A shipping log is one line for every parcel that leaves: the date, the order, where it went, the carrier, the tracking number, the weight, what the shipping cost you, what you charged for it, and when it arrived. It answers the questions customers ask, where's my order, and the one they don't: is shipping making or losing money? In the example below, a 3D print shop ships twelve orders in a week, charges a flat $7.95 for shipping online, and finds it paid $15.50 more for postage than its customers did, all of it on the heavier parcels and the shop orders. Below is what goes in a shipping log, the week filled in, what it shows, and a free template.
The short version
- One line for each shipment, the day it goes.
- Record what the shipping cost and what the customer paid for it, side by side.
- Record the delivery date, so days in transit and late parcels are numbers.
- Note every problem: late, damaged, lost, wrong address.
- Total the week or month: shipping paid against charged, cost per package, problems.
- A flat shipping price loses money on heavy parcels; the log shows where the line is.
- TaroStack records what shipped to whom and when, with the lots; the labels and tracking stay with your carrier or store. More below.
What goes in a shipping log
| Column | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Date shipped, order | Matching the parcel to the order |
| Customer and destination | Who, and where |
| Carrier and service | Which carrier, which speed |
| Tracking number | Answering "where's my order?" |
| Packages and weight | What the cost depends on |
| Shipping paid | What the label cost you |
| Shipping charged | What the customer paid for shipping |
| Delivered, days in transit | Whether it arrived when promised |
| Problem | Late, damaged, lost, wrong address, returned |
A filled-in example: a week of parcels
Snake River Print Lab, a made-up 3D print shop in Boise, Idaho, I use in these examples, ships planters online at a flat $7.95 and sells to three garden and gift shops:
| Shipped | Order | Destination | Carrier | Weight | Paid | Charged | Difference | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 | WEB-1041 | Portland, OR | USPS Ground Advantage | 2.1 lb | $9.85 | $7.95 | −$1.90 | 3 |
| Oct 5 | WEB-1042 | Austin, TX | USPS Ground Advantage | 1.4 lb | $8.40 | $7.95 | −$0.45 | 4 |
| Oct 5 | SO-2026-071 | Boise, ID | Own delivery | 18 lb | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | WEB-1043 | Denver, CO | USPS Ground Advantage | 0.8 lb | $6.20 | $7.95 | $1.75 | 2 |
| Oct 6 | SO-2026-072 | Nampa, ID | UPS Ground | 24 lb | $21.60 | $18.00 | −$3.60 | 1 |
| Oct 6 | WEB-1044 | Chicago, IL | USPS Ground Advantage | 2.6 lb | $11.30 | $7.95 | −$3.35 | 4 |
| Oct 7 | WEB-1045 | Seattle, WA | USPS Ground Advantage | 1.1 lb | $7.40 | $7.95 | $0.55 | 2 |
| Oct 7 | SO-2026-073 | Ketchum, ID | UPS Ground | 12 lb | $14.90 | $12.00 | −$2.90 | 2 |
| Oct 8 | WEB-1046 | Phoenix, AZ | USPS Ground Advantage | 1.9 lb | $9.10 | $7.95 | −$1.15 | 5, late |
| Oct 8 | WEB-1047 | Salt Lake City, UT | USPS Ground Advantage | 0.9 lb | $6.40 | $7.95 | $1.55 | 2, damaged |
| Oct 9 | WEB-1048 | Missoula, MT | USPS Ground Advantage | 1.6 lb | $8.10 | $7.95 | −$0.15 | 3 |
| Oct 9 | WEB-1049 | Boston, MA | USPS Ground Advantage | 3.2 lb | $13.80 | $7.95 | −$5.85 | Not yet |
The postage prices here are made up for the example; your carrier's rates and your account decide yours.
What the week shows
| Total | The week |
|---|---|
| Shipments | 12 |
| Shipping paid | $117.05 |
| Shipping charged | $101.55 |
| Difference | −$15.50 |
| Problems | 1 late, 1 damaged |
The flat $7.95 covers the parcels up to about a pound and loses on nearly everything heavier: the 3.2-pound parcel to Boston cost $5.85 more than the customer paid. The two shop orders shipped by UPS were charged a flat rate below what they cost. At $15.50 a week, shipping costs the shop about $800 a year. The fix is in the price: shipping by weight band, or a higher flat rate with free shipping over an order size. What packaging adds to each order is in packaging cost per unit, and shipping food that has to stay cold in shipping perishable food for a small business.
The cracked planter to Salt Lake City is a cost too: a reprint and a second parcel. Two problems in twelve shipments is worth watching; if damage repeats, the packing is the next thing to change.
Get the template
Download the shipping log template. One line for each shipment: the date, order, customer, destination, carrier and service, tracking number, packages, weight, shipping paid and charged, delivery date and any problem; the difference and days in transit fill in, and the totals are at the side: shipping paid against charged, cost per package, average days in transit, what's not delivered yet, and problems. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The log is typed after the labels are bought, from the carrier's receipts and the store's orders. It says what each parcel cost; it doesn't say what was in it, which batch the planters came from, or what's left on the shelf for the shop that will reorder next week.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack records what shipped to whom and when, with the lots; the labels and tracking stay with your carrier or store.
What shipped, and when. Each order is a sales order, picked from a picking list and shipped with a delivery note, and its ship date is recorded. Orders from a Shopify store come into TaroStack with the store's own record of the order; we set the connection up with you.
The lots in each parcel. The lots each customer got are recorded as it ships, so a complaint about a cracked planter points to the batch it came from, and one recall report lists everyone who got that batch.
Stock after every parcel. Shipping takes the goods off stock as it happens, so what's left for the next shop order is already a number. How to price what a shop orders is in wholesale order form template.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What's in each parcel | The order, somewhere | Sales order and delivery note |
| Which batch went to which customer | Not recorded | Lots recorded as it ships |
| Stock after the week's parcels | Count the shelf | Taken off stock as it ships |
| Tracking and postage | This log | Not kept: your carrier or store |
Sales orders, picking lists and lots are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.