weight. Apply the exact rule for the product, pack, jurisdiction and transaction; this worksheet does not replace that assessment.

HMRC guidance covers credit-note evidence and the treatment of replacement goods. Food safety and traceability remain the food business's responsibility. The worked arithmetic and three closure questions are Larder's practical exercise, not a statutory form or a substitute for food safety or tax advice.

Reconcile a catch-weight order from target to invoice.