Delivery Note Template Explained: Fields, Example and How to Use One

A delivery note template is the simplest way to prove exactly what you shipped and exactly what your customer received - without the back-and-forth that turns a small mix-up into a disputed invoice. If you sell or move physical goods, the delivery note is the document that sits in the gap between "we sent it" and "you owe us," and getting it right protects both sides. This guide explains what a delivery note is, the precise fields a good template needs, a worked example, the mistakes that cause disputes, and how the document fits into your wider order-to-cash workflow.

A delivery note is short, unglamorous, and easy to overlook. But when a customer claims three boxes arrived instead of five, or that an item was damaged, the signed delivery note is the first piece of paper everyone reaches for. Treat it as a throwaway and you lose that protection. Treat it as a deliberate part of your process and it quietly prevents arguments before they start.

What Is a Delivery Note?

A delivery note is a document that travels with a shipment of goods and itemizes everything inside it. The recipient uses it to check the delivered items against what they ordered, confirm the quantities, and sign to acknowledge that the goods arrived. It is sometimes called a delivery docket, a dispatch note, a goods delivery note, or a shipping note - the names vary by country and industry, but the function is identical.

The defining feature of a delivery note is what it leaves out: prices. A delivery note records what was delivered and how much of it, but not what it costs. That financial side belongs on the invoice. Keeping the two separate is deliberate - the warehouse team or courier handling the delivery does not need to see your pricing, and the recipient signing for the goods is confirming the contents, not agreeing to a sum of money.

In practical terms, the delivery note answers three questions at the moment of handover:

• What goods are in this shipment?
• Are the quantities correct?
• Did the recipient accept them, and in what condition?

Once it is signed, the delivery note becomes proof of delivery. That single signature is the reason the document matters far more than its plain appearance suggests.

When Do You Need a Delivery Note?

You need a delivery note any time physical goods change hands and either party might later need to confirm what was delivered. That covers far more situations than just large warehouses.

You should issue a delivery note when you:

• Ship products to a customer who placed an order in advance.
• Deliver goods that will be invoiced separately or later (common in B2B trade accounts).
• Send partial shipments, where only some of an order is fulfilled now.
• Supply goods to a business that operates a formal receiving process and matches deliveries to purchase orders.
• Move stock between your own locations and want a record of the transfer.
• Use a courier or third-party carrier and want signed proof the goods reached the customer.

A freelance maker selling one-off items by post may not need a formal delivery note every time - though a packing slip in the box is good practice. But the moment you sell to other businesses, deal in higher values, or ship on credit terms, a delivery note stops being optional and becomes the document that keeps your accounts clean and your disputes rare.

The Exact Fields a Delivery Note Template Must Contain

A delivery note does not need to be complicated, but it does need to be complete. Leave out a field and you create exactly the ambiguity the document is supposed to remove. A solid delivery note template includes the following.

Notice what is not on the list: unit prices, line totals, tax, and payment terms. If you find yourself adding those, you are building an invoice, not a delivery note. Keep the two documents distinct.

A Section-by-Section Breakdown

Here is how each part of the template earns its place, working from the top of the page down.

Header: who, when, and which delivery

The header carries your business name, address, and contact details, the recipient's name and delivery address, the delivery date, and the unique delivery note number. The number is more important than it looks. Sequential, never-repeated numbering means every delivery can be traced, matched, and found again months later. Treat it the way you treat invoice numbering - one continuous, gap-free series.

Reference line: linking to the order

A delivery rarely stands alone. It fulfills an order, a quote, or a purchase order the customer raised. The reference line ties the delivery note back to that source document. When the recipient's accounts team matches your delivery to their PO, this reference is what makes the match instant rather than a phone call.

The itemized goods table

This is the heart of the document. Each row describes one product: a clear description, the product or SKU code, the quantity ordered, and the quantity actually delivered. Showing ordered and delivered side by side is what makes a delivery note honest. If you ordered 50 and only 40 are in the box, the note says so - and a separate column or note flags the 10 still to come as a back order.

Quantities and discrepancies

The quantity columns are the figures the recipient checks first. Always write them clearly. Add a short box near the signature line where the recipient can note any shortage, damage, or discrepancy before they sign. A signature next to "2 boxes water-damaged" is worth far more than a clean signature followed by an email complaint two days later.

Delivery method

Recording the carrier - your own van, a named courier, or a freight company - gives you a thread to pull if a delivery goes missing. It also helps the recipient know who to query.

Signature block

The signature block is the payoff. It captures the recipient's signature, their printed name, and the date and time of receipt. This is what converts a delivery note from a list into proof of delivery. For courier-handled deliveries, an electronic signature captured on a handheld device serves the same purpose.

Delivery Note vs Invoice vs Packing Slip vs Goods Received Note

These four documents are constantly confused because they often describe the same goods. The difference is purpose and direction. The table below makes the distinction clear.

The clearest way to remember it: the delivery note travels with the goods from seller to buyer; the goods received note is the buyer's own record of what showed up; the packing slip describes a single parcel's contents; and the invoice is the only one of the four that talks about money. A delivery note and a packing slip overlap heavily - many small businesses use one document for both - but a packing slip is package-specific, while a delivery note covers the whole consignment. If you want the full picture of the receiving side, the goods received note and the packing slip each have their own role in the chain.

A Realistic Delivery Note Example

Meet Daniela, who runs a small wholesale candle business supplying independent gift shops. A boutique called The Lantern Room orders 60 scented candles across three lines for its summer range. Daniela's stock of one line is short, so she ships 50 now and back-orders 10.

Her delivery note reads, in plain terms:

• Delivery Note No: DN-2026-0184
• Date: 22 June 2026
• From: Daniela's Candle Co., 14 Mill Lane, Bristol
• To: The Lantern Room, 8 Market Street, Bath
• Your Order Ref: PO-LR-4471
• Carrier: RoadFast Couriers

Under the table she notes: "10 x Wild Fig (CN-WF-03) on back order, expected dispatch 29 June." At the bottom is a signature line, a printed-name line, a date/time field, and a small box headed "Condition / discrepancies on receipt."

When the boxes arrive, the shop owner counts the candles, sees the 50/60 match the note, writes "all received, good condition," signs, and dates it. Daniela's invoice for the full order - including the back-ordered 10 - can now reference DN-2026-0184. If The Lantern Room later queries the count, the signed note settles it in seconds. That is the whole value of the document: a quiet, signed record that nobody argues with.

Pros and Cons of Using a Delivery Note

A delivery note is almost always worth issuing, but it is honest to weigh both sides.

Pros:

• Provides signed proof of delivery that resolves disputes fast.
• Lets the recipient verify quantities and condition at the moment of handover.
• Establishes the delivery date, which underpins credit terms and payment clocks.
• Keeps pricing off the warehouse and courier paperwork.
• Makes partial shipments and back orders transparent.
• Supports clean inventory and accounts-payable matching for your customers.

Cons:

• Adds a step to your dispatch process that must be done consistently.
• An unsigned or lost delivery note offers little protection - discipline is everything.
• Duplicating data across order, delivery note, and invoice invites errors if done manually.
• For very low-value, low-volume sellers, it can feel like overkill (a packing slip may suffice).

Most of the cons disappear the moment you generate delivery documents from the same system that holds your orders, so the data flows through automatically rather than being retyped three times.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The mistakes that undermine delivery notes are almost always small and avoidable.

• Putting prices on it. A delivery note with prices confuses the recipient's accounts team and exposes your pricing to anyone who handles the parcel. Prices belong on the invoice.
• Skipping the signature. An unsigned delivery note is just a list. Without acknowledgement of receipt, you have no proof of delivery - and no leverage in a dispute.
• Reusing or duplicating delivery note numbers. Repeated numbers make tracking impossible and look careless. Use one continuous, sequential series.
• Showing only delivered quantities. If you omit the ordered quantity, partial shipments look complete. Always show ordered versus delivered so back orders are obvious.
• No discrepancy box. Without somewhere to note damage or shortages at handover, problems surface days later as he-said-she-said disputes.
• Forgetting the order reference. A delivery note with no link to the original PO or order forces a manual hunt and slows down the customer's matching process.
• Vague item descriptions. "Box of stock" helps nobody. Use clear descriptions and SKU codes so the recipient can check each line.
• Letting the delivery date drift. The date on the note should be the actual delivery date, because it often starts the payment term.

Best Practices for Delivery Notes

Follow these in order and your delivery notes will do their job without friction.

1. Number them sequentially and never repeat a number. Mirror your invoice numbering discipline so every delivery is traceable.
2. Always reference the source order or PO. This single field saves your customers - and you - repeated lookups.
3. Show ordered and delivered quantities side by side. Transparency on partial shipments prevents the most common counting disputes.
4. Include a discrepancy box and insist it is checked before signing. Capture problems at the door, not by email later.
5. Get a signature, printed name, and time every time. This is the proof. For courier deliveries, use captured electronic signatures.
6. Keep prices off the document entirely. Maintain a clean separation between the delivery note and the invoice.
7. Generate the delivery note from the same record as the order and invoice. Re-entering data by hand is where errors creep in.
8. Store a copy you can retrieve. Keep the signed note filed against the order so you can produce it months later.
9. Match your delivery note to your invoice with a shared reference. The invoice should cite the delivery note number, closing the loop.

How a Delivery Note Fits Your Business Workflow

The delivery note is one link in the order-to-cash chain, and it only adds value when it connects cleanly to the documents on either side of it. A typical flow looks like this:

1. The customer requests goods; you send a quote or they raise a purchase order.
2. You confirm the order and prepare the goods for dispatch.
3. You issue a delivery note that travels with the shipment.
4. The customer checks the goods, signs, and (often) raises their own goods received note.
5. You issue an invoice that references the delivery note number.
6. The customer pays; you may issue a receipt confirming payment.

Each document hands clean data to the next. The order defines what was agreed, the delivery note proves what physically arrived, and the invoice requests payment for it. When all three share the same customer record and line items, reconciliation becomes trivial - your customer's accounts team matches PO, delivery note, and invoice in moments, and you get paid faster because there is nothing to query.

This is where modern tools earn their keep. Instead of maintaining three separate spreadsheets that must be kept in sync by hand, you create the order once and let the delivery note and invoice flow from it. Aviy works this way: you generate professional business documents - including delivery notes, invoices, quotes, and receipts - from a single source, so the quantities on your delivery note and your invoice can never drift apart. You can describe what you need in plain language and have a clean, consistent document ready in seconds, which removes exactly the manual re-keying that causes most delivery disputes.

The point is not the document itself but the chain it belongs to. A delivery note that links cleanly to the order before it and the invoice after it turns a pile of paperwork into a tidy, dispute-proof trail.

Paper versus digital delivery notes

Plenty of businesses still hand over a printed delivery note with a pen for the signature, and there is nothing wrong with that for an occasional local delivery. But paper has obvious weaknesses: the signed copy can be lost, the handwriting can be illegible, and there is no central record you can pull up months later when a dispute lands. If the only signed copy is in a van glovebox or a filing tray, it is one coffee spill away from useless.

Digital delivery notes solve this. A note generated and stored in your system carries the same fields, but the signed version - including a captured electronic signature and an exact timestamp - lives somewhere both you and your customer can retrieve it. You can email it instantly, attach it to the matching invoice, and search for it by number in seconds. For couriers, the handheld-device signature flows straight back into your records. The fields and discipline are identical; the difference is that a digital delivery note never goes missing and never has to be retyped.

Matching delivery notes at scale

If you ship even a few dozen orders a week, manual matching becomes the bottleneck. Your customer's accounts-payable team performs a "three-way match" - checking the purchase order, the delivery note, and the invoice all agree before they release payment. If any of the three disagree, payment stalls while someone investigates. The single biggest cause of those mismatches is data being retyped between documents: a quantity changed on the invoice that was never updated on the delivery note, or vice versa.

When all three documents draw from the same underlying order record, the three-way match passes on the first attempt because there is nothing to reconcile. That is why the smartest improvement you can make to your delivery notes is not a better paper template but a single source of truth feeding every document in the chain.

Summary

A delivery note template is a small document with an outsized job: it proves what you shipped, lets the recipient confirm what they received, and - once signed - becomes the proof of delivery that settles disputes and starts payment clocks. The essentials are simple: a unique number, supplier and recipient details, an order reference, an itemized list showing ordered versus delivered quantities, a discrepancy box, and a signature with date and time. Keep prices off it, never repeat a number, always get a signature, and link it to the order and invoice on either side. Do that consistently and the delivery note quietly does what it is meant to do - keep everyone honest and your accounts clean. Generate it from the same place as your orders and invoices, and it becomes effortless rather than another form to fill in by hand.

Frequently asked questions

What is a delivery note used for?

A delivery note is used to confirm exactly what goods were shipped and received. It travels with the shipment, lets the recipient check items and quantities against their order, and is signed to acknowledge receipt. That signature turns it into proof of delivery, which resolves disputes over what arrived and establishes the delivery date that often starts a payment term.

What should a delivery note contain?

A delivery note should contain a unique delivery note number, the date, your business details, the recipient's name and delivery address, the order or purchase order reference, an itemized list of goods with descriptions and SKU codes, the quantities ordered and delivered, a discrepancy box, the carrier, and a signature line with printed name and time of receipt. It should never show prices.

What is the difference between a delivery note and an invoice?

A delivery note confirms what was physically delivered and shows no prices; an invoice requests payment and shows prices, totals, tax, and payment terms. The delivery note's job is proof of delivery, while the invoice's job is to get you paid. The invoice usually references the delivery note number so the two documents tie together cleanly.

Is a delivery note the same as a packing slip?

They overlap but differ slightly. A packing slip lists the contents of a single package, while a delivery note covers the whole consignment and is typically signed as proof of receipt. Many small businesses combine them into one document, but in larger operations a delivery note is the consignment-level record and packing slips sit inside individual parcels.

Does a delivery note need to be signed?

For the document to serve its main purpose, yes. An unsigned delivery note is just a list of contents. The recipient's signature, printed name, and the date and time of receipt are what convert it into proof of delivery - the evidence you rely on if a customer later disputes quantities, condition, or whether the goods arrived at all.

Is a delivery note a legal requirement?

In most jurisdictions a delivery note is not legally mandatory the way a VAT invoice can be, but it is a strongly recommended business practice. It protects both buyer and seller by documenting what changed hands. Requirements vary by country and industry, so check your local rules - and remember a signed delivery note is valuable evidence even where it is not strictly required.

How do you number delivery notes?

Number them with a unique, sequential, gap-free series - for example DN-2026-0001, DN-2026-0002, and so on. Never repeat a number. Sequential numbering mirrors good invoice practice and means any delivery can be traced, matched to its order, and retrieved later. A prefix with the year or document type makes the series easier to scan at a glance.

Can a delivery note show partial deliveries?

Yes, and it should. Show the quantity ordered alongside the quantity delivered for each line so partial shipments are obvious. Add a clear note for any back-ordered items, including the quantity outstanding and the expected dispatch date. This transparency prevents the recipient from assuming a partial delivery is complete and reduces disputes when the rest arrives later.

Who keeps the delivery note after signing?

Both parties typically keep a copy. The recipient retains one as their record of what arrived (often the basis for their goods received note), and you keep the signed copy as proof of delivery filed against the order. With digital tools, a single signed electronic copy is stored centrally and accessible to both sides, which avoids lost paper.

Do freelancers and small businesses need delivery notes?

It depends on what they sell. Service freelancers rarely need them. But anyone shipping physical products - especially to other businesses, on credit terms, or in higher values - benefits from a delivery note. For low-value postal orders a simple packing slip may be enough, but the moment quantities, condition, or delivery dates could be questioned, a signed delivery note is worth the small effort.

Conclusion

A clear delivery note template is one of the most underrated tools in any business that moves physical goods. It costs almost nothing to produce, yet it settles disputes, confirms quantities, and pins down the delivery date that keeps your payment terms enforceable. The format is straightforward - number, parties, order reference, itemized goods with ordered-versus-delivered quantities, a discrepancy box, and a signature - and the discipline is simple: keep prices off it, get it signed every time, and tie it to the order and invoice around it.

Get those basics right and the delivery note stops being paperwork and becomes protection. It is the signed record everyone reaches for when a count is questioned, and the link that lets your customer match their PO, delivery, and invoice without a single phone call. Build it into your workflow deliberately rather than as an afterthought, and you will resolve fewer disputes and get paid faster.

Related guides

• Goods Received Note (GRN) Template Explained
• Packing Slip Template Explained: Fields, Example and How to Use One
• When Should You Use a Purchase Order? A Practical Guide
• Business Documentation Checklist: Every Document Your Business Needs
• Invoice Numbering Explained: Systems, Rules and Examples
• Receipts vs Invoices: What's the Difference?

Sources and further reading

• Invoicing and taking payment from customers (GOV.UK)
• Bill of lading (Wikipedia)
• Proof of delivery (Wikipedia)
• What is a purchase order? (Investopedia)
• Recordkeeping for small businesses (IRS)