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Free Delivery Note Template

A delivery note lists delivered items and confirms receipt.

Use a delivery note template to make it easier and ensure everything is tracked.

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Delivery Challan Format and Template in PDF, Excel & Word

Download Free Delivery Note Templates in Word and Excel

Pick a colour, preview the template, and download it as an editable Word (.docx) or Excel (.xlsx) file.

Enter the details and download the delivery note in PDF.

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Delivery Challan Details
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Delivery Challan Details
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Delivery Note Sample​ in Word

Refrens Delivery Note Maker Word
Create Free Delivery Note Online
Delivery Note Template
Delivery Note Template Sample
Delivery Note Template Sample
Delivery Note Format Word
Delivery Note Format Word
Delivery Note Template Word
Delivery Note Template Word

Delivery Note Sample​ in Excel

Refrens Delivery Note Generator Excel
Create Free Delivery Note Online
Delivery Note Template Excel
Delivery Note Format Excel
Delivery Note Format Excel
Sample Delivery Note Template Excel
Sample Delivery Note Template Excel
Delivery Note Format Excel Sample
Delivery Note Format Excel Sample

Delivery Note

Stock leaves your warehouse. Nothing records it. A month later the count is off and nobody knows why.

A delivery note fixes that. This page gives you a free delivery note template in Word and Excel, plus an online delivery note generator that makes a PDF. You also get a delivery note sample, the format that works, and a plain explanation of the delivery challan.

What is a delivery note?

A delivery note is a document that travels with the goods. It lists what the sender delivers, in what quantity and to whom. The receiver checks the goods against it and signs.

Here is a plain example. A distributor ships 120 reams of paper to a shop. The driver hands over a delivery note that says "120 reams". The shop owner counts the boxes, signs the note and keeps a copy. The distributor keeps the other copy as proof of delivery.

A delivery note is a document that lists the goods a seller hands to a buyer, with quantities, and it proves what moved, not what it cost.

Some people call it a delivery order, a packing slip or a goods received note from the buyer's side. The job is the same: one numbered record of one delivery.

What is a delivery challan? Explained simply

A delivery challan is a delivery note. Some markets use the word challan, others say delivery note. Same document, same job.

Think of it as a slip taped to a parcel. It answers four questions:

  • What is inside? The items and the quantities.
  • Who sent it? Your business name and address.
  • Who gets it? The receiver's name and address.
  • Which delivery is this? A unique number and a date.

Take a trader who sends 50 bags of rice to a small shop. Before the truck leaves, the trader writes a delivery challan: "Challan 0031, 50 bags, to the shop on Park Road". The shop owner checks 50 bags, signs and keeps a copy. The trader keeps the other.

Key points to remember:

  • One number per delivery. Never reuse a number.
  • Quantities matter, prices are optional. The note proves what moved. It does not have to show a price.
  • Count before you sign. The receiver checks the goods at the door. Note any damage on the slip.
  • Keep your copy. It is your proof that you delivered.
  • It is not a bill. The invoice asks for payment. The delivery challan only records the goods.

Delivery note, delivery challan, delivery order or invoice?

  • Delivery note. What it does: Records what you delivered. Shows prices?: Optional.
  • Delivery challan. What it does: Another name for a delivery note. Shows prices?: Optional.
  • Delivery order. What it does: Often an instruction to release goods, in some trades. Shows prices?: Varies.
  • Invoice. What it does: Asks the buyer to pay. Shows prices?: Yes.

General guidance. Trade practice differs by market and industry, so check what your buyer expects.

Delivery note template in Word, Excel or the online generator

Refrens gives you downloadable delivery note templates and an online generator. Pick by how you work.

  • Delivery note template Word. What you get: An editable Word file. Account: None. Limit: Unlimited downloads.
  • Delivery note template Excel. What you get: An editable Excel file. Account: None. Limit: Unlimited downloads.
  • Online delivery note generator. What you get: A delivery note PDF. Account: Free account. Limit: 15 documents a year across all document types.

Refrens offers 4 Word and 4 Excel delivery note templates. Use Word when the note carries remarks and a signature block. Use the delivery note template in Excel for a long list of items. Use the generator when you want a finished PDF without formatting anything.

Unlimited downloads of the Word and Excel templates need no signup. The files carry a small Refrens branding at the bottom of the page, and you can remove it. The online generator needs a free account. If 15 documents are not enough to judge the product, a Refrens sales person or account manager can extend your trial, so you can decide before you upgrade.

How to create a delivery note

In Word or Excel

  1. Download a template. Pick a Word or Excel delivery note template in the gallery above. The file downloads at once.
  2. Add the parties. Enter your business details as the sender, then the receiver's details.
  3. Add items. List each item with a quantity. Add a short description where the receiver needs one.
  4. Add the reference. Enter the buyer's order number, so the receiver can match the note to the order.
  5. Check, then send. Count the quantities against the order. Save the file and print it, or send it with the goods.

Create a delivery note online

  1. Fill in the form above. Check the delivery note number and the date.
  2. Add both parties. Use "Billed By (Your Details)" for your business. Use "Billed To (Client Details)" for the receiver.
  3. Add items. Enter each item with its quantity.
  4. Hide the prices. A delivery note usually carries quantities only. In the form, hide the rate, the amount and the totals. You can show them again when the buyer wants them.
  5. Add notes and a signature. State how the goods travel, add remarks, and add a signature or an image.
  6. Pick a design and download. Choose a template, then download the PDF with a free account or send it by email.
  7. Check. Confirm the number is new and the quantities match the order.

Delivery note format: what each field does

Use this delivery note format so the receiver can check the goods without a phone call. The same fields work as a delivery challan format.

  • Title. What it settles: Shows what the document is. What to enter: "Delivery Note" or "Delivery Challan". Status: Good practice.
  • Delivery note number. What it settles: Makes each delivery one traceable record. What to enter: A unique number in its own series. Status: Good practice.
  • Date. What it settles: Records when the goods left. What to enter: The dispatch date. Status: Good practice.
  • Sender details. What it settles: Identifies who delivers. What to enter: Business name, address and contact. Status: Good practice.
  • Receiver details. What it settles: Identifies who receives. What to enter: Name and delivery address. Status: Good practice.
  • Buyer's reference. What it settles: Links the note to the order. What to enter: The buyer's purchase order number. Status: Good practice.
  • Items. What it settles: Defines what you deliver. What to enter: Name, short description, quantity. Status: Good practice.
  • Prices. What it settles: Shows the value, if the buyer needs it. What to enter: Rate and amount, or leave hidden. Status: Optional.
  • Transport details. What it settles: Names the carrier. What to enter: Vehicle number or courier, if any. Status: Good practice.
  • Remarks. What it settles: Records condition and shortfalls. What to enter: "2 cartons damaged", "30 on back-order". Status: Good practice.
  • Receiver's signature. What it settles: Proves the receiver accepted the goods. What to enter: Name, signature and date. Status: Good practice.

This page gives general guidance. It is not legal or tax advice. Rules for transport documents differ by country and by what you ship, so check your local rules.

Why a numbered delivery note keeps your stock right

Every delivery note is one stock-out entry. Your stock count drops by the quantities on the note.

Skip the note and the stock leaves with no record. Your count says 500. The shelf holds 470. Nobody can say where 30 units went.

Number every note in one series. DN-0106, DN-0107, DN-0108. Now a gap shows. If the next note is DN-0110, then DN-0109 left the warehouse unrecorded. Find it today, not at the year-end count.

In your Refrens account, you choose how each document type touches inventory. You can set it to update stock automatically, to block only, or to do nothing. You can set delivery challans differently from invoices.

Delivery note sample: a distributor ships office supplies

Illustrative example. We invented the business, the items and the quantities.

An office supplies distributor sends DN-0107 to a retail customer. The customer's order number is PO-5521. The note shows quantities only.

  • Printer paper, ream: Ordered 150, Delivered 120, Remark 30 on back-order

  • Toner cartridge: Ordered 40, Delivered 40, Remark Complete

  • Desk organizer: Ordered 60, Delivered 60, Remark Complete

  • Units delivered: 120 + 40 + 60 = 220

  • Back-order: 150 − 120 = 30 reams

Now the stock register for the same three items:

  • Printer paper, ream: Opening stock 400, Delivered on DN-0107 120, Closing stock 280
  • Toner cartridge: Opening stock 90, Delivered on DN-0107 40, Closing stock 50
  • Desk organizer: Opening stock 200, Delivered on DN-0107 60, Closing stock 140
  • Total units: Opening stock 690, Delivered on DN-0107 220, Closing stock 470

Check: 690 − 220 = 470, and 280 + 50 + 140 = 470.

In this illustrative example, one delivery note moves 220 units out of a 690-unit stock, and the register closes at 470.

The customer counts the boxes at the door and signs. The 30 missing reams are on the note as a back-order, so nobody argues about them later. Now suppose DN-0108 never gets written. Twenty-five reams leave the warehouse and the register still says 280. The numbering gap is the only clue.

Who uses delivery notes, and why

Wholesalers

A wholesaler ships many orders a day. A delivery note ties each shipment to one order and one stock-out entry.

Traders

A trader moves goods between suppliers and buyers, often without a warehouse of their own. The note proves what they handed over, and when.

Distributors

A distributor delivers to many shops on a route. Each shop signs for its own delivery, so each drop has its own proof.

Mistakes that unbalance your stock

  • No delivery note number. Two deliveries share a reference, or one has none. Number every note once.
  • Goods leave first, the note comes later. The count is wrong for days and someone writes the note from memory. Write the note before the truck leaves.
  • Quantities edited after dispatch. The receiver holds a different number than you do. Issue a new note for a correction and keep the old one.
  • No receiver signature. You cannot prove the goods arrived. Get a name and a signature at the door.
  • Shortfalls not written down. "120 of 150" with no remark leaves 30 reams in doubt. Add a back-order line.
  • No order reference. The buyer cannot match the note to their order. Copy the buyer's order number.

What a template does not do

A Word or Excel file helps you write one delivery note. It has limits:

  • It does not number your notes. You keep the series.
  • It does not update your stock count. You enter the change by hand.
  • It does not turn into an invoice. You retype the delivery.
  • It does not check transport rules. Confirm what your country requires for goods in transit.

The online generator builds a PDF from a form, one document at a time. Your Refrens account handles the rest.

From delivery note to invoice and stock

The sample shows the friction. The distributor writes three lines on the note, again on the stock register and again on the invoice. That is nine entries for one delivery.

In your Refrens account, you can convert a delivery note into an invoice, or link the two so they stay connected. The delivery note can also link to inventory, so the stock count moves with the dispatch. Prices stay hidden on the note and show on the invoice.

Use invoicing software with delivery notes to bill the delivery without retyping it. Send a quote first? Free quotation software carries the quote forward into the order and the delivery.

Every invoice, quotation and proforma feature in Refrens is also available on delivery notes. That includes custom fields and columns, your logo, letterhead and signature, email sharing and 150+ currencies. Some features sit on paid plans.

Use a template when you ship a few deliveries a week. Move to the software when you update stock by hand or retype the same delivery on a second document.

Which document do you need?

Match the document to the step in the sale.

A purchase order commits to the buy. A delivery note records the goods. An invoice asks for payment.

Create your delivery note

Scroll up and download a delivery note template in Word or Excel, or fill in the form to create a delivery challan online as a PDF. More than 150K businesses across 170+ countries send quotations and invoices with Refrens.

Frequently asked questions

What is a delivery note?

A delivery note is a document that travels with the goods and lists what the sender delivers, in what quantity and to whom. The receiver counts the goods, signs the note and keeps a copy. The sender keeps the other copy as proof of delivery.

What is a delivery challan?

A delivery challan is another name for a delivery note. It is a numbered slip that records what you send, how many, from whom and to whom. It records the goods and does not ask for payment.

What should a delivery note format include?

A delivery note format should include the title, a unique number, the date, the sender, the receiver, the items with quantities, a reference to the buyer's order, remarks and the receiver's signature. Prices are optional. Use the field table above as a checklist.

What is the difference between a delivery note and an invoice?

A delivery note records the goods delivered and an invoice asks for payment. The note usually shows quantities only. The invoice shows prices, tax and the total. In Refrens, you can convert a delivery note into an invoice or link the two.

Does a delivery note need prices?

No. A delivery note can show quantities only, and many businesses keep prices off it. In the Refrens form, you can hide the rate, the amount and the totals, and show them again when the buyer asks.

What is the difference between a delivery note and a gate pass?

A delivery note goes with the goods to the receiver and proves what you delivered. A gate pass lets goods or people leave a site, and the owner of the premises issues it. A delivery note can serve as the record that backs a gate pass for outgoing goods, depending on the site's rules.

Can I create a delivery note online for free?

Yes. You can download the Word and Excel delivery note templates free, with no signup and with unlimited downloads. To create a delivery note PDF with the online generator, you need a free account, which covers 15 documents a year across all document types. A Refrens sales person or account manager can extend your trial if you need more time to decide.

About Refrens. Refrens is invoicing and quotation software for small businesses, freelancers and service businesses. Create invoices, send quotations and collect payments in one place.

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