Business document
Packing Slip / Delivery Note
The document that travels with the goods and states what is in the consignment. It carries no prices, and the signature it collects is what settles a payment dispute months later.
Also called: Delivery note · Despatch note · Advice note · Goods received note (on arrival) · Packing list
- Who sends it
- The supplier's despatch function, raised at the point of picking and packing rather than from the order.
- Who receives it
- The customer's goods-in or receiving function, who check it against the physical delivery and post a goods receipt.
- When it is used
- With every physical consignment, including partial deliveries and free-of-charge replacements.
- Does it bind anyone
- Not a contract, and not a demand for payment. Its weight is evidential: a signed delivery note is the primary evidence that the goods arrived, in what quantity, and on what date. It also normally carries the retention of title wording that keeps ownership with the supplier until payment.
What it is
The packing slip is the itemised list of what has physically been sent, travelling inside or attached to the consignment. Its reader is a warehouse operative with a scanner, not a buyer and not an accountant, and everything about its design should reflect that.
It has three jobs. It tells the receiving site what should be in the boxes so they can check it. It gives them the references they need to match the delivery to an order in their system. And, once signed, it becomes the proof of delivery that your credit control function will need if the invoice is ever queried.
It conventionally carries no prices. That is deliberate: warehouse staff, third-party logistics providers and end sites should not see commercial terms, and the customer should be able to verify the delivery independently of the money.
Every field explained — 22 in total
What each field means, a realistic example value, whether you can leave it out, and the thing that goes wrong with it in practice.
| Field | What it means | Example | Needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery note number | Your unique reference for this consignment.Watch out This number must appear on the invoice that follows. It is how the customer connects a demand for payment to a delivery they have already receipted. | DN-58117 | Required |
| Despatch date | The date the goods left.Watch out Distinct from the delivery date. On-time delivery is normally measured on arrival, not on despatch, so both are worth recording. | 17 April 2026 | Required |
| Customer's purchase order number | The order this delivery is against.Watch out Without it, goods-in cannot post a receipt, so the delivery sits in a corner of their warehouse unreceipted — and your invoice then fails matching for a reason that started here. | 4500-887-2261 | Required |
| Order line reference | Which line of the order this consignment satisfies.Watch out Needed where the customer receipts at line level, which most large ERP systems do. | Line 010 | Conditional |
| Ship-to address and site contact | Exactly where the goods are going, including the bay or department. | Goods-in Bay 4, Northgate Engineering, Sheffield S9 2XT | Required |
| Supplier name, address and account number | Who sent it, as recorded in the customer's system. | Rochdale Precision Ltd, supplier 60214 | Required |
| Customer part number | The item in the customer's numbering.Watch out Goods-in search on their part number. Yours means nothing to them, and a delivery they cannot identify is a delivery they cannot receipt. | NG-44821 | Required |
| Supplier part number and description | The item in your numbering, for traceability back to your works order. | BR-2214 — Mounting bracket LH, anodised | Conditional |
| Drawing revision supplied | The engineering revision the parts were actually made to.Watch out Worth stating explicitly on regulated or engineered parts. It is the cheapest way to surface a revision mismatch while the goods are still on the dock rather than after assembly. | Rev D | Conditional |
| Quantity despatched | How many are physically in this consignment.Watch out Must be the quantity actually sent, never the quantity ordered. This number is what the customer receipts and what your invoice must agree with. Recording the ordered quantity when a shorter quantity shipped is the single most expensive error on this document. | 388 | Required |
| Quantity outstanding on the order | What remains to follow, on a partial delivery.Watch out Stating it prevents goods-in closing the order line as complete, which would leave the balance unreceiptable when it arrives. | 12 to follow, expected 24 April | Conditional |
| Unit of measure | Each, kg, metres, boxes. | EA | Required |
| Batch, lot or serial numbers | Traceability identifiers for the items supplied.Watch out Mandatory in regulated sectors and essential everywhere for containment. Without batch numbers on the delivery note, a later defect means recalling everything you ever sent rather than one batch. | Batch 26-0412-A (parts 1–200), 26-0415-B (parts 201–388) | Conditional |
| Number of packages and package identifiers | How many boxes or pallets, and how they are labelled.Watch out The receiving site counts packages, not parts, at the point of signature. A discrepancy in package count is caught immediately; a discrepancy inside a box is caught weeks later. | 8 cartons on 1 pallet, pallet ID RP-0041 | Required |
| Gross and net weight, dimensions | Physical characteristics of the consignment.Watch out Required for carriers and mandatory on most export documentation. | Net 74 kg, gross 92 kg, 1200 × 800 × 900 mm | Conditional |
| Carrier and consignment tracking reference | Who is carrying it and under what reference.Watch out Download the delivery confirmation rather than relying on the carrier's portal still holding it. Many purge tracking records after 90 days, which is roughly when disputes arrive. | Palletways, consignment 8841-22617 | Conditional |
| Delivery terms (Incoterms) | The basis on which the goods are supplied. | EXW Rochdale (Incoterms 2020) | Conditional |
| Accompanying documents listed | What paperwork travels with the goods.Watch out Where certification is a contractual requirement, listing it on the delivery note gives goods-in a reason to look for it before rejecting the delivery. | Certificate of conformity CoC-58117 enclosed | Conditional |
| Special handling and storage instructions | Anything the receiver must do or avoid. | Do not stack. Store dry. Oiled — degrease before use. | Optional |
| Received by — name, signature and date | The receiver's confirmation that the consignment arrived.Watch out A signature with no printed name is close to worthless in a dispute. Where a carrier collects the signature, make sure you can obtain a copy — otherwise your proof of delivery lives in someone else's system. | Received: A. Whitfield, 19/04/2026, 10:42 | Required |
| Damage or shortage noted on receipt | Space for the receiver to record a discrepancy at the point of signature.Watch out A clean signature makes a later damage claim much harder for the customer to sustain — and a noted discrepancy tells you about a problem before it becomes a deduction on a payment. | 1 carton damaged, contents checked and accepted | Optional |
| Retention of title wording | A statement that ownership remains with the supplier until payment.Watch out Its effectiveness depends on your conditions of sale and the jurisdiction, but its absence removes the argument entirely. It costs one line. | Goods remain the property of Rochdale Precision Ltd until paid in full. | Conditional |
A filled-in example
Realistic values throughout — the sort of document that would actually pass through a business.
Delivery Note DN-58117
- Delivery note
- DN-58117
- Despatch date
- 17 April 2026
- Customer PO
- 4500-887-2261
- Supplier
- Rochdale Precision Ltd (60214)
- Ship to
- Goods-in Bay 4, Northgate Engineering, Sheffield S9
- Carrier
- Palletways, consignment 8841-22617
- Packages
- 8 cartons, 1 pallet (RP-0041), gross 92 kg
| PO line | Customer part | Description | Rev | Batch | Qty sent | Qty to follow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 010 | NG-44821 | Mounting bracket LH | D | 26-0412-A / 26-0415-B | 388 | 12 |
| 020 | NG-44822 | Mounting bracket RH | D | 26-0412-C | 400 | 0 |
| 030 | NG-44830 | Spacer, stainless 316 | A | 26-0409-S | 1,600 | 0 |
- Enclosed
- Certificate of conformity CoC-58117
- Note
- Balance of 12 on line 010 to follow by 24 April 2026
- Title
- Goods remain the property of Rochdale Precision Ltd until paid in full.
- Received by
- Name / signature / date ______________________
What happens next
- 01Goods-in check the physical consignment against the packing slip and sign for it.
- 02They post a goods receipt in their system against the purchase order number and quantity received.
- 03Any shortage or damage is noted on the note at the point of signature and usually raised as a query.
- 04The signed note or carrier confirmation comes back to the supplier as proof of delivery and is filed against the order.
- 05The supplier raises the invoice from the despatched quantity, quoting the delivery note number.
- 06The customer's three-way match compares purchase order, goods receipt and invoice before releasing payment.
Where it appears in the chain
- Despatch and shipmentPicking, checking, packing, documenting and sending the goods — and capturing the proof of delivery that the invoice will later depend on.
- Raising the invoiceConverting a completed delivery into a demand for payment that the customer's systems can match and approve without a human having to intervene.
- Accounts receivable and collectionManaging what customers owe from the moment the invoice is issued until the money arrives — chasing before it is due, resolving queries fast, and escalating in a defined order.
Common mistakes
MistakeRecording the ordered quantity instead of the quantity sent
Why it happens: The note is generated from the order rather than from the pick, and 400 is what the system holds even though 388 went.
What to do instead: Generate the note from the physical pick and confirm the count independently. This one field is what the invoice, the goods receipt and the match all depend on.
MistakeOmitting the customer's purchase order number
Why it happens: Your own references are on the document and it looks complete.
What to do instead: Their PO number and their part numbers are mandatory. Goods-in cannot receipt what they cannot identify, and an unreceipted delivery blocks the invoice regardless of how correct it is.
MistakePutting prices on the packing slip
Why it happens: The template was copied from the invoice and nobody removed the columns.
What to do instead: Keep the commercial and physical documents separate. Third-party warehouses, agents and end customers all handle delivery notes, and none of them need your pricing.
MistakeLosing the signed copy
Why it happens: The driver keeps it, the carrier files it, and it is requested for the first time seventy days later.
What to do instead: Capture and file the proof of delivery against the order at the point of despatch, and download carrier confirmations rather than trusting their portal to hold them.
MistakeNot stating the balance to follow on a partial delivery
Why it happens: The despatch is treated as complete because the works order was for the full quantity.
What to do instead: State what is outstanding and when it is expected. Otherwise goods-in close the line, and the balance arrives as an unmatchable delivery.
MistakeOmitting batch or lot numbers
Why it happens: Nobody has ever asked for them and the parts are identical.
What to do instead: Record them anyway. The day a defect is found, batch numbers are the difference between containing one batch and recalling everything you have ever supplied.
Terminology
- Proof of delivery
- Evidence that the goods arrived — a signed note, a carrier confirmation, a portal receipt. What a payment dispute turns on.
- Goods received note
- The customer's own record of what arrived, created from the delivery. The middle leg of the three-way match.
- Advice note
- Notification that a consignment has been despatched, sometimes sent ahead of the goods themselves.
- Retention of title
- A contractual clause keeping legal ownership with the seller until payment, giving a claim over the goods if the buyer fails.
- Part shipment
- Delivering less than the ordered quantity, leaving the order line open for the balance.
- Consignment note
- The carrier's own contract document for the journey, distinct from your delivery note.
Common questions
›What is the difference between a packing slip, a delivery note and an invoice?
A packing slip lists what is in the box and travels with the goods. A delivery note is effectively the same document, emphasising the delivery rather than the packing, and is what gets signed. An invoice is the demand for payment and normally follows separately. The first two carry no prices; the third is entirely about them.
›Why do packing slips not show prices?
Because the people handling them should not see commercial terms — warehouse staff, hauliers, third-party logistics providers and sometimes the end customer rather than the buyer. It also lets the customer verify the physical delivery independently of the money, which is the point of a three-way match.
›Is a signed delivery note proof that the goods were accepted?
It is proof they arrived, in the quantity stated, on that date. It is not usually proof they were accepted as conforming — a customer can sign for a delivery and reject the parts on inspection days later. For payment disputes about whether goods arrived at all, though, it is the only evidence that matters.
›What should you do if the customer refuses to sign?
Record the refusal and the reason, and get whatever alternative evidence exists — the carrier's electronic confirmation, a gate record, a photograph of the delivery in place, a portal receipt. Some large sites do not sign as a matter of policy, in which case establish the alternative proof route with them before the first delivery, not after the first dispute.
›Can you invoice from the packing slip?
You should. Invoicing from the despatch record rather than from the order is the single rule that prevents the most common matching failure there is — billing a quantity that differs from what the customer receipted.
›How long should delivery notes be kept?
At least as long as your tax and contractual record-keeping obligations, which are typically several years and vary by jurisdiction. Practically, keep them for as long as a customer could raise a payment query — which is longer than most people assume, and is the reason to file them against the order digitally rather than in a folder in despatch.
Tools for this
Downloadable, self-contained, and yours to keep — they run in a browser with no account and no data leaving your machine.
- Dispatch List & Shipping LogProRun outbound dispatch from one list — pick, pack and ship against promised dates, measure your OTIF rate honestly, catch missing paperwork before the van leaves, and print a shipping log worth showing a customer. Nothing is uploaded.
- Delivery & Goods-In LogFreeLog every delivery as it arrives, compare what turned up against what was promised and ordered, and measure on-time, in-full and on-time-in-full by supplier with the discrepancies still open. Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
- Batch & Lot Traceability LogFreeLink incoming material batches to the batches you make and the customers you send them to, so a recall can be scoped in minutes instead of days. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Reviewed 2026-08-15. Nothing here is legal, tax or accounting advice — the mandatory content of commercial and tax documents varies by jurisdiction, so confirm the specifics for where you trade.