Reviewed October 27, 2026

Packing Slips and Invoices in Shopify: Setup That Saves Support Time

Packing slips and invoice documents are small templates with outsized effects on unboxing, gift orders, and accounting questions. What to customize and what to leave standard.

Documents are part of the order experience

A packing slip is often the only printed thing a customer touches from your store, and invoices are the documents customers forward to their own accounting, expense systems, and gift recipients. Shopify generates both from templates most stores never open, which means most stores ship the platform default: functional, generic, and missing the information customers then email to ask for. Fifteen minutes in these templates is some of the highest leverage setup work in a store, because every future order carries the improvement for free.

Decide what each document is for before editing. The packing slip serves the person opening the box and the person who packed it: what should be inside, in what quantities, and what to do if something is wrong. Prices are normally excluded from packing slips, which matters for gifts. The invoice serves records: business details, order and tax information, totals, and payment state, formatted so a stranger in an accounts department can file it without contacting you. Two audiences, two documents, and confusing them is the main design error.

Packing slip: fields and gift handling

Start from the default template and add what your operation actually needs: your store name and a contact route customers should use for order problems, a clear item list with quantities and variant details written the way customers recognize them, and a short returns pointer. If your team packs from the slip, include the fields they check against, such as SKU or location notes, in the staff facing version your workflow uses. Keep the customer slip free of internal codes that mean nothing to the person holding the box.

Gift orders deserve a specific test. Place a test gift order and print its slip: confirm prices are absent, the gift message appears where your template supports it, and nothing in the document reveals what the sender paid. Then test a multi package order, because slips for split shipments confuse customers when each box lists the full order. The templates and apps handle these cases differently, and the only reliable way to know what your store prints is to print it. Paper is a user interface. Test it like one.

Invoices and the accounting audience

Invoice setup lives partly in your store details and policies, since the legal business name, address, and tax registration details that appear on invoices come from store settings, and errors there replicate onto every document. Set those fields carefully once, then review the invoice format Shopify and any invoicing app produce for the markets you sell into. Some regions and business customers expect specific elements, sequential invoice numbers, tax breakdowns, or references, that a default order confirmation does not provide, which is where dedicated invoicing tools earn their place for B2B leaning stores.

For ordinary consumer stores, the common gap is simpler: customers cannot find a document that looks like an invoice after purchase. Solve it in communication rather than tooling: name the order confirmation email clearly, state in your FAQ how to get an invoice or receipt copy, and make sure support can resend documents in seconds. The question how do I get an invoice for my expenses is a top recurring ticket for many stores and it is a documentation setup problem, not a customer problem.

Template changes, testing, and restraint

Both documents use Liquid templates for stores that customize them, and the same discipline as theme work applies: edit a copy, preview with real order data, and keep a backup of the version you replaced. Liquid that renders in preview can still break on edge cases, a product with no variant, an order with a discount and a gift card, a very long address, so test the awkward orders, not just the tidy one. Print at the paper size your warehouse actually uses and check nothing clips, because a truncated returns address on paper is a support ticket printed a thousand times.

Resist decorating these documents into marketing pieces. A small brand line and a thank you are welcome. A dense promotional slip undermines the documents job, which is clarity at the moment of opening or filing. Review the templates whenever your returns process, business details, or fulfillment setup changes, and add them to the pre peak season checklist: the week your order volume triples is the wrong week to discover the packing slip still shows last years returns address.

Frequently asked questions

Should packing slips show prices?

Normally no. Packing slips list items and quantities for checking the box contents, and omitting prices makes the slip safe for gift orders. Invoices and order confirmations carry the financial details. Test a gift order in your store to confirm no prices or payment information print on the slip.

Where do the business details on invoices come from?

Mostly from your store settings: legal business name, address, and tax details. Errors there copy onto every invoice, so set them carefully and review after any business change. Stores with B2B customers or regional invoicing rules may need a dedicated invoicing app for numbering and tax breakdown requirements.

How do customers get an invoice copy after ordering?

Make it a stated process: explain in your FAQ and order emails how to request or download one, and ensure support can resend documents quickly. Many stores lose repeated support time to this single question. A clear answer published once prevents a ticket on every expense claim order.

Can I customize the packing slip template safely?

Yes, using the Liquid template in settings, with precautions: work on a copy, preview with real orders including edge cases like split shipments and gift orders, keep a backup, and print test copies at your actual paper size. Documents are a user interface and deserve the same testing as a web page.