Log all your online orders with retailer, order number, tracking reference and expected delivery date.
A package tracking log helps when you've got more than one or two deliveries expected at once — around Black Friday, Christmas, or just an ordinary week with a few different orders on the way. It's built for personal household use, tracking your own incoming deliveries, not managing shipments out to customers.
Why bother logging deliveries
With one parcel expected, you don't need a log — you just wait for it. The moment two or three orders from different retailers are due around the same week, it gets genuinely easy to lose track of which has arrived, which is running late enough to be worth chasing, and which return window is closing soonest. A log sheet solves exactly that, nothing more.
UK courier claim windows, roughly
If a parcel goes missing, most UK couriers and retailers won't investigate immediately — there's usually a minimum wait before a parcel is officially considered lost, and a cut-off after which a claim becomes harder to make. As a rough guide (always check the specific retailer or courier's own policy, since this varies):
- Royal Mail — generally won't investigate a 'missing' parcel until at least a set number of working days after the expected delivery date has passed
- Evri, DPD, Yodel and similar courier-only services — often have shorter minimum wait periods, but claims frequently need to go through the retailer you ordered from rather than the courier directly
- Amazon Logistics — Amazon's own "where's my package" and refund process usually needs to be started via your Amazon account rather than the courier
Logging the expected delivery date the moment you order means you know exactly when a parcel has crossed from "just running late" into "worth raising a claim for" — without needing to remember dates from memory weeks later.
Avoiding missed and stolen parcels
- Note delivery instructions per parcel, not just as a blanket account setting — "leave with neighbour at number 12" only helps if you remember which parcel you said that for
- Log where a parcel was actually left once delivered, especially for a "safe place" delivery — if it goes missing afterwards, you'll need to say exactly where the courier's photo evidence claims it was left
- Higher-value parcels are the ones worth tracking most closely — a missing takeaway-sized order is an inconvenience, a missing high-value item is worth checking daily until it's confirmed delivered
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this log free to download and print?
Yes — download and print as many copies as you need, with no sign-up required.
What if I have too many parcels for one sheet?
Print a second copy — the sheet is designed to be refreshed regularly (weekly works well) rather than used as one continuous log for months at a time.
Should I log free/no-cost item deliveries too?
It's optional, but logging everything (not just paid orders) means you're not caught out wondering later whether a genuinely expected free sample or replacement item ever arrived.
What's the single most useful column to fill in properly?
The expected delivery date, by far — it's what tells you when a parcel has moved from 'still on its way' to 'worth chasing', which is the entire point of keeping a log rather than just remembering.
Does this replace the courier's own tracking?
No — use the courier's tracking for real-time status, and this log to keep everything in one place across multiple orders and retailers, which no single courier's own tracking page will show you.
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