Packing slips and invoices are forms that you print out and place inside your package when you ship it. They confirm the order details for your buyer. They also offer you the opportunity to communicate with the buyer.
Your account comes preloaded with stock packing slips and invoices. This article shows you how to print the stock forms. It also shows you how to customize the packing slips and invoices to update the messaging, fields, and design.
Topics covered:
- General Information About Packing Slips and Invoices
- Printing Packing Slips and Invoices
- Printing Packing Slips With Your Shipping Labels
- Customizing Stock Packing Slip Template
- Customizing the Packing Slip and Invoice Templates Attached to This Article
- Free HTML Editing Tools
- Downloadable Packing Slip and Invoice Templates
- Related Articles
General Information About Packing Slips and Invoices
Packing slips and invoices are fully customizable. You can save a different packing slip and invoice for each marketplace. That offers you control over the information, policies, or promotions you use for each marketplace.
Packing slips and invoices are designed using HTML. However, you don't need to know any HTML to customize the templates. The templates contain simple instructions to help you revise your thank you message or return policy.
While most people make relatively minor revisions, you can customize the templates as much as you want. You have the capability to add things like logos, banners, borders, tables, and backgrounds to the HTML.
The stock packing slip design is a bit different than the stock invoice design. You can try printing both to see if you like either of the stock designs.
Printing Packing Slips and Invoices
To print a packing slip or invoice:
1) In the ORDERS menu, select Orders Manager.
2) Select one or more orders.
- To select all orders in the search result, check the checkbox at the top of the results grid, in the header row.
3) In the PRINT drop-down menu, select Print Packing Slips or Print Invoice.
4) You can view or print the PDF of your packing slip or invoice in the overlay window that appears.
Printing Packing Slips With Your Shipping Labels
To enable the option to automatically print a packing slip with each shipping label:
1) Select an order.
2) Click on the SHIP NOW button.
3) In the ship now panel, select the Settings tab.
4) Select a Default Printer for Packing Slips and a Packing Slip Size.
5) Click SAVE.
Customizing a Stock Packing Slip Template
If the stock packing slip template is close to what you want, you can edit that stock template.
If you want to customize the invoice, you will need download one of the templates attached to this article. The stock invoice template isn't available to edit. The invoice customization process is described in the next section Customizing the Packing Slip and Invoice Templates Attached to This Article.
To customize a stock packing slip template:
1) In the ADMIN menu, select Forms Layouts. Select Packing Slips Forms.
2) Choose a marketplace from the Select market from list drop-down. Select a locale from the country drop-down.
3) Copy the HTML code in the template field.
4) Paste the code into Notepad or an HTML editing tool.
- Don't paste the HTML template code into Word. Word can add formatting to the HTML.
- Some HTML editing websites and applications allow you to view your design while you edit the HTML. This can make editing easier. We recommend a couple of simple editors in the Free HTML Editing Tools section below.
5) Edit the HTML in the template.
- The templates already include many HTML tags. The tags automatically populate information onto the packing slips. As an example, some of the tags in the templates are: ship to name (<ship:toname/>), marketplace order number (<market:orderid/>), product SKU, and product name.
- You can find the full list of available HTML tags in the article Fields Available for Customizing Packing Slips and Invoices.
6) Copy your edited HTML code.
7) Back in the portal, delete the stock HTML from the template field.
8) Paste your revised HTML into the template field.
9) Click the SAVE TEMPLATE button.
10) To review your design, from the ORDERS menu, open the Orders Manager page in a new tab.
11) Select an order from the sales channel associated with your packing slip.
12) Print your packing slip. Review the PDF in the overlay window.
13) If you need to adjust the template further, you can edit it back on the "Forms Layouts" tab and click SAVE TEMPLATE.
14) Once you save your changes, you can immediately review them by printing your packing slip again on the "Orders Manager" tab.
15) Once your edits are complete, you are ready to print live packing slips.
Customizing the Packing Slip and Invoice Templates Attached to This Article
The templates attached to this article provide you with more options than the stock templates. To customize a template:
1) In the Downloadable Packing Slip and Invoice Templates section below, review the descriptions of the templates. Download the one you want to use.
2) Open the text file in Notepad or paste it into an HTML editing application.
- Don't open it in Word. Word can add formatting to the HTML.
- Some HTML editing websites and applications allow you to view your design while you edit the HTML. This can make editing easier. We recommend a couple of simple editors in the Free HTML Editing Tools section below.
3) Edit the HTML in the template.
- The templates already include many HTML tags. The tags automatically populate information onto your packing slip or invoice. As an example, some of the tags in the templates are: ship to name (<ship:toname/>), marketplace order number (<market:orderid/>), product SKU, and product name.
- You can find the full list of available HTML tags in the article Fields Available for Customizing Packing Slips and Invoices.
4) In Solid Commerce, go to the ADMIN menu and select Forms Layouts. Select either Packing Slips Forms or Invoice Forms.
5) Choose a marketplace from the Select market from list drop-down. Select a locale from the country drop-down.
6) Delete the existing HTML from the template field.
7) Go back to the HTML template that you edited and copy it.
8) In the portal, paste your edited HTML into the template field.
9) Click the SAVE TEMPLATE button.
10) To review your design, from the ORDERS menu, open the Orders Manager page in a new tab.
11) Select an order from the sales channel associated with your packing slip.
12) Print your packing slip or invoice. Review the PDF in the overlay window.
13) If you need to adjust the template further, you can edit it back on the "Forms Layouts" tab and click SAVE TEMPLATE.
14) Once you save your changes, you can immediately review them by printing your packing slip or invoice on the "Orders Manager" tab.
15) Once your edits are complete, you are ready to print live packing slips or invoices.
Printing a packing slip for each package in your multi-box shipment
This will allow you to place a packing slip in each package if that is your preference. Or you can print a single packing slip - it’s your choice.
To set up your Packing Slips:
- Click on “ADMIN” in the primary navigation
- Select the “Forms Layout” option
- Click on the “Packing Slips Forms” option and you will be directed to the packing slip forms page
Add the following attribute at the top of the Packing Slip Layout template:
<order:settings splitItemsPerPackage="true"/>
Setting this attribute to “true” will create one Packing Slip per box. All the packing slips will be generated in a single file for you to print.
Setting the attribute to “false” will create only one packing slip:
<order:settings splitItemsPerPackage="false"/>
- The default for this option is “false” – if you do not add this attribute to your Packing Slip template, then only one packing slip will be created.
Free HTML Editing Tools
Opening your packing slip or invoice template in one of these free tools will give you a better better look at the design as you edit it.
- Online Robust: Online HTML Editor
- This is a pretty robust tool. You paste your HTML into the pane on the right. Your design is displayed in the pane on the left. If you edit the design, the HTML code updates automatically. If you edit the HTML, the design updates.
- Online Simpler: Real-time HTML Editor
- This tool is a bit simpler. It also provides a split screen view. You paste your HTML into the top pane to edit it. The bottom pane displays the design.
- You cannot edit in the design pane of this site. You can only edit the HTML code.
- Text: Notepad++
- Notepad++ is an application designed to work with text files. It is like Notepad on steroids.
- Notepad++ maintains the spacing and formatting of the HTML templates, making them easier to edit.
Downloadable Packing Slip and Invoice Templates
- SC_Packing_Slip_No_Photo.txt: A basic packing slip for printing on 8.5" x 11" paper. It doesn't include product images.
- SC_Packing_Slip_With_Photo.txt: Identical to the "No Photo" template, except it includes a thumbnail image of each product (if an image URL imported from your marketplace).
- SC_Packing_Slip_4x6.txt: A basic packing slip for a 4" x 6" thermal printer.
- SC_Packing_Slip_4x6_Barcode.txt: Identical to the "4x6" template, except it has a barcode of the Internal Sale ID number at the top.
- SC_Invoice_No_Photo.txt: A basic invoice for printing on 8.5" x 11" paper. The difference between the invoice and packing slip is that the invoice includes price information like the order total, tax, and individual product price. This template doesn't include product images.
- SC_Invoice_With_Photo.txt: Identical to the "No Photo" template, except it includes a thumbnail image of each product (if an image URL imported from your marketplace).
- SC_Jet_Packing_Slip_No_Photo.txt: If you want to include a packing slip with your Jet orders, it must meet Jet's requirements, which this template does. Jet has more info about their packing slip requirements on their support site. This template doesn't include product images.
- SC_Jet_Packing_Slip_With_Photo.txt: Identical to the "No Photo" template for Jet, except it includes a thumbnail image of each product (if an image URL imported from your marketplace).
- SC_Overstock_Packing_Slip.txt: If you are shipping Overstock orders, you can use this template. It meets Overstock's packing slip requirements.
Related Articles
- Fields Available for Customizing Packing Slips and Invoices
- Printing Pick Lists
- Getting Started With Order Management - An Overview of the Manage Orders Page
Attachments of the templates from the Downloadable Packing Slip and Invoice Templates section:
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