--- title: "What Is a Packing Slip?" url: https://www.uncap.com/glossary/packing-slip author: "Denis Dyli" published: 2026-10-22 updated: 2026-10-22 summary: "A packing slip is the document included with a shipment that lists what is in that package: the items, SKU numbers and quantities, with the shipping and billing addresses. It helps warehouse staff pick and pack the order accurately, and it gives the customer a record of what was sent in that shipment." --- # What Is a Packing Slip? > A packing slip is the document included with a shipment that lists what is in that package: the items, SKU numbers and quantities, with the shipping and billing addresses. It helps warehouse staff pick and pack the order accurately, and it gives the customer a record of what was sent in that shipment. **Packing slip**: A packing slip is the document included with a shipment that lists what is in that package: the items, SKU numbers and quantities, with the shipping and billing addresses. It helps warehouse staff pick and pack the order accurately, and it gives the customer a record of what was sent in that shipment. ## How it works You print packing slips when you fulfill orders, and they go in with the shipment. Shopify describes packing slips as useful when packing items, to ensure that all products are included in the package, and to communicate what has been sent to the customer. A packing slip covers one shipment, not the whole order. If an order ships in more than one shipment, you print a separate packing slip for each. That matters when a B2B order ships in parts: - The quantity in this shipment. A slip can show both the total quantity ordered for a product and the quantity being fulfilled in this shipment. - A note for partial shipments. A slip can also flag when a shipment doesn't include all the items in the order, so the receiver knows more is coming. - Receiving. The buyer's receiving team records what actually arrived. In a buyer's accounts payable process, that receiving record is one of the three documents in a three-way match with the purchase order and the invoice. ## Packing slip vs. invoice, bill of lading and packing list The packing slip is about what is in the box. Other shipping and billing documents do different jobs: - Invoice: the bill. A proper invoice to a federal buyer, for example, lists the order and line item numbers, the description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price and extended price, and the shipping and payment terms. - Bill of lading: the carrier's document. The Uniform Commercial Code defines it as a document evidencing the receipt of goods for shipment, issued by a person engaged in the business of transporting or forwarding goods. - Packing list: the export document. The International Trade Administration describes a packing list as itemizing the contents of each package (box, pallets, etc.), with weights, measurements and detailed lists of the goods in each package. Freight forwarders use it to determine weights and freight costs, and customs officials use it to check the contents of a specific package or carton. - Shipping label: goes on the outside of the box. In Shopify, if you buy shipping labels, you can print them together with packing slips and customs forms. ## Example A distributor receives an order for 300 boxes of nitrile gloves: 200 large and 100 medium. Only 150 large are in stock today. The first shipment's packing slip shows large gloves, 200 ordered, 150 in this shipment, plus all 100 medium, and a note that the shipment doesn't include every item in the order. The buyer's receiving dock checks 150 + 100 = 250 boxes against the slip. When the last 50 large ship, a second packing slip goes in that box, and the buyer's records show all 300 received. ## On Shopify You can print packing slips from an order's details page, or select several orders on the Orders page and print them in bulk. If you have multiple locations, you select the location the orders are being fulfilled from. Packing slips are rendered with Liquid, Shopify's template language. You edit the template from the Documents section of your Shipping and delivery settings, and you can revert it to the default template at any time. Variables let you add: - Order details, such as the order number, the order note and the date the order was created - Customer and address details, including the company name on the shipping and billing addresses - Line items in the shipment, with each item's title, variant, vendor, SKU, total quantity and shipping quantity, plus bundle or add-on groups - Images, which must come from Shopify's own CDN; images from other domains are filtered out ## How Uncap helps [Uncap Connect](/products/connect) keeps Shopify and your ERP in real-time, two-way sync: the order lands in the ERP, fulfillment updates land on the storefront, and nobody retypes a thing. ## Related terms - Bill of lading - Three-way match - EDI 856 - SKU - Backorder - Sales order ## Sources - Shopify Help Center: Printing and editing packing slips - Shopify Help Center: Packing slip variable reference - International Trade Administration: Packing List ## Frequently asked questions ### What should be on a packing slip? The items in the package with their SKU numbers and quantities, and the shipping and billing addresses. Shopify's template can also show the order number, the quantity in this shipment against the total ordered, and a note when the shipment is partial. ### Are packing slip and shipping label the same? No. The shipping label goes on the outside of the box so the carrier can deliver it. The packing slip goes with the goods and lists what is in the package. In Shopify, you can print the two together when you buy shipping labels. ### What is another name for a packing slip? The closest term is packing list, though it is a separate export document. The International Trade Administration describes a packing list as itemizing the contents of each package, with weights and measurements, and says it can be attached to the outside of a package with a copy inside.