What is a packing slip and why include one?
It is the contents list travelling with the goods: order number, buyer, items, quantities and price. The buyer opens the parcel, checks it against the slip, and the transaction is closed in her mind.
Without one, an “item missing” message is your word against hers and you usually pay. With one, both of you are reading the same list — and disputes on 2-item and 3-item orders drop noticeably.
It also carries your shop name and number into her house. A buyer who wants to reorder in 6 weeks has your number on paper, not buried in a chat from March.
How is a packing slip different from a shipping label?
Position and purpose. The shipping label is stuck on the outside and exists for the courier — address, PIN, barcode. The packing slip sits inside and exists for the buyer.
They carry different information deliberately. A courier does not need your item list; a buyer does not need the routing barcode. Printing one and calling it the other leaves a gap either the courier or the customer falls through.
Most Indian marketplaces generate the shipping label for you and none of them generate a packing slip, which is why so few parcels contain one.
What should a packing slip include?
6 things: your shop name and phone, the order number, the buyer name and address, the item list with SKU and quantity, the total, and one line of thanks. Anything else is decoration.
Put the SKU on every line. When a return arrives 10 days later, the SKU is what tells you which piece came back without unwrapping and guessing.
Print 2 copies for high-value orders — one inside, one kept. A dispute 3 weeks after dispatch is much easier when you can see exactly what the slip said.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a packing slip?
A contents list that goes inside the parcel — order number, buyer, items, quantities and price. The buyer checks the parcel against it, which is what settles an item-missing dispute.
Is a packing slip the same as a shipping label?
No. The shipping label goes on the outside and exists for the courier — address, PIN, barcode. The packing slip goes inside and exists for the buyer. They carry different information deliberately.
Do I need a packing slip for Meesho or Flipkart orders?
The marketplace generates your shipping label but none of them generate a packing slip. Including one is optional and it is what reduces item-missing claims on multi-item orders.
What should a packing slip include?
Shop name and phone, order number, buyer name and address, item list with SKU and quantity, the total, and one line of thanks. The SKU matters most — it tells you which piece came back when a return arrives.
Do I need special paper or a printer?
No. A packing slip prints on ordinary A4 from any printer, and this tool prints through your browser so there is nothing to install and nothing uploaded.
Free, no signup. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.