Delivery note vs Invoice: what each one is for
Delivery note versus invoice: one comes from the seller, the other from the seller; one sits at stage 5 of the flow, the other at stage 6. Below is the comparison table, the deciding difference, where each sits in the sequence and what goes wrong when they are confused.
Side by side
| Delivery note | Invoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | the seller | the seller |
| Sent to | the buyer | the buyer |
| Stage in the flow | 5 — proof of delivery | 6 — demand for payment |
| What it does | lists the goods in the shipment so the buyer can check them in and sign for them | requests payment and records the sale for tax and accounting purposes |
| Commitment | evidential | creates the debt |
| Requests payment? | no | yes |
| Proves delivery? | yes | no |
| In the accounts | the goods-received record that lets accounts payable approve the invoice | revenue for the seller, a liability (accounts payable) for the buyer, and the tax point for VAT or sales tax |
| Lifetime | a record of one shipment; it does not expire | payable by the due date; remains a record permanently |
| Make one with | Purchase Order Generator | Invoice Maker |
The deciding difference
The delivery note travels with the goods and proves what arrived; the invoice travels with the post or an email and says what is owed. The delivery note usually carries no prices so it can be handed to warehouse staff; the invoice carries nothing but prices, quantities and tax.
The shortest test: ask what happens if the delivery note is ignored, then ask the same of the invoice. Ignoring the delivery note means a short delivery becomes one person's word against another's; ignoring the invoice means the debt still exists, interest may accrue, and the seller can pursue it. The document with the harder consequence is the one that carries the obligation.
Where each one sits in the flow
The delivery note is issued at stage 5 and the invoice at stage 6 of the eight-step order-to-cash sequence. The steps between them, if any, are the documents that normally connect the two:
- 5. Delivery note (this page) — What was in the box, signed for by whoever received it.
- 6. Invoice (this page) — The bill: what was supplied, what is owed, by when, and the tax on it.
Steps before the delivery note and after the invoice are on the business documents hub, which shows the full eight-step sequence with a checklist for every document.
Worked scenario
Twelve worktops arrive at Harbour Café with delivery note DN-5570; the receiving cook counts eleven and writes "11 received, 1 short" before signing. When invoice INV-2026-0918 arrives for twelve, accounts payable compares it with the signed note, pays for eleven and asks for a credit note for the twelfth. Without the signed delivery note the shortage would be one person's word against another's.
Can one replace the other?
Neither replaces the other. The delivery note has to exist before the invoice makes sense, and a file that holds one without the other has a gap an auditor will ask about. Businesses that skip the delivery note usually discover why the first time an invoice is disputed.
Numbering and matching
Both carry their own number. Delivery note: Numbered and cross-referenced to the PO and the invoice so a three-way match (ordered, received, billed) is possible. Invoice: Sequential and unique by law in most countries; gaps and duplicates are the first thing an auditor looks for. The reference from one to the other is what lets an accounts team match documents without phoning anyone.
Common mistakes
The mistake we see most with the delivery note is shipping without one, which leaves no independent proof of what was delivered when a short delivery is disputed. With the invoice it is reissuing a corrected invoice under the same number instead of cancelling it with a credit note. Both come from treating the document as paperwork rather than as a record with a job.
Checklists: what to include in a delivery note and what to include in an invoice.