What Is a Delivery Note and Do You Need One?
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Create Free Delivery NoteA delivery note is a document that travels with a physical shipment, listing exactly what items and quantities were sent, with no pricing at all, so the recipient can check the contents against the order and sign to confirm what arrived. It exists separately from the invoice, which handles the billing side later on. Businesses that ship or hand-deliver physical goods benefit from one; a pure service business with nothing to physically hand over generally does not need one.
Key takeaways
- A delivery note lists what was physically shipped or dropped off, no prices, just items and quantities.
- It travels with the goods, while the invoice is usually sent separately, by email or post.
- A delivery note gives the recipient something to sign as proof the correct items arrived, before any billing dispute can happen.
- Businesses that ship physical goods benefit most; pure service businesses rarely need one.
What a Delivery Note Confirms
A delivery note lists exactly what was shipped or dropped off, with quantities, but deliberately leaves out prices. It travels with the goods themselves, so the person receiving them can check the contents match the order and sign to confirm receipt, all before an invoice or price ever enters the conversation.
Why Leave Out the Prices
Pricing on a delivery note is often unnecessary and sometimes unwelcome: a warehouse worker checking a delivery against a packing list doesn't need to see what each item cost, and in multi-department businesses, the person receiving goods often isn't the person who approved the price at all.
| Delivery note | Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows prices | No | Yes |
| Travels with | The physical goods | Sent separately, usually by email |
| Purpose | Confirms what arrived | Requests payment for what was billed |
Who Actually Needs One
If your business ships or hand-delivers physical goods, a delivery note is worth the extra minute it takes to produce. If you sell services with nothing to physically deliver, you can skip it entirely: there's nothing for the client to sign as "received."
A free delivery note generator that reuses your existing client and item details, just without the pricing columns, makes this a quick addition to an order rather than a separate document built from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
Is a delivery note the same as a packing slip?
Yes, "delivery note" and "packing slip" describe the same type of document. The terminology just varies by region and industry.
Does a delivery note replace an invoice?
No. A delivery note confirms what physically arrived; the invoice is a separate document that requests payment for it.
Should a delivery note be signed?
Where possible, yes: a signature from the recipient is the clearest proof the correct items arrived in the expected condition.
Do service-based businesses need delivery notes?
Rarely. Delivery notes exist to confirm physical goods arrived, so a pure service business generally has no use for one.
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