Delivery note

What it means

A delivery note is the document that accompanies goods from supplier to customer. It states what is being delivered, in what quantity, under which purchase order and when. The customer signs it to confirm receipt and notes anything missing or damaged.

It is not a tax document and does not replace the invoice, but it is evidence that delivery actually took place. In a dispute over payment, quantity or timing, a signed delivery note is often the supplier’s strongest argument.

In inventory accounting the delivery note links to the goods issue note at the supplier and the goods received note at the customer. In international road transport it is supplemented by the CMR consignment note, while for services and construction work an acceptance protocol is used instead.

How it works in practice

When posting a supplier invoice we compare it with the purchase order and the delivery note. If the invoice shows more goods than were received, or a different price, the difference is settled with the supplier before payment, not after.

For VAT the date of delivery matters for when tax becomes due. If goods arrive at the end of a month and the invoice comes the next, the delivery note helps fix the right period. For uninvoiced supplies at year end it is the basis for an estimated accrual.

For companies handling large volumes of goods we recommend electronic delivery notes linked to the warehouse and invoicing. Retyping and matching paper disappear, and quantity errors are caught at receipt rather than at the stocktake.

What to watch out for

The most common mistake is an unsigned or illegibly signed delivery note with no name of the person receiving. In a dispute the customer claims it never received the goods and the supplier has nothing to prove otherwise. A signature with name and date should be standard.

The second risk is accepting goods without checking them and raising issues later. Obvious defects and missing items should be noted on the delivery note at receipt, or a complaint becomes hard to prove and the carrier escapes liability.