If you work as a freelancer or run a company, you surely know that You absolutely must keep the receipts. for years. But when you start accumulating papers in folders and boxes, the doubt arises: What do I do with all these delivery notes? Am I also required to keep them?
Many businesses, especially in sectors such as hospitality, retail or logistics, are surrounded by delivery notes on a daily basis. Separate which documents are essential to keep and which can be safely destroyed It's key to avoiding penalties, gaining space, and keeping your accounts in order. Let's look at it calmly and with clear examples.
What exactly is a delivery note and what is it used for?
A delivery note is, in essence, a commercial document that records that a good has been delivered or a service has been provided between two parties. It does not prove payment, but delivery: the supplier demonstrates that the customer has received what was agreed upon.
Usually The delivery note is issued at the time of delivery of the goods or completion of the service.Before the invoice is generated, the delivery person or supplier presents the order, the customer checks it, and signs if everything is correct. This signed document serves as proof of delivery.
In operations involving a transport or courier company, The delivery note also serves as supporting documentation in case of potential claims.: allows proof that the package arrived at its destination and was accepted by the recipient or the person who signed for it.
Although it may seem like a “minor” document, The delivery note has great operational and legal importance: helps avoid disputes over quantities delivered, wrong products, shortages of goods or damage in transport.
From a tax and accounting point of view, the delivery note never replaces the invoiceIt is not useful for deducting VAT, nor for justifying income or expenses to the Tax Authorities, nor for formally recording the transaction in the accounting records.
Information that a delivery note must contain to be valid
Although the delivery note has no fiscal validity, it can have evidentiary and guarantee validityprovided that it collects a series of minimum data that clearly identify the operation.
For a delivery note to be valid useful in case of potential claimsIt usually includes, at a minimum, the following elements:
- Place and date of issue from the delivery note, to place the operation in time and geography.
- Identification code or number of the document, which allows it to be linked to the subsequent invoice and to other internal documents.
- Identifying information of the sender and the recipient (name or company name, NIF/CIF, address or delivery address).
- Place and date of delivery of the goods or the provision of the service.
- Detailed description of the products or services: references, quantities, units, basic characteristics, etc.
- Signature and, where applicable, seal of the recipient, which prove that the delivery has been made and that the customer is satisfied at that time.
In many cases, delivery note templates also include fields for observations or incidents (for example, if there are damaged or missing packages or any other anomaly), something very useful when you want to record that the merchandise did not arrive in perfect condition.
Valued delivery note and non-valued delivery note: key differences
One of the most important differences between a delivery note and an invoice is that It is not mandatory to indicate the price of the products or services on the delivery note.This leads to two fairly common modalities:
When the document includes the unit price of each item, any discounts, VAT, and the total cost of the transaction, there is talk of a valued delivery noteIt is common in business relationships where the supplier wants the customer to see the cost of what is delivered from the outset.
However, if they only appear the references, description and quantity of the products or servicesWithout any economic figures, we are facing a delivery note without valuation or not valuedThis type is often used when you want to prevent third parties from seeing the prices (for example, in deliveries to retail stores).
In both cases, the key is the same: No delivery note, however detailed, has any tax implications.Even if there are prices, it does not serve as an invoice and does not, in itself, generate an obligation to declare VAT or to record it as income or expense.
The figure of the “delivery note-invoice”A single document that serves simultaneously as a delivery note and an invoice. In these cases, provided the document meets all the legal requirements of an invoice, Yes, it will have full tax validity. and is preserved and accounted for as such.
Key differences between a delivery note and an invoice
To avoid confusion, it's best to be very clear the main differences between a delivery note and an invoiceSince, although they usually go hand in hand, each one fulfills a different function within the buying and selling cycle.
Firstly, The invoice is a mandatory document with legal and fiscal validity.While a delivery note is not legally required in a commercial transaction, it is the invoice that serves as proof of the economic transaction and is used for tax purposes.
In second place, Only the invoice justifies the payment and allows you to deduct VAT or record an expense or incomeThe delivery note only certifies that there has been a delivery or service, but does not prove that the corresponding payment or collection has taken place.
Another major difference has to do with content: Every invoice must include the price, the applicable VAT rate, the taxable amounts, and the total amount payable.In contrast, the delivery note may or may not include prices, depending on whether it is a valued or unvalued delivery note.
Furthermore, from the point of view of archiving and formal obligations, The invoice must be kept for certain legal periods.Whereas the delivery note, in principle, does not have that general obligation… except in certain cases that we will see shortly.
General obligation to keep invoices and other documents
Before getting into the specific obligation to keep delivery notes, it's important to remember how it works the preservation of invoices and accounting and tax documentation in SpainThis is where the Commercial Code, the General Tax Law and VAT regulations come into play.
On the one hand, Article 30 of Commercial Code It states that employers must preserve books, correspondence, documentation and supporting documents related to their business, properly ordered, during at least six years from the last accounting entry made.
On the other, the General Tax Law establishes in general a 4 year limitation period so that the tax authorities can verify and inspect taxes. This means that, for strictly tax purposes, invoices and supporting documents related to taxes must be kept for at least that period.
VAT regulations, specifically Article 165 of the VAT Law and Article 29.2.e) of the General Tax Law, require businesses and professionals to issue, deliver and keep invoices and receipts of their operations during the tax statute of limitations period. This affects both invoices issued and those received.
In practice, the strictest standard criterion is applied: If a document has commercial and tax relevance, it is kept for at least six years.In addition, there are special cases (investment goods, compensation of negative tax bases, operations with investment gold, etc.) in which the deadlines can be extended to ten years or more.
Is it mandatory to keep delivery notes?
The key question is: Does the obligation to keep documents also extend to delivery notes? The answer, in general terms, is that there is no legal obligation as rigid as in the case of invoices, but there are important nuances.
In general terms, Delivery notes are not documents with fiscal validity. and they are not expressly included among the supporting documents that the regulations require to be kept for the 4 tax years or the 6 business years. Therefore, if we look only at the law, There is no obligation to always keep them.
However, there is one very specific case in which the delivery note becomes as important as the invoice itself. The Tax Agency has made it clear that, when the invoice does not describe in detail the operations carried out and expressly refers to the content of the delivery note, then that delivery note is considered an essential part of the invoice.
In that case, Yes, there is an obligation to keep the delivery note along with the invoice., for the same period and with the same guarantees of integrity, legibility and accessibility for the Administration.
In other words, You don't have to keep all the delivery notes automatically.However, you are obliged to keep those referenced in the invoices without reproducing their content, because without them the invoice would be incomplete in the eyes of the tax authorities.
The role of delivery notes in ordinary invoices
In the ordinary invoices (those that document a single transaction on a specific date), it is usual that The invoice itself should describe in detail the goods or services billed.References, quantities, prices, bases, taxes… all in the same document.
In these situations, it may happen that a delivery note has been previously issued to prove delivery, but if the final invoice does not mention that delivery note or simply reproduces its information in fullThere is no specific legal obligation to retain the previous document.
That's why many businesses choose to Destroy the delivery notes for ordinary invoices once it has been verified that they match the invoice received. and that there are no discrepancies in quantities, products, or prices.
However, from an internal management and control point of view, it can be practical Temporarily keep the delivery notes until you confirm that there are no claims no issues with the customer or delivery, especially in sectors where returns are common.
In short, on ordinary invoices: If the invoice does not refer to the delivery note or does not include all of its information, you can do without that delivery note. once the transaction is closed and without conflicts.
Summary invoices and the obligation to keep delivery notes
The scenario changes when the summary invoicesThese invoices are very common in business relationships with frequent deliveries. They group together multiple transactions carried out with the same client within the same calendar month, instead of issuing an invoice for each delivery.
Summary invoices almost always rely on the issuance of prior delivery noteswhich document each delivery of goods or each service provided. At the end of the month, a single global invoice is issued summarizing these transactions.
According to the Tax Agency, when summary invoices are used, certain problems can arise. two very clear situations:
- That the summary invoice Include a detailed description of the contents of all delivery notes.Product descriptions, quantities, delivery dates, etc. In this case, delivery notes are no longer necessary as tax documentation and, therefore, They could be destroyed without violating regulations.
- That the summary invoice Just mention the numbers or codes on the delivery notes.However, do not reproduce the information they contain (neither products, nor quantities, nor specific dates). Here, things change completely.
In that second case, Yes, there is an obligation to keep the delivery notes attached to the invoice.The reason is simple: regulations require that the invoice describe the transactions, and if that description is contained in the delivery notes, then the delivery notes become invalid. essential and inseparable part of the invoice.
In practice, this means that The accounting file of a summary invoice that only lists delivery notes is not complete if those documents are not also kept.Any tax inspection could require them to verify the details of the transactions.
Delivery notes in hospitality and catering businesses
In restaurants, bars, hotels and other hospitality businesses, The accumulation of delivery notes is an everyday occurrenceEach delivery of products (food, drinks, consumables, etc.) is usually accompanied by its corresponding signed delivery note.
In this sector, it is very common for suppliers to issue periodic invoices (weekly or monthly) of a summary natureThese invoices group together numerous deliveries supported by delivery notes. Therefore, the rules we've discussed regarding summary invoices become especially relevant.
If the invoices from your hospitality suppliers They include details of each product, quantity, and delivery date.You can do without the delivery notes once the consistency has been verified. However, if the invoices are limited to mention delivery note numbers or make a generic summaryYou must keep the delivery notes with each invoice.
It is also worth remembering that when the delivery note complements the invoice, the same commercial retention period applies to it: at least 6 years according to the Commercial Code, counted from the last entry in the books related to that operation.
From a practical point of view, many restaurant businesses choose to digitize delivery notes and invoicesusing billing and document management programs that allow you to scan or receive documents in electronic format and archive them in an orderly and accessible manner.
Deadlines and method of storage of delivery notes that are mandatory
When we find ourselves in the situation where the delivery note becomes part of the invoice (because the invoice refers to it and does not reproduce its content), the retention period will be the same as that of the invoice it supplements.
This means that, for tax purposes, You must keep that set of invoice + delivery notes for at least 4 years from the date on which the deadline for filing the corresponding tax (for example, VAT) ends. If, in addition, it has commercial repercussions, The term will increase to 6 years in accordance with the Commercial Code.
When operations affect investment goods or long-term deductions, or are related to the compensation of negative tax bases in Corporate Income Tax, the deadlines may be extended (up to 10 years or whatever is necessary to properly prove those compensations).
Regarding the format, the regulations allow invoices and supporting documents, including delivery notes, are preserved both on paper and in electronic formatThe important thing is to guarantee the authenticity of origin, integrity of content and its legibility throughout the entire conservation period.
Furthermore, it must be ensured that the tax administration can access them without undue delay if you request them, either because they are physically archived or because they are available in a computer system that allows their immediate retrieval.
Should we also keep delivery notes that are not mandatory?
Although the law only requires that certain delivery notes be kept (those that form part of the invoice by express reference), It is highly recommended to keep the rest of the delivery notes, at least for a reasonable time. that are generated in daily activity.
On the one hand, these documents are very useful for resolve issues with suppliers or customersDiscrepancies in quantities, errors in invoices, merchandise returns, claims for damages, etc. The signed delivery note is usually the first piece of evidence consulted.
On the other hand, in internal audits or accounting reviews, Delivery notes help to verify the traceability of operations and verify that the invoices accurately reflect what has been delivered or received.
Many advisors recommend, as a prudent practice, Keep all delivery notes at least until you are certain that there will be no claims or adjustments on the related invoices, and then filter only those that must be kept due to legal obligation.
In any case, the use of billing and document management software It makes the task much easier: it allows you to link each invoice with its delivery notes, whether you keep them all or only file the strictly necessary ones, and it reduces the volume of physical paper stored.
Anyone who understands what a delivery note is, what information it should contain, and in what cases it becomes a key part of the invoice, You will be able to manage your accounting files with much more peace of mind and without unnecessarily accumulating papers "just in case"..