Delivery Note
Go to: Inventory → Delivery Note
A Delivery Note records the physical dispatch of goods to a customer. It is the mirror image of the GRN: it closes the loop on a Sales Order, takes stock out of a warehouse, posts cost of goods sold, and creates the basis for the sales invoice.
For the sales-side view — statuses, actions, returns, and what a delivery does to the order and the invoice — see Sales → Delivery Note.
Prerequisite — a Delivery Note starts from a Sales Order or LC
A Delivery Note cannot be typed from scratch. Every item row must come from a Sales Order or a Letter of Credit, pulled in with Get Items. Free-typed rows are rejected on save:
“Parent Document Required — Use Get Items to create Delivery Note from Sales Order or LC.”
The only rows exempt from this rule are the component rows ERPX generates itself for an Item Bundle.
The full chain
| Step | Document | Module | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quotation | Sales | Optional |
| 2 | Sales Order | Sales | Required (or a Letter of Credit) |
| — | Letter of Credit | Export Documents | Alternative source for export sales |
| 3 | Delivery Note | Inventory | Required to move stock |
| 4 | Packing List / Shipment | Inventory / Export Documents | Optional |
| 5 | Sales Invoice | Sales | Required to book the receivable |
The Inventory overview shows SO and LC badges on the Delivery Note tile with counts of orders and letters of credit ready to dispatch. Clicking a badge opens a new Delivery Note with the right picker already open.
Header fields
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Number | Auto-generated document number |
| Customer | Carried from the Sales Order or LC |
| Posting Date | Accounting date of the dispatch |
| Delivery Date | Date the goods left. Drives the valuation rate used |
| Source Warehouse | Where the stock leaves from |
| Currency / Exchange Rate | Currency of the sale |
| Priority | Low / Medium / High, for dispatch planning |
| Payment Term / Price Term | Commercial terms from the order |
| Customer Purchase Order / PO Date | The customer’s own reference |
| Status | Draft → Pending → To Bill → Completed / Closed |
Transport and addresses
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Transporter, Transport Receipt No, LR Number, Vehicle Number, Driver | Outbound logistics for the dispatch record |
| Ship To / Bill To / Dispatch Address | Addresses printed on the note |
| Named Location | Incoterms named place, for export deliveries |
| Contact Person | Who signs for the goods |
| Terms and Conditions | Free text or a saved template |
Accounts
| Field | Posting |
|---|---|
| Expense Account | Debited with cost of goods sold |
| Stock Account | Credited — inventory leaving the books |
Item rows
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Item | Pulled from the Sales Order or LC |
| UOM / Conversion Factor | Selling unit and factor to stock UOM |
| Quantity | Quantity being delivered |
| Price | Selling rate, carried from the order |
| Tax Rate / Discount | Carried from the order |
| Valuation Rate | Derived — the global weighted-average rate at the delivery date, used for COGS |
| Batch | Batch-tracked items: FIFO by default, or a pinned batch |
| Serial Numbers | Serial-tracked items: the exact units leaving |
You never enter a valuation rate on a delivery. Cost is always the item’s current global weighted-average rate — see Stock Valuation.
Creating a Delivery Note
Open a new Delivery Note
Navigate to Inventory → Delivery Note and click New.
Get Items from a Sales Order or Letter of Credit
Click Get Items, choose the customer and the order (or the LC), and select the rows to dispatch. This is what makes the delivery note valid.
Set the delivery date and source warehouse
The delivery date determines the valuation rate applied for COGS. The source warehouse must be a leaf warehouse holding the stock.
Adjust quantities for a partial delivery
Reduce quantities where you are shipping part of the order. The order stays open for the remainder.
Select batches or serials
Batch-tracked rows allocate FIFO unless you pin a batch. Serial-tracked rows require the exact units.
Fill in transport details
Transporter, vehicle, LR number, driver — whatever your gate pass and customer require.
Save, then approve
Save keeps it in Draft — no stock has moved. Approve dispatches the stock.
What approval does
Delivery Note statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared. No stock effect |
| Pending | Awaiting approval |
| To Bill | Delivered, waiting to be invoiced |
| Completed | Fully invoiced |
| Closed | Closed short — the remaining quantity will not be delivered |
| Return | A return delivery note — goods coming back from the customer |
| Return Issued | The original note has had a return raised against it |
| Cancelled | Reversed; kept for audit |
Delivering an Item Bundle
When a row is a bundle parent, ERPX handles the components for you:
| What happens | Detail |
|---|---|
| Component rows are generated | One per bundle entry, quantity = per-bundle quantity × parent quantity |
| The parent moves no stock | Its valuation rate is 0 — it is a wrapper |
| The components move the stock | Each carries its own weighted-average rate, so COGS comes from the components |
| Composition comes from the source order | Not from today’s bundle master, so historical orders ship what was sold |
| Bundle parents are excluded from packing lists | You pack the physical components |
Partial deliveries
Deliver less than ordered and the sales order moves to a partially-delivered state, staying open for the balance. Raise further delivery notes as stock becomes available. The Pending Deliveries report lists what is still owed to customers.
If the remainder will never ship, set the delivery note or order to Closed rather than leaving it open forever.
Returns from customers
Create a Return delivery note against the original. ERPX:
- resolves the rows from the original note, so a return can never exceed what was delivered;
- brings the stock back at the original valuation rates, so the reversal is cost-neutral;
- rebuilds batch and serial identity from the original allocation;
- resolves bundle components through the returned parent row;
- marks the original as Return Issued.
After the Delivery Note
| Next step | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Sales Invoice | Book the receivable against the delivered quantity |
| Packing List | Record carton-level contents (Issue-type packing list) |
| Shipment | Link the dispatch to export shipment documents |
Validations you will meet
| Message / behaviour | Why |
|---|---|
| “Parent Document Required” | A row is not linked to a Sales Order or LC row |
| Insufficient stock in the source warehouse | Not enough stock at the delivery date |
| Serial numbers required | A serial-tracked row has no serials selected |
| Reorder level warning or block | The dispatch would breach a reorder level |
| Bundle not active | The Item Bundle is still in Draft |
| Quality inspection outstanding | The item requires Inspection Required Before Delivery |
Reports
| Report | Answers |
|---|---|
| Delivery by Customer | What each customer received |
| Delivery by Item | What was dispatched, by item |
| Pending Deliveries | Sales orders with undelivered quantity |
| Transaction Chain | SO → DN → Invoice → receipt, end to end |
Tips
- Set the Delivery Date to the real dispatch date. It is what selects the valuation rate for COGS.
- Print the note before the truck leaves. It is the customer’s proof of receipt and your gate pass.
- For serial-tracked goods, scan the serials at the loading bay rather than picking them at a desk.
- Do not close an order short until you are sure. Reopening is more work than leaving it To Bill.
- Assign delivery notes to the dispatcher so they appear on the To Do tile.