Shopify packing slip fields: what to include and what to leave off

A Shopify packing slip needs six things to do its job: the order number, the order date, the ship-to name and address, each item with its variant, the SKU, and the quantity to pack. Add your store name and a way to contact you, and the slip works for both people who read it: the packer checking what goes in the box, and the customer checking what came out of it. Everything else, such as bin locations, a packed-by line, a gift note or return details, is optional and should be chosen per order type. Prices usually stay off, because the slip is a checklist, not a bill.

This guide goes through each packing slip field, who actually reads it, the extra fields worth adding for the packing bench, gift orders and split shipments, and what to leave off. It’s written by the team behind Send Invoice, a Shopify app that builds packing slips, return forms and invoices from every order, so some of the advice comes from the edge cases we hit in real order data. For the wider question of which documents go in the box at all, see package inserts: what to put in every Shopify order.

Who reads a packing slip?

A packing slip is read twice, by two people who want different things from it. First by the person at the packing bench, who uses it as a pick list and a final check before the box is taped. Then by the customer, who opens the box, looks for the paper and compares it with what’s in their hands. If something is missing or wrong, the slip is where they find the order number to quote when they contact you.

Designing the slip well means serving both without crowding either. Switch between the two readers below to see which fields each one uses.

The fields every packing slip needs

These are the fields to put on every slip, whatever you sell. If a field isn’t on this list, it should earn its place on yours.

Three of these cause most packing mistakes, so they deserve a closer look.

Make the order number the biggest thing on the slip

The order number is the one field both readers look for first. Put it at the top, in larger type than anything around it, and print it exactly as Shopify shows it, prefix included, such as #2046. If you add a barcode or QR code for scanning, keep the readable number beside it: a customer can’t read a barcode to your support team over email.

Print the variant, but not “Default Title”

An item name without its variant is the most common cause of wrong-size shipments. “Linen shirt” is not a pick instruction when there are five sizes on the shelf; “Linen shirt, Sage / M” is. There is one Shopify quirk to handle: products with no options still carry a variant called “Default Title”, and a template that prints the variant blindly puts that phrase on every line. Print the variant only when it adds information. We drop it in Send Invoice for exactly this reason.

Show the quantity still to pack

Shopify records both what was ordered and what is still unfulfilled. After a partial shipment, a line item removed in an edit, or a backorder, those two numbers differ. A slip that prints the ordered quantity tells the packer to pack three when only two are left to send, and tells the customer something is missing when it simply ships later. Print the quantity to pack for this shipment, and for lines that are fully sent, either hide them or mark them as already shipped.

Fields that speed up the packing bench

Once a store ships more than a few dozen orders a day, the slip starts working as a pick list, and a few warehouse-only fields pay for their space:

• Bin or shelf location. Saves the walk-and-search on every line. Shopify orders don’t store bin locations, so either pull them from your inventory system or print a blank column the packer fills in.
• Weight. Useful when the packer picks the box size or checks a parcel against the label weight.
• Packer notes. One line of handling instructions, such as “fragile, double-box” or “tissue on top”. Keep it to one line, or it stops being read.
• A packed-by line. A space for initials or a signature. When a box goes out wrong, you know who to retrain, and staff check more carefully when their name is on it.
• Fulfilment status. A small “Partially fulfilled” flag warns the packer this isn’t the first box for the order.

These fields help your team, not your customer. If you print a single slip that goes in the box, keep them small and near the bottom so they don’t compete with the order number.

Fields for gifts, split shipments and wholesale

A single template for every order is where packing slips go wrong. Three kinds of order need their own treatment.

Gift orders

A gift slip lists the items with no prices, ships to the recipient’s name, and carries a short gift line in place of the marketing extras. Leave off the buyer’s billing address and anything that hints at what was paid. If the recipient may want to exchange, a gift receipt does that job better than a packing slip.

Split and multi-box shipments

When an order ships in more than one box, each box gets its own slip listing only what’s inside it. Add a line such as “Box 1 of 2” and, for anything still to come, “ships separately”. The quantity-to-pack rule above matters most here: it’s what stops the second slip from listing items that already arrived.

Wholesale and B2B orders

A trade buyer’s receiving team checks deliveries against their own purchase order, so add the PO number near your order number. Many B2B buyers also want the invoice in the box, so the slip and invoice should share an order number and look like they came from the same company. For the invoice side, see why invoices are important for Shopify stores.

What to leave off a packing slip

Every field you add makes the important ones harder to find. These usually don’t belong:

• Prices and totals. They make the slip a second invoice, and they spoil gifts. The exception is a store whose customers expect a priced list, in which case send the invoice instead.
• Payment details. No card digits, payment method or transaction IDs. The slip sits in an open box on a doorstep.
• Internal data. Cost prices, supplier names, margin notes and staff comments on the customer.
• A stack of promotions. One offer or thank-you line at most. The rest belongs on a separate card, or nowhere.
• Product descriptions. The customer knows what they bought. One name and variant per line is enough.

Layout rules for a slip packers can read fast

A packer glances at a slip dozens of times an hour, often at arm’s length. Layout matters as much as the field list:

• Top to bottom in packing order: who it’s for, what to pack, how to finish. That puts the order number and address first, items in the middle, notes and the packed-by line last.
• One line per item. Wrapped item names hide quantities. Shorten names before you shrink the type.
• Right-align quantities in their own column, so the eye runs straight down the numbers.
• Pick a paper size for the printer you have. A 4×6 inch thermal label is about 102 × 152 mm, which fits three columns comfortably: item, SKU and quantity. Bin and weight columns need A5, A4 or Letter.
• Print it and pack from it before rolling out a new template. What looks tidy on screen can be unreadable from a thermal printer.

International orders: keep customs data off the slip

Parcels that cross a border need a customs declaration or commercial invoice with each item’s description, value, country of origin and HS tariff code. That paperwork goes outside the box, in a document pouch, so customs officers can read it without opening the parcel. Putting HS codes on the packing slip inside doesn’t help customs and only adds noise for the customer. Keep the slip the same as for a domestic order, and generate the customs documents with your shipping label.

How Send Invoice builds a Shopify packing slip

Send Invoice builds the packing slip from the Shopify order, so the fields above fill themselves in:

• The essentials, always. Order number, order date, ship-to address, your store name, address, phone and email, and your logo. Packing slips never show prices.
• Columns you choose: item (with the variant, and without “Default Title”), SKU, bin, weight and quantity. Bin and weight print as blank columns for the packer to write in, since Shopify orders don’t carry them.
• Quantity to pack or quantity ordered, with an option to hide lines that are already fulfilled, so a second box only lists what’s left.
• Extras when you want them: a packed-by signature line, a packer note, a gift line and a header note, each set once on the template.
• Paper sizes of A4, Letter, A5, A6, 4×6 and 4×4 inches, or a custom size, with 100 curated presets to start from. Print from any order, or send slips to your warehouse by email or Slack automatically.

See packing slips and return forms.

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Related: Package inserts: what to put in the box · Ecommerce packaging and the unboxing experience · Packing slip templates and paper sizes