Delivery and Dispatch Log

Who this is for

A line for everything that leaves the door. Date, order reference, customer and destination, how many parcels or items, who carried it, what the carriage cost and who signed for it. The parcels and the carriage cost total themselves.

Small businesses sending goods out by van, courier or post, workshops dispatching finished work, and anyone who has had to prove that something was sent and could not find the docket.

What this helps you track

• What was dispatched, on which day and against which order
• Where it went, and how many parcels or items made up the consignment
• Which carrier took it and what the carriage cost
• Who signed for it at the other end
• Whether you hold proof of delivery, and the period's carriage total

How to use it

1. Write your business, the period and who is keeping the log at the top.
2. Add a line as each consignment goes out, with your order or invoice reference so the dispatch can be matched to the paperwork.
3. Count the parcels or items rather than guessing; that number is what a carrier query will turn on.
4. Choose the carrier and enter the carriage cost from the docket or the courier's confirmation.
5. Write the name of whoever signed, and tick the proof column once you hold a signature, photograph or tracking confirmation.
6. The totals and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the columns at the foot and carry the outstanding lines forward.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What counts as proof of delivery?

Whatever you can produce later: a signed docket, a carrier's tracking page, a photograph at the door. The tick says you hold something; the notes column is the place to say what and where it is filed.

Should a collection be logged?

Yes — set the carrier to collected and write who collected it in the signed column. Goods that leave with the customer go missing as often as goods that leave with a courier.

How long should I keep the log?

Long enough to answer a query, which in practice means longer than you think. How long records must be kept is set by the rules where you are, so check rather than guess.

Can I use it for goods coming in?

This one is built for what goes out. A separate goods-in log keeps deliveries received apart from consignments sent, which is easier to search than one mixed book.