Delivery docket vs invoice
The two documents look similar and often list the same items, but they do different jobs. Confusing them is how businesses end up paying for goods that never arrived.
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What a delivery docket does
A delivery docket travels with the goods. It lists what the supplier says is in the load, is signed by whoever receives it, and is evidence of delivery rather than a demand for money. Prices are often absent altogether.
- Issued by the supplier, signed by the customer
- Records quantities delivered, not amounts owed
- May omit prices, VAT and payment terms
- Called a delivery note in the UK and a packing slip in North America
What an invoice does
An invoice asks for payment. It carries a unique number, tax details, payment terms and a total, and it is the document your accounts system and tax authority care about. One invoice often covers several deliveries.
- Sequentially numbered and dated for tax purposes
- Shows net, VAT and gross amounts
- States payment terms and due date
- Can consolidate a week or month of dockets
Where the goods received note sits
The GRN is your own record of what you accepted, raised when the load is checked in. It is the document that catches a discrepancy between what the supplier says was sent and what actually came off the lorry — the one place where a shortage can still be corrected cheaply.
Matching them without retyping
Comparison only works when all three documents are in a form you can filter and total. Converting dockets and goods received notes into Excel puts them in the same shape as your invoice data, so matching is a formula rather than an afternoon with a highlighter.
- Match on product code and quantity to find short deliveries
- Total dockets by supplier to check against a statement
- Spot invoices with no matching delivery before you pay
- Keep the original scan alongside the extracted data
Frequently asked questions
- Is a delivery docket the same as a delivery note?
- In practice, yes. 'Docket' is the common term in Ireland, 'delivery note' in the UK, and 'packing slip' or 'delivery ticket' in the US and Canada. All record what physically arrived.
- Can a delivery docket be used as an invoice?
- Not normally. A docket rarely carries the VAT breakdown, payment terms and sequential numbering that tax authorities expect on an invoice, though some small suppliers issue a combined docket-invoice that does.
- Where does a goods received note fit in?
- The supplier issues the docket; you raise the GRN when you check the load in. Where the two disagree, the GRN is your record of what was actually accepted.
- How long should dockets be kept?
- Keep them as long as the invoices they support — commonly six years in Ireland and the UK. Check your own jurisdiction and auditor's requirements, as retention rules vary.
- What is a three-way match?
- Comparing the purchase order, the goods received note or docket, and the supplier invoice. When all three agree the invoice is safe to pay; when they do not, you have found a query before the money leaves.
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