Free Retail Inventory Delivery Note Template & Generator
A store delivery note records what a receiving lead at a single store actually took in: SKU, case pack, the quantity ordered on the buyer's PO, the quantity delivered off the truck, and the quantity accepted after substitutions and damage are dealt with. It splits the drop by department so the store knows which area is carrying the cost, names the carrier and route, and is signed at the back door with the time. Accepted is the column the invoice follows.
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| Description | Qty |
|---|---|
| Apparel cartons | 18 |
| Accessory display packs | 6 |
| Backordered cartons | 3 |
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Use-case checklist
What to include in a retail inventory delivery note
Delivered and accepted are two different numbers, and a store that signs the delivered figure has bought everything on the truck. A substitution the buyer never approved goes onto the shelf, sells at a margin nobody modeled, and cannot be returned once it is priced and mixed with stock. Damage is the same story: a water-stained case accepted at 6:48 a.m. is the store's problem by the time it is opened. The department split is the quieter issue. A drop covering four departments posted as one lump makes store-level margin unreadable for the whole month, so the buyer cannot tell whether bath is underperforming or simply absorbed someone else's freight. Getting both right at the back door takes a minute; unpicking them takes a period-end.
- supplier, retailer, store, PO, and order
- SKU, description, pack, and unit
- ordered, delivered, accepted, and backordered quantities
- substitution, damage, and condition notes
- carrier, date, department, receiver, and signature
Example starting lines
| Description | Qty |
|---|---|
| Apparel cartons | 18 |
| Accessory display packs | 6 |
| Backordered cartons | 3 |
Complete it cleanly
Reference the buyer PO and supplier order, list SKU, case pack, ordered and delivered quantities, backorders, substitutions, store or department, carrier, condition exceptions, and receiver signature.
How to make a retail inventory delivery note in 6 steps
Open the delivery note generator
Start from this page so the delivery note opens with fields and sample lines already set up for retailers, distributors, and store receiving teams. No account is needed to create or preview.
Enter both parties
Add your business name, address and contact details, then the customer name and address exactly as they should appear on the record.
Add the retail inventory lines
Replace each sample line with the real work or goods. Make sure the document shows supplier, retailer, store, PO, and order, SKU, description, pack, and unit, ordered, delivered, accepted, and backordered quantities.
Check the figures
Totals calculate as you type. Confirm quantities, rates, any tax line and the final total against your own records before you send anything.
Set the reference and dates
Give the delivery note a unique number and the correct date so it can be traced later and matched to related documents.
Review and download the PDF
Reference the buyer PO and supplier order, list SKU, case pack, ordered and delivered quantities, backorders, substitutions, store or department, carrier, condition exceptions, and receiver signature. Preview is free; a PDF download costs $4.99, or is included with Unlimited.
Worked example
A four-department store drop with a substitution turned away
Kestrel Home Goods delivers PO R-8830 to Ferngate Mercantile Store 12 in Rockvale on the morning of Sept 8, 2026, route 7, three pallets and four loose cartons. The supplier short-picked mugs, offered a ribbed towel in place of the waffle towel on the PO, and one doormat case arrived water-stained.
- PO R-8830 for Store 12, supplier order SO-44190, four SKUs across four departments
- $3,169.00
- KH-CDL-220 soy pillar candle, case pack 12, at $42.00, Home Fragrance
- 20 of 20 accepted / $840.00
- KH-TWL-118 waffle bath towel, case pack 6, at $57.00, Bath, ordered 15 cases
- 10 delivered / $570.00
- Substitution offered on the balance, KH-TWL-119 ribbed towel, not on the PO, offered at the same $57.00 a case, rejected at the dock
- 5 cases / $285.00 refused
- KH-MUG-041 stoneware mug, case pack 8, at $36.00, Tabletop, six cases backordered to Sept 15
- 18 of 24 / $648.00
- KH-MAT-077 jute doormat, case pack 4, at $61.00, Outdoor, one case water-stained and refused before signing
- 9 of 10 accepted / $549.00
- Delivered value off the truck, counting the refused substitution and the stained case
- $2,953.00
- Accepted value, the figure Store 12 will match the supplier invoice against, charged out as Home Fragrance $840.00, Bath $570.00, Tabletop $648.00, Outdoor $549.00
- $2,607.00
- Still open on PO R-8830: five towel cases, six mug cases, one doormat case
- $562.00
- Signed by receiving lead M. Prudhomme at 6:48 a.m., note DN-6612, route 7
- Accepted
Delivered value was $2,953.00 and accepted value was $2,607.00, and only the second number should appear on an invoice. The habitual error is signing for the delivered count and sorting the substitution out later, because a case that reaches the sales floor and gets priced has effectively been bought.
When this document is the right choice
Use this delivery note to record which goods were delivered and accepted. A delivery note tracks items and quantities, normally without prices. The invoice handles payment; the signed delivery note supports quantity and condition checks.
Frequently asked questions
The driver brought a substitute SKU that was not on the PO. What should the note say?
Show it on its own line as a substitution, name both SKUs, price it as it was offered, and record the decision as accepted or rejected with a quantity. In the example five cases of KH-TWL-119 were offered against KH-TWL-118 at the same $57.00 a case and rejected, so the line shows $285.00 offered and nothing accepted, and the original five cases stay open on the PO. Writing the rejection down is what stops the supplier invoicing for them, and it gives the buyer a record of how often that supplier substitutes without asking.
Delivered and accepted are different numbers. Which one does the invoice follow?
Accepted, every time, and the note should make the gap visible rather than hiding it. Here $2,953.00 came off the truck and $2,607.00 was accepted, a $346.00 difference made up of the $285.00 rejected substitution and the $61.00 water-stained doormat case. Print both figures and the reason for each deduction so the supplier's billing team can raise a credit against specific lines instead of the store parking the whole invoice while someone reconstructs what happened at 6:48 in the morning.
One drop covers four departments. How should that be split on the note?
Tag each SKU line with its department and total by department at the foot of the note. Home Fragrance $840.00, Bath $570.00, Tabletop $648.00 and Outdoor $549.00 lets the store post the receipt to four cost centers without anyone re-sorting cartons from memory. Do the same for freight if it is charged, either allocated across departments or shown as a single line the store books separately, but say which, because an unallocated freight line is what quietly distorts one department's margin.
Can the store receiver refuse a damaged case, or does that have to go back to the buyer?
That is your company's policy rather than a rule anyone can state for you, so set it and print it on the note. Most retailers let a receiving lead refuse visible damage on the spot, because the alternative is signing for a stained case and opening a claim, while substitutions and quantity changes usually need the buyer. Whatever the split is, the receiver needs to know it before the truck arrives, since a decision deferred to a phone call at 6:48 a.m. tends to become an acceptance by default.
The pallets arrive shrink-wrapped and the driver will not wait for a case count. What should the receiver sign?
Sign for what was genuinely verified, and say on the note that this is what you did. Three pallets received sealed, cartons not counted, subject to check by 11:00 a.m. is a truthful record. A clean signature on a delivered quantity nobody counted is not, and it is the one that loses the claim four days later. Then actually count inside the window you wrote, note the result and the time on the store copy, and tell the supplier the same day. Agree that window with your carriers ahead of time, because a discrepancy raised a week after a sealed drop turns into a negotiation.
More delivery note templates
Start with the closest business workflow and adjust the details.