Proof of delivery: what it is, who sees it, and why it is required

A parcel at QCS cannot be marked delivered without proof of delivery attached. Not discouraged in the interface, not flagged for review afterwards: refused at the data layer, so a rider cannot tap through a stop and an operator cannot close one from a desk without the evidence.

That is an unusual amount of rigidity for one field, and the reason is simple. In cash on delivery, "delivered" is the word that moves money. It cuts the charge, posts the ledger and credits the seller. A word that moves money needs a document behind it.

What counts as proof

One of three, captured by the rider at the door:

• A photograph. The parcel at the door, with the handover visible
• A signature, captured on the rider's screen
• A cash receipt, for a COD collection

Which one is appropriate depends on the parcel and the customer. What is not optional is that one of them exists.

Who sees it

Three parties, deliberately:

• The customer receives it with the delivery notification, so they have their own copy without asking
• You see it on the order in your merchant portal
• It is stored in the back office with the order's full status history

That last one matters more than it sounds. Evidence only the courier can see is not evidence, it is an assertion.

How it is stored, and why that is not casual

Proof of delivery is customer personal information. A photograph of somebody's front door with them standing in it is not a logistics artefact, it is a picture of a person at their home address.

• Files are stored under randomised keys rather than predictable paths, so one cannot be guessed from another
• Every upload is validated by extension, declared type and magic bytes, and size-capped
• Private evidence is served only through an authorised application route, never as a direct static file
• Each read of customer evidence in the back office is written to the activity log

The fourth is the one most couriers skip. Access to a customer's photograph being logged is the difference between a control and a policy.

What happens when a delivery does not succeed

The evidence requirement does not disappear, it changes shape. A hold, a refusal or a cancellation each require a reason code from a configurable list plus free-text detail, and evidence attached.

So an unsuccessful attempt is as documented as a successful one, which is what makes a return rate readable by cause rather than arriving as one number. Attempts, holds and refusals covers what each outcome does to the parcel.

Why this matters commercially, not just procedurally

Three concrete consequences for a seller.

A delivery dispute has an answer

A customer who says a parcel never arrived, against a parcel marked delivered, is otherwise an argument between two people who were not both there. With proof attached it is a document you can forward.

The charge is defensible

The delivery charge is cut at the moment of delivery, computed from the recorded weight and zone against the rate card version live on your booking date. The proof is what establishes that the moment happened. Reading your COD statement walks through how that charge reaches your statement.

The cash is traceable

For a COD parcel the proof sits alongside the collection, and the collection is reconciled against what the rider hands in at the cash desk. A difference is carried as cash still with the rider until it is settled rather than quietly absorbed.

The question to ask any courier

Not "do you capture proof of delivery", because everyone says yes. Ask instead:

1. 01Can a parcel be marked delivered with the proof field empty? If yes, the field is a suggestion
2. 02Do I see the proof, or only your support team?
3. 03Is access to customer evidence logged?

The first one is the test. A courier whose system permits a delivery with no evidence will, under pressure on a busy day, produce deliveries with no evidence, and the ones missing it will be the ones you most need.

If you are starting out, the merchant signup form is the entry point and the published tariff carries the delivery terms. The pricing calculator will price a parcel before you commit.