What to record
- The order or job number, so the delivery can be matched to the invoice.
- What was handed over: each item and the quantity, especially when it’s only part of the order.
- When: the date and time.
- Who received it: their name and signature. Ideally someone authorised by the customer, not whoever was at the gate.
- Who delivered it: your driver, or the courier and the waybill number.
- Where: the delivery address, or that it was collected from you.
- Condition: a note, and a photo if anything was damaged or short.
Partial deliveries
Big jobs often go out in loads. Each load needs its own proof of delivery listing what was in it, so you can always say what has been delivered and what is still to come. Without that, the last load is where the arguments start.
Collections and couriers
When a customer collects, get the same signature and items list at your counter, and note who collected. When you use a courier, keep the waybill number with the order, so their tracking and proof of delivery can be found when needed.
Keep it with the job
A signed delivery note in a box file is proof, but only if you can find it. Kept on the order, the proof of delivery is there when the customer queries the invoice, when you chase payment, or when someone asks months later what was actually delivered.
Signing on a phone or tablet at the door removes the paper step entirely. The signature, time and items go straight onto the job.
How Fabristack does it
In Fabristack’s Order Management each handover, whether a delivery, a collection or a courier, records what was handed over, is signed on the device, and produces a proof of delivery PDF that stays on the order. Partial deliveries are tracked line by line, and the order moves to Delivered once everything has gone.