Proof of delivery for small businesses: photos, signatures and notes

"We never got it." Every delivery business hears it eventually. Sometimes it's true: wrong door, stolen from the step, left with a neighbour nobody told. Sometimes the delivery is sitting in the back room. Without a record, it comes down to your word against theirs, and most small businesses just resend and absorb the cost. Good proof of delivery changes that conversation.

Why proof of delivery matters

• Disputes. A timestamped photo of the delivery at the door settles most queries in one message.
• Who carries the risk. For sales to consumers, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods remain at the trader's risk until they come into the physical possession of the consumer or someone they've named (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 29). If you leave goods somewhere, a clear record of where and on whose instructions matters. For business customers, your terms of trade set out who carries the risk, so agree them in writing.
• Card chargebacks. Gov.uk notes that card payments can be reversed up to 120 days after the money was taken (gov.uk: payment obligations). If a customer disputes a payment for "goods not received", your delivery records are your evidence.
• Accurate invoices. Recording what was actually delivered (including shortages and substitutions) means invoices match reality, so fewer queries.

The main types of proof

Method	Strengths	Weaknesses
Photo at the drop	Quick, shows where and what, works when nobody's in	Only as good as the framing
Signature	Shows someone accepted it	Needs someone present; scribbles are hard to read
Name of the person who took it	Fast, useful for businesses	Relies on the driver writing it down
Driver note	Explains anything unusual	Needs to be written at the time
Time of delivery	Shows you met a time window	Only useful if recorded automatically

For most small rounds, a photo plus an automatic time is the best balance of effort and value. Add a name or signature for high-value business deliveries and anything that must be handed over in person.

How to take a useful delivery photo

• Show the goods and the place together. The crate on the step with the door and house number in shot, not a close-up of a box on some tarmac.
• Include something identifying. A house number, business sign, or the inside of the café's back door.
• Show quantity when it matters. Twelve trays of eggs should look like twelve trays.
• Keep people out of it. Photograph the delivery, not customers, staff or neighbours.
• Take it before you leave the stop. Then put the phone in its holder before you drive; it's illegal to hold and use a phone while driving (gov.uk).

Notes that save arguments

A short note at the time beats a long explanation a week later. Useful notes include:

• "Left in key-safe store as instructed", "handed to Sam in kitchen".
• "Short 2 × white loaves, customer told", so the invoice can be adjusted.
• "Gate locked, no answer, not delivered", which is a failed drop, not a skipped one.
• "Cash £14.50 taken", so the evening count adds up.

Record failed deliveries with a reason as carefully as successful ones. Our guide on reducing failed deliveries covers how to cut them down.

Recording what was delivered, not just that it was

Proof of delivery is usually thought of as "it arrived". For wholesale and regular rounds, "what arrived" matters just as much. If the driver was short of an item, swapped a product or the customer refused part of the order, record it at the stop. Otherwise the invoice shows the full order, the customer queries it, and you spend time working out what really happened. The simplest approach is for the driver to adjust the quantities on the drop before marking it done, so the invoice is built from what was actually left.

When nobody is there: business customers

Early deliveries to cafés, shops and kitchens often happen before anyone arrives. Agree with each business exactly where deliveries go (a locked cage, a key safe, a back door with a code) and who has access. Ask them to tell you if the arrangement changes. For high-value deliveries, consider whether an unattended drop is sensible at all, or whether a later time with someone present is worth the extra planning.

Agree safe places in advance

Most "never got it" disputes for unattended deliveries are really about where it was left. Ask each customer where you should leave deliveries when nobody's there, write it in their customer notes, and follow it every time. If a customer changes the instruction by phone, update the notes rather than relying on memory.

Handling a dispute

1. Check the record first. Time, photo, note.
2. Share it politely. "Here's the photo from 6:42 this morning by the back door. Could someone have moved it inside?" Most queries end here.
3. Look for a pattern. Repeated problems at one address may mean the safe place isn't safe. Change it.
4. Decide on goodwill. For a small item and a good customer, replacing it may be worth it even when you know it was delivered. Note what you did.
5. Get advice if a significant amount is at stake.

How long to keep records

Keep delivery records at least as long as anything might be disputed, which includes the card chargeback window mentioned above, and as long as you need them for your accounts. Photos can contain personal information such as someone's front door and address, so keep them secure, only let staff who need them see them, and don't keep them longer than you need.

Doing it without slowing the driver down

Proof of delivery only works if it's quick. Paper sheets with signatures get lost; photos on a personal phone end up mixed with family pictures. The simplest set-up is one place where the driver marks each drop done, failed or skipped, with an optional photo and note, all timestamped and attached to the customer.

That's how the RoundSorted driver view works: each drop on the run sheet can be marked done or failed with a reason, with a photo, a note and any cash taken, and it all appears against the customer and the invoice. The free daily load list and run sheet is a paper version with a tick box per drop if you're not ready for software. See also RoundSorted for delivery businesses.