CONTRACTOR GLOSSARY · MATERIALS & PURCHASING
What is a Packing slip?
A packing slip is the document packed with a shipment listing what the supplier says is in the box — the paper you check the order and the actual contents against.
Open a shipment and the packing slip is inside or in the pouch on top: items and quantities for that shipment, usually without prices. It answers one question — what does the supplier claim they packed — and it's the middle document in the three-way check that protects you: the purchase order says what you ordered, the packing slip says what they shipped, and your own count says what actually arrived.
Shortages, substitutions, and wrong parts get caught in that comparison or not at all. A discrepancy flagged while the driver is still there, or the day the box opens, is the supplier's problem; the same discrepancy discovered when the invoice arrives is a debate. Packing slips are also where back orders first show themselves — a line marked B/O means that item ships (and bills) later, separately.
Keep the slip with the job's paper even though it has no prices on it. When the invoice shows up, the slip is your proof of what was actually received — the quantity you check the extended prices against.
Common questions
What's the difference between a packing slip and an invoice?
The packing slip lists contents of a shipment, usually without prices, and travels with the material. The invoice bills for it, with prices, and travels to the office. Matching the two catches billed-but-not-shipped lines.
Why keep packing slips if an invoice is coming?
Because the slip records what was received, dated and per shipment. When quantities on the invoice don't match what hit the job, the slip — checked and annotated on arrival — is the evidence.
Related terms
RevnuPros tracks the thing, not just the word
Permits to sign-off, T&M tags to signature, materials to billed through, retainage to released — built for subcontractors. Browse the full contractor glossary or the Massachusetts permit guide.
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