A delivery note is the piece of paper — or increasingly the scanned record — that travels with goods and states what is in the box. It is signed on arrival, and that signature is the point of the whole document: it converts "we say we sent it" into "you confirmed you received it".
For businesses selling services this document never comes up. For anyone shipping physical goods it is the difference between a billing dispute you can settle in thirty seconds and one that turns into your word against the customer’s.
What a delivery note is for
The delivery note answers one question: what actually arrived? It lists the items and quantities in the shipment, references the order it fulfils, and gives the recipient something to check the physical contents against before signing.
That signature does real work. It establishes the date goods were received, which can start warranty periods and matters for when risk passes from seller to buyer. It records any discrepancy at the moment it is discoverable rather than weeks later. And it gives the seller evidence of delivery, which is what makes an invoice for those goods defensible.
Crucially, a delivery note is not a request for payment. It usually omits prices entirely — partly because the person receiving the goods often has no business seeing commercial terms, and partly because mixing "here is what arrived" with "here is what you owe" invites the recipient to treat a warehouse signature as approval of the price.
What goes on one
A delivery note needs enough to identify the shipment and enough to check it. In practice that means:
- Seller and buyer names and the delivery address
- A unique delivery note number, and the date of despatch or delivery
- The purchase order or sales order number it fulfils
- A line for each item: description, product code and quantity sent
- Any items ordered but not included, marked as back-ordered rather than silently omitted
- Space for the recipient’s printed name, signature and the date received
- A note of any damage or shortage observed on arrival
Delivery note, packing slip, bill of lading
Three documents travel with goods and get used interchangeably in conversation, which causes avoidable confusion when something goes wrong.
A packing slip is usually the itemised contents of a specific parcel — what is in this box. A delivery note covers the whole delivery and is the document signed to acknowledge receipt. On a single-parcel shipment they are frequently the same piece of paper, which is why the terms blur.
A bill of lading is a different animal: it is the contract between the shipper and the carrier, and in some forms it is a document of title, meaning whoever holds it can claim the goods. It governs the relationship with the freight company rather than with your customer.
| Document | Between | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Packing slip | Seller and receiver | What is inside this parcel? |
| Delivery note | Seller and buyer | What arrived, and did someone confirm it? |
| Goods received note | Internal to the buyer | What did we accept into stock? |
| Bill of lading | Shipper and carrier | Who is transporting this, under what terms? |
Three-way matching, and why it decides whether you get paid
Buyers with any procurement discipline do not pay an invoice because it arrived. They pay when three documents agree: the purchase order (what we agreed to buy), the goods received note or delivery note (what actually arrived), and the invoice (what is being charged). This is three-way matching, and it is standard practice in accounts payable.
The practical consequence for a supplier is that mismatches stop payment silently. Invoice for ten units when the delivery note shows nine and the invoice sits in an exceptions queue until someone investigates — which may be weeks, and nobody will necessarily tell you. Most "they are paying late" situations in goods businesses are actually "the match failed and nobody said so".
The defence is boring and effective. Put the purchase order number on the delivery note and the invoice. Invoice for what was delivered, not what was ordered, when they differ. Handle shortages with a documented back-order or a credit note rather than adjusting quantities quietly. If you deliver in instalments, invoice in instalments that map to the deliveries.
Common Mistakes
Putting prices on the delivery note
A signature from a receiving bay is confirmation that goods arrived, not agreement to commercial terms. Keeping prices on the invoice and quantities on the delivery note keeps the two conversations separate.
Invoicing the order rather than the delivery
If you shipped nine of ten, invoice nine. Billing the full order because that is what was agreed guarantees a failed three-way match and a payment that stalls without anyone telling you.
Not keeping the signed copy
The unsigned copy proves nothing. The signed one is the evidence, and it belongs in your records alongside the invoice for the same retention period.
Omitting the order reference
Without a purchase order number, the buyer’s system cannot match the delivery to anything. It becomes manual work for someone who has no particular incentive to hurry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a delivery note a legal requirement?
Generally not in itself, though some sectors and cross-border movements require accompanying documentation. Its value is evidential rather than statutory: it is how you prove what was delivered and when, which is what a billing dispute usually turns on.
Can a delivery note be electronic?
Yes, and increasingly it is — captured on a handheld device with a signature or a photograph at the point of delivery. What matters is that the record ties to the shipment and is retained, not that it is paper.
What if the customer refuses to sign?
Record the refusal and the reason on the note itself, keep the delivery evidence you do have, and raise it before invoicing. An unexplained unsigned delivery is a dispute waiting for an invoice to trigger it.
Do I need one for services?
Not in this form. The service equivalent is a completion record, timesheet or sign-off, doing the same job of establishing that what was billed was actually delivered and that the client acknowledged it.
Sources & Further Reading
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