In e-commerce the packing slip is the one document a customer physically handles. It lists everything in the order, so the person taking delivery knows what should be inside before the box is even opened. If you need the basics first, start with what is a packing note?
It does more work than its size suggests — five things, specifically.
1. Check the shipment is complete
Before the box is sealed, the slip is what confirms everything ordered is actually in it: the right products, in the right quantities.
This is the cheapest quality check in the whole fulfilment process, and it prevents the most expensive failure — a short delivery, which costs a replacement shipment, a refund conversation and often the customer.
2. Track items in large orders
When an order spans multiple SKUs held in different warehouse locations, or has to travel in separate boxes, the slip lets both you and the recipient keep track of what is in which package.
Without it, a customer receiving box one of three reasonably concludes something is missing.
3. Spot damaged items
Fragile products get harmed in transit. A slip listing exactly what was sent lets the recipient identify what arrived damaged, and lets you process a replacement or refund quickly — which is usually what determines whether the customer orders again.
4. Confirm the delivery was complete
For multi-package shipments in particular, both sender and receiver can verify that everything listed on the packing slip was received. It turns “I think something’s missing” into a checkable fact.
This is where the layout earns its keep: use a packing note design that your warehouse staff and your customers can both read at a glance and tally against the box without effort.
5. Ease customs checks
On international shipments, packages are assessed for their contents and value, and the packing note gives customs officers a quick view of what is inside.
Worth being precise about the limits here: customs works primarily from the commercial invoice, not the packing note, because it carries more of what they need — a description of the goods, their value, the seller’s and shipper’s details and destinations, and the delivery and payment terms. The packing note supports that check rather than replacing it.
Getting the document right
Make the slip as detailed as it needs to be, and lay it out so the key information is readable at a glance — it is being scanned by someone with a box in front of them, not studied at a desk.
The most important detail: prices usually do not belong on a packing slip. Whoever opens the box often should not see what it cost — a warehouse, a site, or your customer’s own customer in a drop-shipping arrangement.
Because designs are held per document type, removing prices from your packing note leaves your invoices untouched — see create packing slips easily and document design.