Wholesale Handler
A packing slip is a printable PDF for each customer's order, telling whoever's loading the van exactly what's in their crate.
Wholesale Handler builds it for you from the order itself, so the slip always matches the order as it stands the moment you click the button - no copying out by hand, no out-of-date notes.
You can print one slip for one order, or a whole day's deliveries in a single click.
What is a packing slip?
A packing slip is a print-friendly version of the order - same customer, same line items, same delivery date, but no prices and with your standing delivery notes underneath. It goes out with each delivery so whoever's packing or driving can check the right items are in the right crate. The customer typically signs it on delivery or keeps it as a record of what arrived.
A packing slip in Wholesale Handler shows:
- Your business name and the customer's business name and contact name
- The order reference
- The delivery date
- Every line item on the order, with quantity, pack size and unit label
- Any standing information you've added under Packing slip information in Settings
There are no prices on a packing slip. If you need a document with prices, that's an invoice.
How do I generate a packing slip for one order?
Two routes:
- From the Orders list - open the order's actions menu and click Generate packing slip
- From the order's detail page - click Generate packing slip at the top
Either way, Wholesale Handler builds the PDF and opens it in a new tab. From there you print it, save it, or do whatever your delivery workflow needs.
You can generate a packing slip at any point - including for a brand new order that the customer might still change.
If you want to be certain the contents won't shift between printing and delivery, wait until the order has locked - but nothing stops you printing one earlier if that fits your workflow.
How do I generate packing slips for a whole day's deliveries?
From the Orders list, tick the checkbox on each order you want a slip for. Use the search bar and filters to narrow the list down to (for example) Thursday's deliveries, then select them all in one go. Once you've selected at least one order, a Generate 12 packing slips action appears - click it and Wholesale Handler builds one combined PDF with each order's slip starting on a fresh page, then opens it in a new tab. Send it to the printer and you've got a stack of slips ready to go on the van.
Your selections stay put as you search, filter and page through the list - so you can search "Thursday delivery", select all 12, clear the search, find a 13th order that needs to go on the same run, select it too, and then generate one combined PDF for all 13.
What goes on the slip and what doesn't?
On the slip:
- Your business name (top)
- Order reference, status, and delivery date
- Customer business name and contact name
- Line items with quantity, pack size and unit label
- The product description, if you've added one
- Your Packing slip information text (see below)
Not on the slip:
- Prices, totals, VAT or delivery charges - those belong on invoices
- The customer's address - Wholesale Handler doesn't store delivery addresses on orders (you arrange delivery details with each customer separately)
- Your contact details unless you've added them to the packing slip information field
What is the packing slip information field?
Free text that appears on every packing slip you generate. It's the same on every slip - delivery hours, your phone number, instructions for the recipient, anything you'd otherwise hand-write or stamp on each slip.
Set it under Packing slip information in Settings. There's a sensible default with delivery hours and a contact number to give you the shape of it - replace it with whatever fits your business. There's also a Generate example packing slip button there that builds a sample PDF from your most recent order, so you can see how your text lands on the page before you commit.
Common things to include:
- Delivery hours so the recipient knows when to expect you
- A phone number or hours for queries about the order
- Instructions about checking the delivery and reporting issues
- Anything that applies to every customer (terms, returns policy, social handles)
The field is optional - leave it blank and the slip just shows the order details with no extra block.
Can a customer see their packing slip?
No. Packing slips are for merchants, not the customer. The customer sees their order in their own Orders list with the same line items, quantities and delivery date, but they don't generate or receive a separate packing slip. The slip is for your delivery workflow - the order itself is the customer's record.
How is a packing slip different from the production schedule?
The two answer different questions:
- Packing slip - one document per customer, per order. Answers "what goes in this customer's crate?". Use when you're packing or delivering.
- Production schedule - one document per day (or week), totalled across every customer. Answers "what do I need to make in total today?". Use when you're prepping or baking.
A bakery prepping Thursday's run would print the production schedule for Thursday - "make 42 sourdough, 28 baguettes" - bake all of it, then pack from packing slips - "Café A gets 4 sourdough and 2 baguettes, Café B gets 6 sourdough and 4 baguettes, ...". See how production schedules work.
What happens if the order changes after I generate the slip?
The PDF reflects the order as it stood the moment you clicked the button. If the customer (or you) updates the order after that, the PDF on your desk is now out of date - just generate it again to get a fresh version.
This is the usual reason to wait until the order has locked before printing slips. Once it's locked, the customer can't change it any more, so the slip you print will still be accurate at delivery time. When orders lock is controlled by the Order lock window setting in Settings - see how orders work for the full mechanics.
Can I generate a packing slip for a cancelled order?
No. Cancelled orders are removed from your orders list entirely, so there's nothing to generate a slip from. If you need a record of a cancelled order, the order activity email you received when it was placed has the details.
How Wholesale Handler handles packing slips
Packing slips are built fresh from the order every time you click the button - there's no separate packing-slip document sitting somewhere that you have to keep in step with the order. Change the order, generate again, and the new PDF reflects the change. Print one slip for one order from the order's actions menu, or select a batch of orders on the list and print the whole day's slips in a single combined PDF.
The Packing slip information field is the only standing text attached to packing slips - everything else comes from the order itself. Edit it once and every slip you generate from then on picks it up; print an example slip directly from the settings card to see how it lands before you rely on it for a real delivery.
