Materials Delivery Log Template: Free Excel Delivery Register
A ready to use Excel register for logging every delivery against the order: quantity received, shortfalls, damage and late arrivals, with a delivery note reference against each line. Built by quantity surveyors.
Will Doyle
Founder and CEO, Gather · Chartered QS · Last reviewed 23 July 2026
A materials delivery log is the register a site team keeps of every delivery against the order it relates to: what was ordered, what actually arrived, whether the quantity was short, whether anything was damaged, and whether the delivery was on time. It's the record that turns a dispute over a missing pallet of blocks from a guess into a fact.
Without a delivery log, a shortfall or a delay only surfaces when the trade waiting on that material runs out of work, which is usually days after the delivery that caused it.
What a good delivery log covers
Most delivery problems aren't discovered at the point of delivery. They're discovered when a trade runs out of material mid activity and someone has to work out what went wrong three days after the fact. A delivery log fixes this by making the shortfall or the delay visible on the day it happens, against the order it was meant to fulfil.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Order reference and supplier | Ties the delivery to a specific purchase order, not a vague "materials arrived" |
| Ordered quantity vs received quantity | Makes any shortfall visible immediately, not weeks later |
| Delivery date vs due date | Flags late deliveries against the programme requirement, not against memory |
| Condition on arrival (damage flag) | Records damage at the point of delivery, before it becomes a dispute over who caused it |
| Delivery note reference | Points at the physical or scanned delivery note that backs up the entry |
| Signed off by | One name accountable for confirming what actually arrived |
How to complete the log
Five steps, at the point of delivery rather than at the end of the week. The value is entirely in it being recorded while the lorry is still on site.
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Reference the order
Log the order reference and supplier for the delivery.
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Compare ordered vs received quantity
Record the quantity ordered and the quantity actually received.
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Compare due date vs delivery date
Record the due date and the actual delivery date.
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Note condition and damage
Record the condition on arrival and flag any damage.
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Reference the delivery note and sign off
Attach the delivery note reference and record who signed off the entry.
The template, field by field
| Order ref | Material | Ordered / received | Due / delivered | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PO-0142 | Blockwork (100mm) | 2,000 / 1,600 | 14 Jul / 14 Jul | Short 400 |
| PO-0143 | Rebar (T16) | 8t / 8t | 15 Jul / 17 Jul | 2 days late |
| PO-0144 | Precast lintels | 40 / 40 | 16 Jul / 16 Jul | Complete |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
The Delivery Log tab is where each delivery is logged against its order; the Dashboard tab rolls that up into a by supplier view so a supplier who is consistently late or consistently short shows up in one place instead of buried across dozens of individual entries. The How to use tab explains every column with a worked example.
Download the free template
The Excel file with ordered vs received tracking, shortfall and damage flags, and a by supplier delivery performance summary.
Download the template (.xlsx) Free download. No email needed. Yours to use and share with your team.Worked example: a short delivery on a critical activity
On 14 July, 2,000 blocks are ordered under PO-0142 for a blockwork package on the critical path. Only 1,600 arrive. The site team logs the shortfall the same day, against the order, with the delivery note reference. Three days later, when the bricklaying gang runs short and the programme slips half a day, there's already a dated record showing exactly when the shortfall was known, rather than a dispute over whether the supplier or the site team is responsible for the delay.
PO-0143's rebar delivery arrives two days late but complete. On its own, two days isn't a big deal. Logged against three other slightly late deliveries from the same supplier over a month, it's a pattern worth a conversation before the next order.
How Gather automates this
A delivery log is only as good as the records behind it. If a shortfall or a delay never gets logged against the order it relates to, the register can't connect the dots between a late delivery and the programme slip it caused, or the commercial claim that slip might support.
Gather's AI QS reads every daily record as it comes in and flags the events, delays and instructions that turn into money later, so the entitlement is captured while the evidence is still fresh.
See how the AI QS reads your site diaries A 30 minute call. No commitment. See if it fits how your team already works.Frequently asked questions
What should a materials delivery log include?
At minimum: the order reference and supplier, ordered quantity against received quantity, due date against actual delivery date, condition on arrival with a damage flag, a delivery note reference, and who signed off the entry.
How does a delivery log help with disputed shortfalls?
It creates a dated record of exactly what was ordered and what arrived, against a delivery note reference, at the point of delivery. That record is what backs up a claim against a supplier or explains a programme delay, rather than relying on memory weeks later.
Should I log every delivery or only problem ones?
Every delivery. Logging only the problem ones means you have no baseline to compare a supplier's performance against, and you lose the pattern of small delays that only becomes visible when every delivery is recorded the same way.
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