What is a delivery note and how do you prepare one? Difference between a delivery note and an invoice

A delivery note (albarán) is a commercial document that details and evidences the delivery and receipt of an order or the performance of a service between two or more parties. The term “albarán” comes from an Arabic word that literally means “proof” or “voucher,” which helps to better understand its use in commercial transactions and prevents it from being confused with other documents, such as the invoice.

A delivery note establishes the existence of a transaction and ensures that it has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of the parties involved, but without evidencing its payment. In other words, the delivery note supports the delivery or receipt of goods, but its mere existence does not guarantee that payment for them has been made.

The delivery note is issued by the sender or seller, that is, the person dispatching the goods, and three copies are normally issued: one for the seller, one for the buyer, and a third for the carrier. Once the buyer has received the goods, it sends a signed copy to the seller and keeps its own.

Who is involved in a delivery note?

• The seller of the product or service, who is responsible for issuing the delivery note at the time the goods are delivered or the service is performed, setting out the terms agreed in the prior quotation.

• The buyer of the product or service, who must sign the copy of the delivery note once it has verified that the goods have been delivered as agreed or that the service has been properly performed.

Types of delivery notes

Delivery notes can be classified into two types: priced delivery notes (albaranes valorados) and unpriced delivery notes (albaranes sin valorar). Let us look at the functions each one performs and the cases in which each should be used.

• Priced delivery note: It is called a “priced” delivery note because it includes the unit price of each of the products or services that are the subject of a commercial transaction, as well as any discounts applied to them, Value Added Tax (VAT), and the total value of the transaction. Although it is very similar to an invoice, it has informational effects only, not tax effects. This type of delivery note is typically used by businesses that invoice for set periods of time.

• Unpriced delivery note: An unpriced delivery note contains a detailed description of the goods delivered or the service provided, but without stating their monetary value. This particular type of delivery note can be used as a commercial document, since it allows businesses to keep a record of the commercial transactions they have carried out. It is commonly used by businesses that issue more than one invoice over different periods of time, and it can be used to claim payment of outstanding invoices.

How do you prepare a delivery note?

There is no single format for preparing a delivery note, but it is possible to identify certain basic details that must always be included in a document of this kind. These details are as follows:

• Place and date of issue.

• Unique document number. As with invoices, delivery notes must be numbered in their own series.

• Identification details of the buyer or customer, including first name and surname(s) or company name, address, telephone number, type and number of identity document, etc.

• Identification details of the seller.

• Description of the products or services, as well as their quantity.

• Means by which the goods are shipped.

• Designated place of delivery of the goods.

• Signature of the recipient.

Differences between a delivery note and an invoice

The function of a delivery note is sometimes confused with that of an invoice, particularly in the case of priced delivery notes. Nevertheless, it is essential to learn to distinguish between the two documents in order to avoid legal misunderstandings that can have serious tax consequences for both the buyer and the seller.

Essentially, the main difference between an invoice and a delivery note is that the latter has no tax function and is not mandatory in a commercial transaction, whereas the invoice does have a tax function and is mandatory. In addition, an invoice may contain direct references to one or more delivery notes, in which case the existence of those delivery notes is essential for the invoice to be legally valid.

It is clear, then, that a delivery note is neither an invoice nor a substitute for one. This document is not valid for tax purposes unless it is accompanied by the invoice that refers to it. Therefore, when we receive goods accompanied by a delivery note, we must make sure that the corresponding invoice is sent to us later.

Finally, if the invoice contains all the information on the commercial transactions carried out during a given period of time, there is no need to keep the delivery notes associated with that invoice.