A delivery invoice is a document a seller provides to a buyer, or the sender of a package or parcel provides to the recipient. Typically, the document consists of the sender's contact information, an itemized list of contents, and prices. A related document is "bill of lading," which refers to a document provided by a transportation company to the sender of freight to document the transport and delivery.
The sender generally keeps a copy of the delivery invoice that was sent to the recipient. The sender can use this copy to check against in the event of a customer complaint, or to check the address in the event a package is not delivered as scheduled. The delivery invoice itself is useful to accounts receivable, who can bill the customer according to merchandise received.
The recipient can use the delivery invoice to match against what the customer intended to order, and to verify that the sender sent the correct merchandise or parts. The delivery invoice can also act as a receipt to document the purchase date. This could be valuable in the event of a warrantee claim that revolves around the date of delivery.
A delivery invoice can also help a party that purchased an item document a purchase for the purposes of deducting the cost from a tax return. Delivery invoices typically contain an itemized list of the items delivered, as well as their prices.
Generally, a delivery invoice will list items delivered and their costs, the addresses and phone numbers of the recipient and sender, any outstanding balances due and the terms of payment. In some jurisdictions, the seller will have to document the transaction and collect sales or excise taxes as well. The delivery invoice will detail these taxes, where applicable.
You can create an invoice using Microsoft Office by opening a new document and clicking on the "template" button. This will give you a variety of options to choose from. Select a template that suits your desired look and feel and copy your information and logo into the template. Use the "Save As" function to save your personalized template on to your hard drive. Alternatively, you can create one using a number of online business publishing services (see Resources).
