What Order Notes does on each shipment
Order Notes lets you attach short, practical instructions to an individual parcel or booking. Instead of keeping special requests in a separate message thread or trying to remember them later, the note sits with the shipment record and travels with the order through booking and dispatch. That is useful when you are shipping from Woodmead, Midrand or Sandton, where one day you might send a single parcel and the next day a batch of twenty.
Common uses include asking for a careful handle on fragile stock, confirming the customer has been phoned before arrival, or noting that a delivery is to a business park with security check-in. You can also add collection notes for your own team, like gate codes, after-hours access, or that the parcel must leave with ice packs before 2pm. It keeps the handover tidy, and cuts down on back-and-forth.
Sizing and note options for different shipping volumes
There is no physical size to fit or install, but the feature is built to suit different shipment types and order loads. A single line note can be enough for a local same-day parcel, while longer instructions work better for national shipments, returns collections, or multi-order processing. For many online shops, the best approach is to keep notes short and specific so the dispatch team can act on them quickly.
- Short note for simple instructions such as fragile, call on arrival, or leave at reception
- Detailed note for repeat issues such as estate access, oversized cartons, or split deliveries
- Customer-facing note for delivery preferences that should be visible during booking review
- Internal note for warehouse or packing instructions that the customer does not need to see
If your business handles clothing, beauty stock, phone accessories or small home goods, notes are especially handy where items need separate packing or a specific pickup sequence. It also helps when one shipment has mixed items, because the note can flag the delicate box before it gets scanned out.
Where it suits small shops in South Africa
Order Notes suits online shops that book couriers regularly and need a cleaner way to keep track of special handling. That includes home-based sellers, warehouse teams, Instagram shops and small e-commerce operations across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Gqeberha. If your business works with different courier options each week, notes make it easier to match the right instruction to the right booking.
It is useful in places where access can be tricky, like office parks with boom gates, apartments with strict security, or coastal areas where packaging needs extra protection against moisture. For Gauteng businesses, notes often cover time windows and collection points, while Cape Town and Durban shops may use them for weather-sensitive parcels. The main point is simple: the right note at the right time saves a lot of calling around later.
- Local delivery jobs with customer-specific drop off instructions
- National shipments needing careful packing or proof of collection
- Returns collections where the item must be checked before pickup
- Multi-parcel orders where each box has different handling needs
How it fits into your booking workflow
Order Notes works best when it is part of the booking step, not added after the courier has already arrived. You can include the note while choosing the service, confirming the pickup, or reviewing the shipment before release. That means your courier choice, delivery method and special instructions stay together in one workflow, which is easier for small teams to manage on a busy morning.
The feature is also helpful for shops that run on a lean setup and need to keep admin under control during load-shedding or peak trading periods. If your packing station is short staffed, a clear note can replace a long call. For example, one line can tell the driver to collect from the side entrance, while another can flag that the parcel must not be turned on its side. Simple notes are best, because too much detail can slow things down.
- Add notes before checkout so dispatch sees them straight away
- Use consistent wording across the team to avoid confusion
- Keep customer instructions separate from internal packing instructions
- Review notes on repeat orders so old details do not carry over by mistake
Installation, access and power needs
Order Notes does not need physical installation, power or gas. It is a booking feature, so your team uses it from the same place you manage courier comparisons and pickups. There is no wiring, no site visit and no special equipment required. If your staff can access the booking system, they can add, read and update notes as part of normal order handling.
For best use, set a simple internal process. Decide who may add notes, who may edit them, and which notes must be visible for collection staff. If you run from a shared office, a home base or a small warehouse in Woodmead or Midrand, this helps keep the record clean. A short training session is usually enough, though it helps to agree on standard wording for things like fragile, urgent, hold for payment, or customer to sign on delivery.
Care, servicing and good note discipline
There is no physical maintenance, but the feature works better when your team keeps it tidy. Review old notes now and then, especially for repeat customers or recurring shipments. Remove outdated instructions once the parcel is dispatched, and do not leave vague comments like “sort later” or “usual process” because that can create mistakes. A clear note should say what needs doing, where, and by when.
If you are using Order Notes for returns collections or bulk shipping, it is worth setting a weekly check to make sure your instructions still match your courier process. That matters when delivery areas change, warehouse access changes, or the customer has moved. One missed detail can hold up an entire pickup and cause unnecessary calls from the driver and the buyer.
What to check before you start using order notes
Before using Order Notes on live shipments, check that your team knows what each note should cover. Decide whether notes are for packing, pickup, delivery, or all three. Make sure the wording is short enough to read quickly, but clear enough to act on. If you ship nationwide, it also helps to confirm which notes are specific to a town or building and which ones apply to the parcel itself.
You should also check how notes are handled on multi-order jobs. For example, if one customer has five parcels, the handling instruction may only apply to one box and not the others. That is where neat admin matters. A good note reduces missed handovers, makes collections smoother and gives your team more confidence when orders are moving between packing, pickup and delivery.
Key facts
| Product type | Shipment note feature for courier bookings |
|---|---|
| Use case | Handling, delivery and internal coordination notes |
| Note length | Short notes and longer detailed instructions |
| Supported order types | Local delivery, national delivery, returns and multi-order shipments |
| Setup requirement | No physical installation, power or gas needed |
| Best for | Small online shops, packing teams and courier dispatch admin |
