Say what was in the box
Free Delivery Note Generator
A delivery note lists what was shipped against what was ordered, with the shortfall shown per line. No prices appear on it at all, and the delivery address is separate from the billing address.
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A delivery note has no prices on it
This is the part most templates get wrong. A delivery note travels with the goods and is read by whoever signs for them — a warehouse hand, a site foreman, a receptionist. Putting prices on it shows your commercial terms to people who have no business seeing them, and it invites the document to be treated as a bill.
What the person signing needs is the opposite: what was ordered, what is physically in front of them, and the difference. That difference is the entire reason the document exists, and it is what a dispute three weeks later turns on.
- Quantity ordered and quantity delivered, side by side
- The back-order per line, shown rather than left to be worked out
- A delivery address separate from the billing address
- Carrier and consignment reference for tracing the shipment
- The order reference, so it can be matched to the purchase order
- No unit prices, no tax, no total — and it says it is not a request for payment
A worked part delivery
A partial shipment against a purchase order, which is the common case and the one that generates the phone call.
| Item | Ordered | Delivered | Back-ordered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak dining chair | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Dining table, 1800mm | 1 | 1 | — |
| Felt floor protectors, pack of 24 | 2 | 3 | +1 |
| Units ordered | 9 | ||
| Units delivered | 8 | ||
| Back-ordered | 1 | ||
The protectors line shows +1 because three packs were sent against two ordered. Over-delivery is shown rather than hidden: the recipient is signing for what is actually there, and a document that quietly omits an extra item is one they cannot use to check the pallet.
Delivery note, packing slip, invoice or proof of delivery?
Four documents, routinely used as if they were one.
- Delivery note
- Travels with the goods and states what was sent against what was ordered. Usually signed by the recipient. Carries no prices.
- Packing slip
- In practice the same document, or the copy that goes inside the box rather than in the driver’s hand. The terms are used interchangeably in most trades.
- Invoice
- Requests payment. Follows the delivery, carries prices and tax, and goes to accounts rather than to the loading bay.
- Proof of delivery
- The signed and returned copy, evidencing that the goods arrived and in what condition. It is the delivery note after it has been signed, not a different form.
Keeping the record
Delivery notes are saved in this browser alongside your invoices, receipts, credit notes and timesheets, and can be exported as a backup. Clearing site data removes them, so download the PDF for anything you need to keep.
This produces a document. It does not book a carrier, generate a tracking number, print a shipping label or connect to a courier. Whether a delivery note is required, and what it must contain, depends on the trade and the contract.