Purchase order and delivery note: what are they for as an auto-entrepreneur

The purchase order and the delivery note are two documents that many auto-entrepreneurs discover the day a business client asks for them. They replace neither the quote nor the invoice: they record what was ordered and what was handed over, especially when you sell products or deliver in several batches. By the end of this guide, you will know when to draw them up, what they contain and how to chain them with the quote and the invoice without distorting your revenue.

Two documents of practice, not of invoicing

Nothing in the auto-entrepreneur status requires a purchase order or a delivery note. They are commercial practices, inherited from business-to-business dealings, that you adopt if your activity makes them useful. The only rule to keep in mind lies elsewhere: only the invoice constitutes your revenue. A signed purchase order is not a completed sale, a signed delivery note is not a payment received. Neither one enters the IFU calculation or the tracking of the annual cap.

• The purchase order (BC) formalises the client's order: "I am ordering this from you, at this price, for this date". It is issued by the client, or prepared by you and signed by them.
• The delivery note (BL) accompanies the goods or records the completion of a stage of a service: "here is what was handed over to you, in this quantity, on this date". The client signs it on receipt.

For a service delivered in one go (a website, a training course, a consulting assignment), the quote-invoice pair is usually enough.

When these documents are useful

You sell products. The delivery note is proof that the goods were handed over and accepted. Without it, a client can later dispute the quantity received or the condition of the items. Their signature acts as a record: "received in good order, 25 gift boxes". The purchase order, for its part, protects you upstream: when you need to buy materials, manufacture or import before delivering, the client has committed before you commit your expenses. It is common to pair it with a deposit; an invoiced deposit enters revenue on its date (see the quote guide).

The service is carried out in several deliveries. An order of 40 gift boxes delivered in two batches, a series of three training sessions, a job site in several visits: each stage can give rise to a delivery note. At the end, the invoice summarises them, or an invoice is issued at each stage.

The business client requires it. Many companies only pay an invoice if it cites the number of a purchase order issued by their purchasing department, and check that a signed delivery note exists before releasing payment. In that case, it is the client who produces the purchase order; your job is to carry its number over to the delivery note and the invoice. Providing all three documents speeds up payment.

Quote, purchase order, delivery note, invoice: who does what

None of these documents substitutes for another: the delivery note is not an invoice, and the invoice does not prove the goods were handed over.

What these documents contain

Both reuse the identification block of your quotes and invoices: your name, the words "Auto-entrepreneur", your card number, your contact details, and the client's identity. The details specific to the invoice are covered in the guide to mandatory details; for the other two documents, practice calls for the following elements.

The purchase order

• The title "Purchase order" and a dedicated number (BC-2026-0012), in a series separate from your quotes and your invoices.
• The date of the order and the reference of the accepted quote ("As per quote DEV-2026-0044 of 03/09/2026").
• The descriptions, quantities and unit prices, identical to the quote. If the client orders less or more than planned, the purchase order is what serves as the reference from then on.
• The requested delivery date and address, and the agreed payment terms.
• The client's signature, with the words "Approved for order".

The delivery note

• The title "Delivery note" and a dedicated number (BL-2026-0031).
• The date of handover, the reference of the purchase order or the quote, and that of the invoice if already issued.
• The descriptions and quantities delivered. For a partial delivery, write "delivered 25 of 40, 15 remaining".
• Usually without prices. The delivery note travels with the goods and passes through the hands of the warehouse keeper or the receiving clerk: many companies prefer that it not mention amounts. Nothing forbids it either; if you show them, add the wording "VAT not applicable — auto-entrepreneur regime (law no. 22-23)" as on your other documents.
• The client's signature on receipt, with the date, the signatory's name and any reservations ("damaged box, 1 gift box missing").

Keep the signed copy: that is the one that has value, not the blank version.

The full cycle, from quote to invoice

Example: Sara Benali, a designer in Oran, receives an order for 40 gift boxes from Hydra Services SARL, at 3,500 DZD each, i.e. 140,000 DZD, delivered in two batches.

1. Quote DEV-2026-0044 of 03/09/2026: 40 gift boxes × 3,500.00 = 140,000.00 DZD, valid 30 days, delivery in two batches.
2. Purchase order BC-2026-0012: Hydra Services signs on 08/09/2026, carrying over the quote, delivery requested before 30/09. At this stage, Sara's revenue on this deal is still zero.
3. First delivery, BL-2026-0031 of 18/09/2026: 25 gift boxes, no prices, signed "received in good order" by the receiving clerk.
4. Second delivery, BL-2026-0033 of 26/09/2026: 15 gift boxes, "0 remaining", signed.
5. Invoice FAC-2026-0057 of 26/09/2026: 40 gift boxes × 3,500.00 = 140,000.00 DZD, with the references "BC-2026-0012, BL-2026-0031 and BL-2026-0033". It is on this date, and for this amount, that the 140,000 DZD enter invoiced revenue.
6. Payment: bank transfer received on 10/10/2026, recorded on the invoice. The 140,000 DZD move into collected revenue, the practical basis of the IFU at 0.5%, i.e. 700 DZD.

Sara could also have invoiced each batch separately (87,500 DZD then 52,500 DZD); what matters is that each invoice cites the corresponding delivery note, and that no quantity is invoiced twice.

In MyHissab, the purchase order is created from the quote or the invoice, and the delivery note from the purchase order or the invoice, each with its own series (BC- and BL- followed by the year, by default). The step-by-step is described in the quote → purchase order → invoice tutorial.

Delivery note template

DELIVERY NOTE                               No. BL-2026-0031
                                            Date: 18/09/2026
Issuer                        Delivered to
Sara Benali                   Hydra Services SARL
Auto-entrepreneur             Hydra, Algiers
AE no. 31-00457-25            Received by: Mrs Lina Haddad

References: quote DEV-2026-0044 of 03/09/2026
            purchase order BC-2026-0012 of 08/09/2026

Description                                 Ordered   Delivered   Remaining
"Oranais" gift box, olive wood                 40         25          15

Partial delivery 1/2. Balance scheduled before 30/09/2026.
This document is not an invoice.

Received in good order, on ____ / ____ / ______
Name and signature of the recipient:        Reservations, if any:

The case of micro-import

The auto-entrepreneur in micro-import (field 080000) buys goods abroad within the limits of executive decree no. 25-170: a maximum of 1,800,000 DZD of goods per trip, two trips per month, 10,000,000 DZD of revenue per year. They then resell them in Algeria, often to retailers, and that is where the delivery note comes into its own: each handover of goods to a client is recorded by a signed delivery note, and the invoice that follows cites it.

Two distinctions to keep clear:

• The customs document drawn up when the goods enter the country is the only one that is authoritative on what you imported, its value and the duties paid. The delivery note does not replace it: it concerns the handover to the client, not the entry into the territory.
• The delivery note does not create revenue: as long as the invoice is not issued, the items delivered are stock that has gone out. Tracking of the 10,000,000 DZD cap is done on invoices.

The regime is detailed in the micro-import guide.

Common mistakes

• Counting a signed purchase order as a sale. As long as the invoice does not exist, there is neither revenue nor IFU. Conversely, forgetting to invoice a delivery made weeks ago distorts cap tracking (see the cap guide).
• Numbering delivery notes in the invoice series. A delivery note that uses up number FAC-2026-0031 creates a gap in the invoice series. Each type of document has its own series.
• Delivering without getting a signature. An unsigned delivery note proves nothing. Get it signed on the spot, or obtain a written acknowledgement of receipt.
• Invoicing the same quantity twice. With partial deliveries and interim invoices, keep an "ordered / delivered / invoiced" table per order.
• Editing a delivery note after signature. If a quantity was wrong, draw up a dated and signed correcting delivery note (or a return note), rather than altering the original.

Frequently asked questions

Can the delivery note replace the invoice? No. The delivery note records a handover; the invoice requests payment and constitutes revenue. A client who pays "against the delivery note" leaves you without an issued invoice, and therefore without a revenue record consistent with the payment received. Issue the invoice, even on the day of delivery.

The client sends me their own purchase order: do I also have to create one? No. Keep theirs and carry its number over to your delivery note and your invoice. Just check that it matches your quote (quantities, prices, lead times) before preparing the order.

Does a private individual also have to sign a purchase order? Rarely necessary: a quote signed "Approved" plays the same role. The delivery note remains useful if you hand products over to them, especially in several batches or via a carrier: their signature on receipt avoids disputes over quantity or condition.