---
title: Packing slip vs invoice in wholesale
Metadescription: A packing slip lists what is in a delivery and shows no prices. An invoice asks for payment and can cover several deliveries. What goes on each, and when.
author: Dan Edwards
author_role: Founder
author_url: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com
author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer
published: 2026-08-26
---

Token estimate: ~790

# Packing slip vs invoice in wholesale

A packing slip lists what is in a delivery. An invoice asks for the money. The slip travels with the goods and carries no prices; the invoice arrives afterwards and carries little else. Both are generated from the same order, so nothing is typed twice.

By **[Dan Edwards](https://wholesalehandler.com/about)**, Founder.

|     | Packing slip | Invoice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Answers | What is in this delivery | What the customer owes |
| Travels | In the box, with the goods | By email, afterwards |
| Shows prices | No  | Yes |
| Covers | One order | Every processed order not yet billed |
| Issued | At dispatch | Once the order is processed |

## A packing slip carries no prices on purpose

The slip is read by whoever takes the delivery - a driver, a kitchen porter, someone at a back door. None of them need your prices, and a trade price printed on a sheet left in a crate is how one customer learns what another pays.

Wholesale Handler prints the customer, the delivery date, and each line's product name, SKU, pack unit and quantity. No money at all.

## One slip per order, one invoice per customer

A packing slip belongs to a single delivery. An invoice collates every processed order a customer has that has not been billed yet, so a customer taking three deliveries in a week gets three slips and one invoice.

Invoicing a second batch for the same customer joins their open draft rather than raising a second invoice.

## Producing both from the order

Print [packing slips](https://wholesalehandler.com/articles/how-packing-slips-work-on-wholesale-handler) from your orders list, for one order or a whole selection. Mark those orders processed, then raise the [invoice](https://wholesalehandler.com/articles/how-invoices-work-on-wholesale-handler) from the same list - it picks up the processed, uninvoiced orders and emails the PDF when you finalise it.

A finalised invoice cannot be updated, so corrections are made while it is still a draft.

## Q&A

**Q: Is a packing slip the same as a delivery note?**
A: In most trades, yes - packing slip, packing list and delivery note name the same document. Note that in Wholesale Handler, Delivery notes is an unrelated setting where a customer records standing instructions for their merchant, such as a gate code.

**Q: Does the customer need both?**
A: Yes. The slip lets them check what arrived against the crates on the day. The invoice is the request for payment and the record both sides keep afterwards.

**Q: When should the invoice be raised?**
A: After the order is marked processed. Wholesale Handler only collates orders that are processed and not yet invoiced, so marking an order processed is what moves it into the billing pool.