eBay packing slip: a UK business seller’s document checks

You want a sheet inside the box that identifies the items. In Seller Hub, however, the print menu also offers documents that look like invoices and reports. Choosing whichever opens first can send the wrong information to the buyer or create a numbering problem in your records. This guide is for UK business sellers dispatching their own stock. It focuses on the document that travels with the parcel, rather than the delivery programme for a private seller or a customs invoice for an export.

Which eBay print document should go inside the box? #

The eBay printing guide separates the buyer-facing Invoice/Packing slip from an invoice for your own records and a printout of order details. Start with the purpose of the page. If it is meant to help the recipient identify what arrived, use the relevant buyer document. An internal report may contain information useful to your business without being the right enclosure for the parcel.

Put the approved sheet beside the products while packing. Read the variant, quantity and reference before placing it in the box. If you sell similar items, a shortened listing title can leave the packer unable to distinguish them. Resolve that in your product identification and packing instructions. A handwritten guess on a printed invoice is a poor substitute for confirming which item the buyer actually purchased.

How do you print the packing slip in Seller Hub? #

Use Orders, open the postage menu or the order action, then select the invoice and document printing option described by eBay. Choose the intended document, customise the relevant details and review the preview. You can then print or download it. The key control is before the final action: inspect the whole document, rather than approving the first page because the order number looks familiar. Keep the approved output associated with that order.

If the preview fails, record the problem before trying a different document. An order-details printout can help identify a sale, but it is not automatically an equivalent buyer invoice. Avoid generating a duplicate tax document simply to get a sheet for the box.

Test the physical printout with the actual printer used for your orders. A label printer and an ordinary paper printer have different page sizes. Read long listing titles, quantity columns and the final page. Check whether the print settings shrink the document so far that a recipient cannot read it. Store the selected print settings with the packing instructions, so the next person does not have to discover the same layout problem while handling a live order.

Why check the invoice number before downloading? #

eBay allows an invoice-number setting that advances by one for each new order and says the number is no longer editable after the Invoice/Packing slip has been printed or downloaded. It also says only verified VAT IDs appear. These are useful checkpoints before generating your final document. Confirm the applicable VAT ID and numbering arrangement with your accounting process first. Do not expect the person packing the parcel to decide which registration or sequence applies.

HMRC’s full VAT invoice guidance requires a unique sequential identifier and permits more than one series. Your eBay order reference and your VAT invoice number therefore need a deliberate relationship. They can identify the same sale without being interchangeable. If your accounting software already issues the invoice, decide which system controls that document. A second numbering sequence created casually during packing can make later reconciliation harder.

What changes when eBay has collected the VAT? #

Where eBay collects and remits VAT, its printing guidance says not to issue a buyer invoice because eBay issues the separate tax invoice. Check that treatment against the UK and EU VAT guidance for your actual sale. A packing slip or receipt remains available; marketplace selling alone does not establish marketplace VAT collection.

Keep a dispatch instruction that states which buyer document is approved. This is especially useful when some orders follow one tax treatment and others another. The packer should not infer treatment from the buyer’s country, price or the presence of a company name. Your business resolves it using the sale details. The enclosure then helps the recipient recognise the goods without accidentally duplicating the tax invoice already issued for the sale.

Does the printed template make a valid VAT invoice automatically? #

No. The template is a way to present information; your responsibility is to ensure the applicable requirements are met. GOV.UK’s invoicing overview explains the invoice requirement where both supplier and customer are VAT registered. HMRC’s full-invoice list includes supplier details, customer details, supply and issue dates, item information and the applicable tax figures. Check your own transaction instead of relying solely on the heading printed above the table.

HMRC specifies that the total VAT chargeable on a full VAT invoice is expressed in sterling. This matters if your transaction or software uses another currency. A contents note can identify the items without doing a tax calculation. Keep these functions distinct. If you need a VAT invoice, check the financial document with the person responsible for your accounts; do not ask a packer to copy an exchange rate or tax amount from a different order.

How do you keep paper matched to the right parcel? #

1. 1

   Approve the document choice

   Record whether the order needs a buyer invoice, a packing slip or another agreed enclosure. Resolve marketplace VAT treatment and numbering before final generation.

2. 2

   Pair one order with its products

   Place the approved paper beside the intended goods. Read variant and quantity aloud or check them deliberately against the order before closing the parcel.

3. 3

   Check the outside label separately

   Confirm that the carrier label belongs to that same dispatch. An address block printed on a contents sheet does not replace your valid postage label.

4. 4

   Remove superseded printouts

   Keep a changed or cancelled sheet out of the active packing pile. Preserve any required accounting record through your own process rather than leaving the packer to discard it.

Use a separate waiting area for orders with an unresolved document question. The packer can collect the products without treating the box as ready for dispatch. Mark the reason plainly, such as awaiting approved buyer document. Once resolved, check the paper and the label together again. A loose stack of revised PDFs printed beside an earlier stack is an easy way to put the right product and the wrong personal information into the same parcel.

What if the order is changed after you have printed? #

Compare the approved dispatch contents with the current order before you close the box. If something has changed, remove the old sheet from the packing area and confirm the replacement. Handle any invoice correction through your accounting procedure rather than editing a printed financial amount by hand. For a delivery-price decision connected to the sale, see flat-rate or calculated eBay shipping. That choice does not settle which accounting document belongs inside.

What do you agree when someone else packs your eBay stock? #

With AirPost local fulfilment, you agree the stock, packaging and packing work with a sender. Explain how your approved eBay document reaches them and who replaces it if the order changes. Treat eBay printing and AirPost dispatch as separate workflows unless you have verified a specific connection. A sender receiving a PDF does not establish automatic marketplace synchronisation or responsibility for your VAT decisions.

AirPost constants checked on 13 October 2026 give a recommended small-parcel sender fee of €2.25 and a platform fee of €0.85. These add to €3.10 for one outgoing small parcel, excluding carriage. Two separate small parcels give €6.20 for those components. This is euro-denominated arithmetic from the shared constants, not a UK postage quote or a currency conversion. Your agreed sender fee and any special printing work need their own agreement.

That distinction helps you specify the work without inventing a document charge. Putting one approved sheet into the box is different from preparing your invoice, checking VAT or maintaining your accounting records. Describe the packing action and ask how the sender will receive the current version. Keep the invoice authority with your business. A reliable handoff leaves the sender able to say exactly which goods and which approved enclosure went into the parcel.