What is a delivery note, and what goes on one
A delivery note lists what you left at a shop and is your proof of delivery. What goes on one, how it differs from an invoice, and why consignment needs one.
A delivery note is a document that lists what you delivered: to whom, on what date, which products and how many. The shop keeps a copy and you keep one. It does not ask for money — that is an invoice’s job — but it is your proof of delivery: a record, made at the moment it happened, that the goods arrived.
For a producer who drops stock at shops, it is the cheapest dispute you will ever settle. “You left eight, not twelve” is an argument with no end when nothing is written down, and a thirty-second conversation when there is a note on the counter.
What goes on a delivery note
There is no legal format. A useful delivery note has:
- Your name and how to reach you. Business name, phone.
- The shop’s name. And the person who received it, if it was not the owner.
- The date, and a note number so you can refer to it later.
- Each product and quantity. One line per product, in the units you count in — jars, packets, loaves.
- Prices, if the note also shows what is owed. Optional on a pure delivery note; useful on consignment.
- The receiver’s name or signature. This is what turns a list into proof of delivery.
That is the whole delivery note template. If you want one ready to fill in and print, the free delivery note maker builds one you can fill in and print.
Delivery note vs invoice
The two are often confused because on a wholesale order they arrive together: you drop off twenty jars, and the note and the bill say the same thing.
- A delivery note says what was handed over.
- An invoice says what is owed, and asks for it.
On wholesale, the shop owns the stock the moment it is delivered, so what was delivered and what is owed are the same list. On consignment they are not, and that is where the delivery note earns its keep.
Proof of delivery on consignment
On consignment the shop pays for what sold, not what you left. So every visit has two halves, and the note has to carry both:
- What sold since last time — counted, and owed now.
- What you left today — recorded, and owed only once it sells.
One visit, both halves
- On the shelf last visit
- 20
- Still there today
- 7
- Sold
- 13
- Price per packet
- MX$45
- Owed
- MX$585
Thirteen sold since last time, so MX$585 is owed today. Say you also leave 11, bringing the shelf to 18. Those 11 are not on today’s bill. But they have to be on today’s note, because next visit’s count starts from 18 — and if the shop disputes that figure in a fortnight, the note signed today is the only thing that settles it.
18
the number next visit starts from
Still there today plus what you left. It is the most important line on a consignment delivery note, and the one most often missing.
Two more things belong on a consignment note:
- Free replacements. Damaged or expired stock swapped at no charge. It goes on the note so the shop can see it was not billed.
- What is still owed, including anything left unpaid from earlier visits. A shop that pays “later” should leave the counter knowing how much later means.
Printing one at the counter
A handwritten carbon book works. Its weakness is that the copy you keep is the one you have to type up that evening.
Artisanly records the visit and prints the note at the counter on a small Bluetooth thermal printer — the 58mm kind used for till receipts, such as a PT-210. On Android it prints through the free RawBT app or straight from Chrome; on an iPhone, through the Bluefy browser or by sharing a PDF to the RTPrinter app; or from a laptop. The note shows what sold and at what price, what was left at the shop, what was paid and what is still owed. When the shop pays by transfer, it also prints the amount and your bank details.
It does not capture a signature. If you need one, have the owner sign the printed slip and keep a photo of it.
When you need more than a delivery note
A delivery note is not a tax invoice. If a shop asks for a formal invoice for its accounts, you will need to issue one separately, the way your tax rules require. The delivery note stays what it is: the record of what reached the shelf, and the start of the next count.
Common questions
- What is a delivery note?
- A document that travels with goods and lists what was delivered: who to, on what date, which products and how many. The person receiving them keeps a copy, and the supplier keeps one as proof of delivery.
- Is a delivery note the same as an invoice?
- No. A delivery note records what was handed over; an invoice requests payment for it. On wholesale the two often go together. On consignment they cannot, because nothing is owed for today's delivery until it sells.
- What counts as proof of delivery?
- A record, made at the time, that the goods reached the customer: usually a delivery note with the date, the quantities and the receiver's name or signature. For a small producer, a copy of the note left at the counter, kept with your own records, is the proof.
- What should a delivery note template include?
- Your name and contact, the shop's name, the date, a note number, each product with its quantity, and space for the receiver's name and signature. For consignment, also what was still on the shelf, what was replaced free, and the amount owed for what sold.
- Can I print delivery notes at the shop?
- Yes. A small Bluetooth thermal printer, the 58mm kind used for till receipts, prints a note from your phone at the counter. Artisanly prints its delivery notes to one.