Monday morning, delivery notes on the desk
The drivers hand in a stack of delivery notes each morning. By Monday there are several hundred. Some have extras written on them: an extra bloomer the cafe asked for at the door. Some have crossings out where an item was short. Some have returns noted. The office sorts them by customer and types each week's totals into the accounts package.
It takes most of Monday. Then customers ring about the invoices, and the office goes back to the notes to check.
Why the invoice is typed twice
Delivery notes are printed from the order, so the order is already in a system. But what was actually delivered differs from the order in small ways every day, and those differences are handwritten. The invoice has to reflect what was delivered, so the paper wins, and someone types it in.
- Extras given at the door are handwritten on the note.
- Short items are crossed out, sometimes illegibly.
- Returns and credits are recorded somewhere else.
- Customer-specific prices have to be applied by hand.
- Notes go missing in vans or get wet.
What the typing costs
A day or more of office time each week. Invoice errors, which lead to queries and slower payment. Extras that were given but never invoiced, because the note was lost. And a delay between delivery and invoice that does nothing for your cash flow.
Invoicing we build from the delivery record
- Each driver's drop list is on their phone, showing what should be delivered at each stop.
- At the door, the driver adjusts quantities for shorts and extras with a tap, and the customer can sign on screen if you require it.
- Returns logged at the same stop are recorded against the customer.
- The delivery record, with changes, is the basis for the invoice. Customer prices and discounts are applied from your price list.
- At the end of the invoicing period, invoices are drafted in Xero, Sage or QuickBooks through their API, one per customer, with the delivery dates listed.
- The office reviews the drafts, looks at a list of unusual items such as large extras or big credits, and approves them to send.
| Delivery detail | Captured by | Appears on invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Ordered items | Order system | As delivered |
| Extras at the door | Driver's phone | Added lines |
| Short items | Driver's phone | Removed or reduced |
| Returns | Driver's phone | Credit lines or credit note |
What Monday looks like after
The invoices are already drafted. The office checks the unusual ones and sends them. Extras given at the door are always invoiced, because they were recorded at the door. Customer queries are answered from the delivery record, with times and signatures. And invoicing can move to more frequent runs if that helps cash flow.
Credit control gets easier because invoices go out on time and match what the customer saw at the door. A cafe that disputes an invoice can be sent the delivery record for the day in question, with the time and the changes made, which tends to settle things quickly and without anyone raising their voice.
Price changes stop causing trouble too. Because prices are applied from your price list when the invoice is drafted, a new price takes effect from the date you set, and nobody has to remember to type a different figure for one customer from the first of the month.
Drivers stop having to hand in paperwork, and there is no pile of damp delivery notes to sort. If a customer wants a paper delivery note, one can still be printed or emailed from the same record.
Is this your invoicing?
- Invoices are typed from paper delivery notes.
- Extras handed out at the door sometimes go uninvoiced.
- Delivery notes go missing or get damaged.
- Invoice queries mean digging through paper.
- Invoicing takes a whole day each week or month.