Create and Print a Packing slip in QuickBooks is a document that contains the goods, sizes, and other important shipping information when you ship the goods to your customers.
QuickBooks is not a huge packing slip fan. In fact, in only one place you will find any indication for packing slips, which is in the drop-down list, where you will go to select templates for sales orders or invoices and this is for Premier and Enterprise editions only.
Therefore, if you are using either of these, you should enable it if you have not already enabled Sales Order Preference in QuickBooks. If it is switched on, you will see the Create Sales Order option under the Customers menu. If it is not, edit it in the top menu bar and select Preferences. Next, click Sales and Customers, and then Company Preferences in the top center. Now, check the box on the left side of the enabled sales order and click OK. (QuickBooks closes all open windows to accept changed preferences.)
What Is Packing Slip?
A packing slip is a complete list of all items included in the shipping order. The packing slip is sent to the shipping department, which instructs them which list to send to fulfill the order.
What Is The Difference Between A Packing Slip And An Invoice?
Despite the similarity in nature (and may seem almost identical at a glance), packing slip and invoice can serve different purposes. The packing slip is used to indicate the physical goods to be received, where the invoice is the financial document of the order, containing information about how much money each product has been sold for, payment terms, payment method, and date.
In some cases, the packing slip and invoice are intended for different people. An invoice will be sent to the person responsible for paying the bill and the packing slip will be sent to the person receiving the package. If you order anything for yourself, both documents will work for you. However, if you are buying something for someone else, you will receive an invoice but the recipient will receive a packing slip.
While both documents start at the e-Commerce store, the invoice is trigger by the payment platform, while the packing slip is triggered by shipping or fulfillment technology.
Additionally, not all businesses use invoices, but not all businesses use packing slips.
Why Create And Print A Packing Slip Is Important For E-Commerce Businesses
Packing Slips Note everything the customer orders. Since you are not getting goods from brick and mortar stores, e-commerce orders use packing slips for several reasons that help connect the digital world to the physical world.
Make Sure Everything Is In Transit
Checking and double-checking is important in the e-commerce fulfillment process. Before sealing and labeling the box, the packer must verify the contents of what the customer actually ordered, which includes an accurate count of several SKUs. The packing slip is a reflection of all ordered items and a record of physical items. As soon as this is verified, they can put the packing slip in the box and ship the order.
Easily Track All Items In Order
Depending on the order and the size of the products, as well as the location of different SKUs between different warehouses, an order may need to be segregated into separate goods (i.e. some goods will be ships in separate boxes). If an order is spread across multiple boxes, the packing slip helps handle both the seller and the recipient.
Identify Damaged Objects
Helps identify and sort damage items – whether the fragile item is broken during shipment or the entire package is depleted in shipment. Such delivery exceptions do occur, but having a packing slip as a backup can help with a refund or reissue of the package.
Make Sure All Items Are Received
Packing slips are used to identify missing items and ensure that everything ordered is received. You can think of it as a record of what should happen on a paper trail or in transit. If your order comes in multiple packages, e-commerce order tracking shows that all of these have been delivered so you can easily monitor any errors.
Allow Customs To Estimate Shipping Value
If you are shipping internationally, you can use a customs packing slip to estimate shipping value. However, customs usually require a commercial invoice (details of the goods, their price, the destination of the seller and shipper, and terms of delivery and payment), and a package must be blank.
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How To Create And Print A Packing Slip In QuickBooks
Here following steps of Create and Print a Packing slip in QuickBooks:
Step 1. Go to Customers in the top menu bar and click on Create Sales Order
Step 2. Click the dropdown to the right of “Template” and select Intuit S.O. Packing slip
Step 3. Complete all the fields and click Save and Close or Save and New to create a new packing slip.
To Print A Packing Slip On QuickBooks Premier And Enterprise
Step 1. Go to File in the top menu bar, click on Print Form, and select Sales Order.
Step 2. Check the box (S) of the packing slip you want to print (left) and click OK.
To Edit The Packing Slip In QuickBooks Premier And Enterprise
Step 1. Go to Customers in the top menu bar and click on Create Sales Order
Step 2. Click the dropdown to the right of “Template” and select Intuit S.O. Packing slip
Step 3. Click on the blue arrow on the left, upper left
Step 4. Make edits, and then click Save and Close.
Print The Packing Slip At QuickBooks Online
- From the left menu, select Sales and then Customers.
- Choose a customer name to display a list of their transactions.
- From the Transaction List tab, select the box next to each invoice or sales receipt for which you want to print the packing slip.
- Select the Batch Action drop-down, and then select Print Packing Slip.
- The Print Preview screen opens so that you can select the printing options, preview, and print.
What Should Be On The Packing Slip?
Packing slips include items such as price, SKU, and item listings. The exact details included vary depending on the business and products, but there are some positive aspects that you will find in almost any packing slip.
1. Shipping Address, Order Date, And Contact Information
Like an invoice, it is useful for recording basic information purposes or if there is a problem with shipping during shipment. Of course, the shipping label is the default for shipping carriers, but a packing slip is an auxiliary backup option if there is a problem with the bus.
2. List Of Goods Shipped
Many buyers will consider the items they find against this list, ordering to make sure they are receiving everything they paid for. They may also indicate their confirmation email, but some may prefer packing slip work.
3. List Of Items Outside The Stock
With the invoice, the packing slip will contain any line items ordered, but will not be shipped for rearrangement. It is very rare not to communicate before the order is submitted or completed; However, if this happens it will be clearly explained.
4. The Size Of Each Object
To inspect each item from the packing slip, the product name or SKU is not sufficient, as most sellers place more than one order of a particular item. One size helps to reduce the length of a column list so that multiple orders of the same item do not result in a packing slip of up to several pages.
5. Slip Number Or PO Number
Depending on how many reference numbers you have for your orders, shippers and buyers can cross the PO number with the slip number to confirm that the correct order has been shipped and received.
Final Note
Packing slips are a way for you to manage customer expectations, how to handle the order fulfillment. However, in addition to verifying that everything they ordered has arrived, there are other criteria by which customers can judge their experience including timely shipment. EnterpriseThought is a third-party logistics (3PL) company that stores your inventory, selects, and packs every order, and helps deliver fast, affordable delivery to your customers. Contact our QuickBooks Support team to find out how EnterpriseThought helps your business.