What is a Packing Slip? (And How to Use a Free Template)

Are you struggling to find a way to reduce complaints of missing or wrong products? There is a simple solution: packing slips.

Packaging slips are important for several reasons, such as ensuring accuracy, improving customer service, and streamlining the shipping process.

It’s a basic document that lists everything that needs to be included in a package. Your warehouse team can use it as a final checklist to see if they have correctly packed the order. This will significantly reduce packing errors.

Now, invoices and shipping labels are mandatory. You can’t complete your delivery without them. Packing slips are optional, but if you aren’t using them yet, you should. Trust me, I learned the hard way. I didn’t realize how helpful they were until my staff began missing products in the orders.

Read on to learn more about packing slips, their benefits, and how you can make a customized one using a free template.

Packing slips serve multiple purposes in the shipping process, benefiting both businesses and customers.

Let’s begin.

What is a Packing Slip?

A packing slip is a detailed record of items included in a package. Packing slips are used for physical goods being shipped or received. The details can vary depending on the nature of your business.

But, generally, the basic information that should be included on a packing slip is:

• Product name (each product is listed as a line item with its specific details)
• Product quantity
• SKU number
• Weight and size of the package
• Order number
• Shipping details
• Sender’s details
• Recipient’s details

Here’s how a packing slip from Amazon looks:

A packing slip might seem like just another piece of paper, but it is probably the simplest solution you can use to reduce your staff’s errors during the fulfillment process.

Packing Slips vs Other Shipping Documents

The difference between a packing slip and other shipping documents, such as invoices, delivery notes, and shipping labels, is important to understand for proper order fulfillment and payment processing.

A packing slip, a bill of lading, and a shipping label look almost the same, but they aren’t. Let’s cover the difference between a packing slip, a bill of lading, a delivery note, and an invoice, and highlight the differences between these “seemingly annoying” pieces of paperwork.

Packing Slip vs Shipping Label

A packing slip is for your internal team and the buyers. Your carrier company doesn’t need it and won’t see it because it goes inside the box for verification purposes.

Unlike a packing slip, a shipping label has all the details the carrier company needs to deliver the package, i.e., the recipient’s name, address, tracking numbers, barcode, and the sender’s information. Shipping labels are used by carriers such as USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL to manage outbound shipments.

Here’s the thing: your logistics partner can’t deliver your package without a shipping label, but it doesn’t care whether the packing slip is inside the package.

Now, let’s look at the bill of lading.

Bill of Lading vs Packing Slip

A bill of lading is a legal contract between you and the logistics company. It’s more like proof that the shipping company has your goods and will deliver them as agreed. It’s a complex document with details like transportation mode, carrier details, and shipment terms. Reference numbers are included to cross-check shipments and ensure accuracy throughout the order management process. You need a bill of lading for bulk orders and international shipments, and it’s mandatory.

Here’s a table to help you understand how a packing slip differs from the bill of lading and shipping label.

Feature	Packing slip	Shipping label	Bill of lading
Purpose	Verify the content of the package	Guide the carrier to deliver the package to its destination	A legal contract to show proof of ownership
Who is it meant for	Seller and customer	Carrier	All parties involved in the shipping process, including the carrier, shipper, and consignee
Where is it placed	Inside the package	On the package	Not pasted on the package. Handed directly to the shipper
What’s mentioned in it	Product details like name, SKU, quantity, weight, etc.	Addresses, tracking codes	Addresses, shipping terms, ownership details, and reference numbers

The Importance of Packing Slips

Still thinking if you should waste paper and ink printing packing slips when they are not legally required? Let me explain why I feel they are a lifesaver for e-commerce stores.

There are two reasons why I love packing slips:

First, they help my team prevent mistakes (instead of fixing them later) by ensuring all ordered items are included in the shipment. Second, an error-free delivery keeps my buyers happy, so they keep buying from me again and again.

Packing slips also help businesses meet customer expectations for accuracy and reliability.

Why Packing Slips are Essential for Businesses

When you print a packing slip, you basically create a checklist for your staff that tells them what must go inside a package. In fulfillment centers, packing slips play a crucial role in supporting efficient inventory management and order processing, ensuring smooth shipping operations.

Let’s say David ordered six different types of handmade candles, five of each variety. He also ordered six candlestands, three candle lighters, and three candle cutters.

That’s a big order (and a bit confusing, too). Your staff might miss something or send the wrong variety or quantity of candles. After all, we are human beings.

When you give them a detailed packing slip, they can check off each item as they pack. Before shipping, the contents of each order are verified against the packing slip to ensure all items and quantities match the customer’s order. They won’t have to look at the computer screen again and again. The packing list itself is enough to help them pack everything correctly.

Now, here’s what happens:

• There will be less confusion, especially when packing bigger orders.
• Your staff will make fewer mistakes.
• They can quickly double-check the content without needing a computer or phone.
• A packing slip will save their time and effort.
• Your staff will process the order faster.
• You will be able to keep your inventory accurate.
• You will receive fewer complaints of missing products or wrong orders.
• If a buyer (David in this case) reports a mistake, you can confirm it from the packing slip.
• If he wants to return/exchange something, you can process it quickly because you won’t have to search the records.

E-commerce giants like Target and Walmart are using packing slips, so you should, too.

How Packing Slips Benefit the Customer Experience

As an online buyer, I don’t always remember what I ordered. So when I have to confirm something, I usually check my emails or the order summary on the website.

If I find a packing slip inside my package, I won’t have to use my phone. I can compare the items (and their quantities) mentioned in the list with the contents of the package. This makes it easy to verify the received items against the packing slip and ensure that everything ordered has arrived correctly. Isn’t it easy?

Here’s how packing slips help buyers:

• They won’t have to do any guesswork.
• They will be happy to know that you have made an extra effort to verify the content of the package before sending it.
• If they want to return or exchange something, they will find all the details in the packing slip.
• When they consistently receive error-free packages, they will start trusting you.

In e-commerce, the average retention rate is just 38%. If a simple packing slip helps you keep your buyers happy, you should start using it as soon as you can.

Key Information Included on a Packing Slip

A packing slip should be fairly simple, so your staff (and your buyers) aren’t overwhelmed by too many details.

It should only have customer details, shipping details, an itemized list of content, and any other information that’s important to verify the accuracy of the order. While the exact details can vary, the price of each item is often included to help verify the contents and for record-keeping, though it may not always be necessary.

For international shipments, the value of the items may also be listed to assist with customs clearance.

Here’s how a typical packing slip looks.

Customer and Shipping Details

Mention the recipient’s name, complete delivery address, contact number, and email ID (optional). Also include your business name, return/shipping address, customer service number, and email address. 

If the customer finds any discrepancies, he will know how to contact you. Plus, you will have a copy of the packing slip in your record so you can quickly check what went wrong (and why). 

Itemized List of Contents

Mention a detailed breakdown of the order: the exact name of the products, their size, quantity, weight/volume, SKU, product code, and other details. 

The more details you provide, the easier it will be for your staff to pack the order correctly. 

For example, if you are making a packing slip for David, here’s how the itemized product section should be:

Product name	Quantity	Size/weight	SKU
Lavender Bliss Handmade Candle	6	200g	CND-LAV-BLISS
Citrus Handmade Candle	6	100g	CND-CIT-GROVE
Copper Candle Stand	3	300g	STND-CNDL

Give this itemized packing slip to your staff and ask them to mark off each item as they pack. 

Other Important Information

Packing slips don’t have to be boring. It’s a part of your customer communication, so you can add whatever information you want your buyers to know. Including your brand’s logo and messaging on the packing slip can reinforce brand identity and create a memorable customer experience.

Some good-to-haves are return or exchange policies, a return window, or the last date for returns or exchanges. You may even add a small thank-you note (small gestures have big impacts).

Packing slips can also be tailored to support the needs of different brands, helping them streamline returns and manage inventory.

Want your buyers to record an unboxing video or video testimonial? Put your request in the packing slip.

Be creative and use your packing slip to create the first impression.

Creating a Packing Slip in Shopify

Ready to make your own packing slip?

Packing slips are an essential part of the order fulfillment process for any ecommerce store, ensuring accurate and efficient shipping operations.

The good news is you don’t need any software for it. Plenty of free templates are floating around online, but Shopify merchants can use its built-in template. It is clean, professional, and does everything automatically. Plus, you can even customize it using your logo and other details to give it a branded look.

Using Shopify’s Default Packing Slip Template

The best thing about Shopify’s packing slip template is that it is very user-friendly. 

Shopify’s packing slip template is very easy to use. Here’s what you need to do to start using it: 

• Go to your order section. 
• Select the order for which you want a packing slip. 
• Click on the print button and select “Print packing slip” from the dropdown menu. That’s it! 

You don’t have to do anything manually. Shopify will automatically pull all the details and add them to the template (wow). 

• There is a very rare chance of error. 
• All your packing slips will look uniform and professional. 
• The template automatically adjusts itself to fit the standard paper sizes. 

Need customized packing slips? Shopify gives you that option, too.  

Customizing Your Shopify Packing Slip

You can add your logo and change the size of the packing slip to reflect your brand’s identity. 

To add your logo:

• Go to Shopify admin – Content – Files.
• Upload your logo and copy the URL you will get.
• Go to Settings – Shipping and delivery – Packing slip.
• Click on “Edit” to open the template editor. 
• Paste the below code above the customer and order details. Make sure to replace “YOUR_LOGO_URL” with the actual URL of your logo.
• Preview and save it. 

<div style="text-align:center; margin-bottom: 20px;">

<img src="YOUR_LOGO_URL" style="width:150px; height:auto;">

</div>

Now, here is what you need to do to change the size of the packing slip:

• Go to Settings – Shipping and delivery – Packing slips – Edit.
• Use the below HTML code to change the font size and padding. Make the font size bigger and increase the padding to give some breathing room to the content of the slip. 
• Preview the changes and save when you are done. 

<div style="width: 100%; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; padding: 20px;">

<!-- Existing packing slip content here -->

</div>

Conclusion 

A packing slip is the simplest verification tool to reduce packing errors. And, with Shopify, you don’t even need to manually copy and paste any of the details on the template. All you need to do is customize it (one time), print it, and give it to your staff. 

Yes, it’s that simple! 

I hope this blog provided you with enough details on what a packing slip is and why you should use it. If you still have any doubts, feel free to talk to our experts today.

At Channelwill, we are always eager to help e-commerce businesses improve their processes. We keep sharing our valuable tips and strategies through blogs. Read them regularly to stay updated on the latest trends and processes.