Accepted quantity: how to receive a Metrc transfer tag by tag, reject what's wrong, and make the invoice follow
5 min read
By BudAlly
Published
Count at the door, record what you count, reject what doesn't match, and never let a bill be paid for a quantity you didn't accept. Everything below is the detail behind those four rules.
Search data tells us a lot of operators look up "accepted quantity" and "approved quantity". It is a small field with a large effect: it is the moment a supplier's number becomes your number, in the state system, in your POS and in your books. Get it wrong and every later reconciliation inherits the error.
The receive screen, as it actually works
When an incoming transfer arrives, the Receive button in Metrc does not accept anything by itself. It opens the receive window, where for each package you see the shipped quantity, a receive-quantity field pre-filled with the same number, and a Reject checkbox with a reason list. From there you can accept the transfer as shipped, change a package's received quantity, reject individual packages, or reject the whole transfer. Packages you do not reject are received when you click Receive Transfer; rejected packages stay with the sender.
Two properties of that screen matter more than any other:
- The pre-filled number is the sender's, not yours. Clicking through accepts their count.
- Acceptance is final. Metrc's bulletins say there is no way to reject a package once it has been accepted. Mistakes after that point become adjustments or return transfers.
Reject or adjust? It depends on the state
Metrc publishes state-specific guidance, and the guidance is not the same everywhere.
| Situation | Minnesota / Colorado / Illinois guidance | New York guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Package lighter or fewer units than the manifest | Do not receive with a different quantity; reject the package so it can be corrected and reshipped | You may accept within the variance allowance and confirm the variance in the receive window |
| Package heavier or more units than the manifest | Reject and return for correction | Accept, then repackage the excess under a new tag and transfer it back |
| Wrong test data or package details | Reject the affected packages | Reject or follow the bulletin's return process |
| Large variance | Reject | Metrc will not accept a package above the allowed variance |
New York's process is worth reading in full because it is the most specific: the bulletin describes a confirmation step for shipped-versus-received differences within the allowance, and a separate route for overages that requires a new package tag and a new transfer back to the origin. Elsewhere, Metrc's default advice is simpler: if the count does not match, reject it.
If your state is not listed here, find its Metrc transfer bulletin before your next delivery and write its rule on the receiving SOP.
A receiving SOP that holds up
Before the van arrives
- Open the incoming manifest and print or load the package list: tag, item, quantity, unit of measure.
- Have the purchase order beside it. A tag that is on the manifest but not on your order is a question to ask before anything is unloaded.
At the door, package by package
- Scan the tag. Confirm it is on the manifest. A tag that isn't is held, not received against a different line.
- Count or weigh. Units for packaged goods; weight on a calibrated scale for bulk.
- Check the item and unit of measure. Grams versus each is the most common source of later "unit of measure" discrepancies.
- Check the test result is attached and matches the item.
- Record the accepted quantity you counted, with a photo of anything damaged or short.
In Metrc
- Enter the received quantity you recorded, or tick Reject with the right reason where your state's rule says reject.
- Assign the location or room for each accepted package.
- Click Receive Transfer only when every line has been checked.
After Metrc
- Sync the POS and confirm each accepted tag appears with the accepted quantity.
- Send the supplier the variance list the same day.
Make the invoice follow the accepted quantity
This is the part most stores skip, and it is where receiving errors turn into cash errors.
- Invoice quantity must equal accepted quantity, line by line, by tag.
- Where it doesn't, the bill waits for a corrected invoice or a credit memo for the difference.
- A three-way match (purchase order, receiving record, invoice) before payment catches the gap while the supplier can still fix it.
- Landed cost per unit is calculated on the accepted quantity. If you bill 30 units of cost into 28 units of stock, every margin report for that product is wrong until it sells through.
The errors we see most
| Error | Effect | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Clicking Receive Transfer with the pre-filled numbers | Sender's count becomes yours; shortages surface weeks later as "unexplained" variance | Count first, then open the receive window |
| Accepting a short package and adjusting later where the state says reject | An adjustment with a reason an inspector will question | Follow the state bulletin; reject and request a reship |
| Receiving against the wrong tag to "make the numbers work" | Two packages wrong instead of one | Hold the line; ask for a corrected manifest or invoice |
| Paying the invoice as billed | Cost of goods overstated; supplier owes you money no one is tracking | Three-way match before payment |
| UoM mismatch (each vs grams) | Recurring daily discrepancies after the first sale | Fix the item definition before the first sale |
These map to the "receiving short", "tag mismatch" and "unit of measure" classes in our Metrc discrepancies playbook, and they are why the daily steps in Metrc reconciliation start at the back door.
How BudAlly fits
BudAlly's manifests and receiving runs the door count on a phone: scan the tag, count, record the accepted quantity. A short or damaged line drafts a credit memo; a tag that is not on the manifest holds the invoice line. Metrc's API does not receive transfers for you, so BudAlly prepares the accepted list and hands the person receiving a task with the Metrc screen linked, then reads back what Metrc recorded. The invoice is matched three ways against it before the bill is approved, and nothing is paid automatically.
Sources
- Metrc — Minnesota Industry Bulletin 0068: Transfers best practices · Jul 2026
- Metrc — Colorado bulletin: voided transfers, rejected transfers and return manifests · Aug 9, 2024
- Metrc — Illinois Industry Bulletin 0003: Transfers best practices · May 2025
- Metrc — New York Industry Bulletin 0010: Transfer variance · Mar 2026
- New York OCM — Seed-to-sale bulletin 18 (transfer variances) · Apr 2026
- Distru — Receiving inventory via incoming transfers in Metrc · 2026