What you need to know
- Paper, photos, finance systems, carbon tools and diary records can overlap; capability depends on configuration.
- Record the receiving check and actual use as well as the supplier’s ticket.
- Choose an owner for the original delivery record and connect the data each team needs.
Ask five contractors how they handle delivery notes and you'll get five answers. Ask one contractor and you'll often get three, because different teams on the same job are doing different things.
Site may keep the paper, accounts may hold the receipt record and sustainability may keep another register. The QS then has to reconcile them. The problem is the split record, rather than the choice of software alone.
There are several ways to handle delivery notes: paper files, shared photos, finance receipting, carbon-data tools and records linked to the site diary. The five approaches below can overlap. This comparison helps commercial managers and QSs decide which gaps to fix first.
One disclosure before we start. Gather sells software in the fifth category, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be as hard on it as on the others.
The comparison at a glance
Approach | What it can record | What to check | Effort on site |
|---|---|---|---|
Paper tickets and a filing tray | Supplier document and receiver’s annotations | Checking, filing, access and links to other records | Low |
Photos in WhatsApp or a shared drive | A saved copy of the ticket | Metadata, naming, permissions, retention and indexing | Low |
Finance receipting (ERP or e-invoicing) | Receipt, order and invoice references | Activity/location data and whether it records actual use | Medium |
Carbon capture tools | Product quantities and carbon inputs | Scope of factors, exports and commercial references | Medium |
Tickets linked to the site diary | Delivery context beside work records | Quantity verification, later use and finance connection | Medium |
How they score on six questions
Use the same six questions for each approach. The table describes possible capabilities and process dependencies, not measured scores or a ranking of named suppliers. Check the specific tool, configuration and receiving routine.
Approach | Captured on the day | Quantity checked | Matched to PO and invoice | Findable later | Shows activity and location | Effort on site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paper tickets | If captured promptly | Requires a receiving check | By hand | Depends on filing | If annotated | Low |
Photos in a chat or drive | If captured promptly | Requires a receiving check | By hand | Depends on indexing | If recorded | Low |
Finance receipting | If captured promptly | Requires a receiving check | Typically supported | Depends on configuration | If configured | Medium |
Carbon capture tools | If captured promptly | Requires a receiving check | Check integrations | Depends on configuration | If recorded | Medium |
Tickets linked to the site diary | If captured promptly | Requires a receiving check | Check integrations | Depends on indexing | If recorded | Medium |
Finance receipting is usually organised around payment controls; a diary adds context about the work. Carbon tools add reporting inputs. Any of these may overlap, and none verifies a physical quantity without a suitable receiving check.
1. Paper tickets and a filing tray
The default on many sites. The signed copy goes in a tray in the cabin and reaches the office in batches.
What it does well: paper is familiar and can carry useful signatures, quantities and annotations. A properly maintained file can be valid evidence.
What to check: whether tickets reach the file, whether the receiver checked them and whether people can retrieve a particular delivery later. Paper can work; an unchecked ticket in an unindexed box is much harder to use.
Where it fits: low-volume work with a reliable receiving and filing routine. Check client record, audit and carbon requirements before relying on paper alone.
2. Photos in WhatsApp or a shared drive
A step up. Someone photographs each ticket and drops it in a group chat or a folder.
A shared photo preserves the document and can reduce lost-paper chasing. Finding and totalling deliveries still depends on naming, indexing, OCR and access controls. Some shared drives can search image text, so do not assume photos are unsearchable. Agree ownership and retention rather than leaving the only copy on a personal phone.
It's a sensible stopgap while you sort out something better, and far better than paper alone.
3. Finance receipting (ERP or e-invoicing)
Finance receipting records goods against an order and supports invoice checks. The key question is whether the site confirms actual receipt or the office simply copies the supplier’s note.
What it does well: it supports the comparison of orders, receipts and invoices. That can reduce payment queries when the records are accurate. It does not guarantee that an invoice is correct or due for payment. Source: HMRC procure-to-pay guidance.
What to check: whether your finance setup also records the unloading point, intended activity, instruction reference and subsequent use. Some systems hold this detail and some do not. Check the fields and exports, not the category label.
Where it fits: purchasing and payment control. For cost-based NEC4 work, check that finance and site records together support the claimed cost. A receipt confirms arrival, not incorporation.
4. Carbon capture tools
Specialist tools where site photographs delivery and waste tickets, and the data is extracted and enriched for embodied carbon and waste reporting.
What to check: whether quantities are extracted or verified, which products and emissions modules are covered, and how delivery references pass to commercial and finance records. A carbon tool may also hold activity data or integrate with other systems; confirm that in the demonstration.
Where it fits: projects with material, waste and carbon reporting requirements. Confirm the client’s calculation method before choosing a capture tool.
5. Tickets linked to the site diary
The delivery is captured in the site diary on the day, ideally with a photo of the ticket, the quantity confirmed on site, and a link to the activity and location it was for. Where an instruction or change caused the delivery, a good record links that too. Tools in this category vary in how far they go.
What it does well: puts deliveries beside the day’s work, locations and events. That context can support cost assurance and a change assessment. A link to an activity records intended use; later progress or stock records are still needed to support actual use.
What it misses: it needs the site team to capture deliveries properly, which takes habit and some training. It doesn't replace your finance system's three-way match, so you'll want the two to talk to each other rather than capture the same delivery twice. And if site treats the diary as a tick box, you'll get the same thin data you'd get anywhere else.
Where it fits: NEC4 Option C, D and E work, jobs with frequent change, and any contractor who wants the commercial team to see deliveries without chasing site.
How to choose
You don't have to pick one. Most contractors will want finance receipting and a site record side by side. Five questions decide the mix:
- What contract are you on? Cost-based work needs records supporting claimed costs. Lump sum work still needs dates and quantities when change or delay is assessed.
- Who needs the data? Accounts, the QS, the planner, the sustainability lead. Aim to capture once and share.
- What does your client require? Check the Scope and any carbon reporting obligations.
- How much change is on the job? The more instructions, the more you need to know which deliveries they affected.
- What will site actually do? The best system is the one that gets used at the gate at 7am.
A sensible order for most contractors is to stop the paper getting lost (photos at minimum), get finance receipting right for payment, then link deliveries to the diary for evidence of use. If you're weighing up ticket scanning as part of that, our piece on whether AI can read a delivery ticket covers what to test.
FAQ
Do I need a separate delivery management app?
Not necessarily. If your site diary can capture deliveries with photos, quantities and links to activities, that may cover it. What matters is that the record is made on the day and can be found and trusted later.
Can one system cover finance, carbon and the commercial record?
Some systems cover several functions, while others connect through exports or integrations. Map the fields each team needs, test the available connections and choose an owner for the original delivery record.
What is three-way matching in construction?
Three-way matching compares the purchase order, receipt record and invoice. It helps flag discrepancies, but cannot catch an error repeated in all three records or replace payment-term checks. Source: HMRC procure-to-pay guidance.
What's the minimum I should do today?
Save a clear ticket photo to the project record, check the quantity using the appropriate method and record limitations. It takes time, but can prevent more chasing later. The materials delivery log template is a starting point.
Where Gather fits
Gather records delivery notes within the shift record, alongside the day’s work and resources. Its Record product page also describes photos with timestamps and GPS metadata. These records support a delivery history; they do not, by themselves, confirm the quantity received or prove that materials were used. See the Gather Record product page or book a demo.
.webp)
