Delivery Note

A Delivery Note is created when goods are shipped from a company’s warehouse to a customer. It serves as official proof that items have physically left the warehouse and are in transit or delivered.

The Delivery Note also plays an important role in inventory accounting because stock is reduced only after submission. It is typically created against a Sales Order, but can also be created independently depending on business requirements.

To access Delivery Notes, go to:

Home > Stock > Stock Transactions > Delivery Note

1. Prerequisites

Before creating a Delivery Note, certain master data should ideally be available to ensure smooth processing:

• Sales Order — This is the primary reference document that defines what items, quantities, and terms have been agreed with the customer. Delivery Notes are most commonly created from it.

2. How to Create a Delivery Note

2.1 From Sales Order (Recommended Flow)

The most common and reliable way to create a Delivery Note is directly from a submitted Sales Order. This ensures consistency of item details and reduces manual errors.

• Open a submitted Sales Order that has pending quantities to deliver.
• Click on Create > Delivery Note from the action menu.
• The system automatically pulls item details, quantities, and customer information.

2.2 Manual Creation

A Delivery Note can also be created manually, though this is less preferred because it increases the risk of mismatched data compared to the Sales Order.

• Go to the Delivery Note list view and click New.
• Use Get Items From > Sales Order to fetch existing order data into the document.
• Review and assign the correct source warehouse for stock movement.
• Enter actual quantities being shipped (partial or full).
• Save and submit to update stock levels.

You can also modify posting date and time if backdated delivery needs to be recorded, subject to system validation rules.

3. Statuses

Each Delivery Note goes through different statuses depending on its progress from creation to fulfillment.

• Draft — The document is created but not yet submitted. No stock movement happens at this stage.
• To Bill — Items have been delivered but not yet invoiced. This status links delivery with pending billing.
• Completed — All items have been successfully delivered and accounted for.
• Return Issued — Some or all delivered items have been returned by the customer.
• Cancelled — The Delivery Note has been voided and does not affect stock.
• Closed — The remaining quantities are intentionally not delivered or billed, closing the order partially.

4. Partial Deliveries

Partial delivery allows businesses to ship items in multiple installments instead of fulfilling the entire order in one go.

For example, if a Sales Order contains 10 units, you can ship 5 units first and create another Delivery Note later for the remaining quantity. This helps in handling stock availability constraints and phased deliveries.

5. From Pick List

Delivery Notes can also be created in bulk using a Pick List. This is especially useful in warehouse operations where multiple orders are processed together.

• Create or open a submitted Pick List.
• Click Create > Delivery Note.
• The system groups items by customer and creates separate Delivery Notes automatically.
• Items not linked to Sales Orders are grouped into separate Delivery Notes.

6. Warehouses

• Source Warehouse — This is the warehouse from which items are physically picked and shipped. Stock is reduced from this location once the Delivery Note is submitted.
• To Warehouse — Used in special cases such as sample retention or internal transfers, where items are not fully dispatched to customers.

7. Items Table

The Items table contains detailed information about products being delivered, including quantities, pricing, and stock tracking details.

• Barcode — Items can be tracked and added using barcode scanning to improve warehouse efficiency and reduce manual entry errors.
• Rate and Pricing — Rates are automatically fetched from the Price List or Sales Order and used to calculate totals.
• Batch & Serial Tracking — Required for items that need traceability, ensuring exact units can be tracked from warehouse to customer.
• Discounts & Margins — Discounts can be applied per item or at document level depending on pricing strategy.

8. Quality Inspection

If Quality Inspection is enabled for an item, the system enforces inspection before allowing submission of the Delivery Note.

This ensures that only verified and approved goods are shipped to customers, improving quality control and reducing returns.

9. Taxes and Charges

Taxes and charges are usually inherited from the Sales Order and are applied during delivery to calculate final valuation and customer billing.

Shipping Rules can also be applied to include logistics cost based on distance, weight, or predefined conditions.

10. Transporter Information

Transporter details help track logistics responsibility when delivery is outsourced to third-party logistics providers.

• Transporter — External logistics partner responsible for shipment delivery.
• Driver — Person physically handling transportation.
• Mode of Transport — Defines whether goods are moved via road, air, rail, or ship.
• Vehicle & Distance — Helps track shipment movement and logistics cost estimation.

11. After Submission

Once the Delivery Note is submitted, ERPNext updates stock levels and creates Stock Ledger Entries for each delivered item.

• Stock is reduced from the Source Warehouse.
• Sales Order quantities are updated to reflect delivery progress.
• Delivery becomes eligible for Sales Invoice creation.

12. Returns

If customers return delivered goods, a Sales Return document can be created against the Delivery Note. This restores stock and updates accounting records accordingly.

13. Skipping Delivery Note

In some business flows, Delivery Notes can be skipped entirely, and Sales Invoices can be created directly from Sales Orders. This depends on Selling Settings configuration.

14. Related Topics

• Sales Order
• Sales Invoice
• Warehouse Management
• Installation Note
• Delivery Trip