How to make a pick list for a small online store

What does a pick list template look like?

It is a table with one row per item to pick, and the columns above. The one below is a real table on this page, so you can select it and paste it into a spreadsheet. The three filled rows are examples with invented products and order numbers.

Checked 2026-11-05. Rows marked Example are invented for illustration.

Paste the table into a spreadsheet and keep one row per product as your master list. For each run, copy the rows for the items ordered, set the quantity, and sort by Location.

Should you pick one order at a time or batch several orders?

Pick one order at a time when orders are few or mostly a single item, and batch when the same products keep showing up across orders. Per-order picking needs no splitting afterward. Batching adds up each SKU across several orders, so you visit each shelf once.

Example, with invented orders. Order 1001 wants two blue mugs and a medium t-shirt. Order 1002 wants one blue mug and a black cap. Picked one at a time, you make two walks and four stops. Batched, you make one walk, three stops, and take three mugs in a single reach.

Checked 2026-11-05. Invented orders for illustration.

The price of batching is the split afterward. Keep the Orders column on the list, pick into a tote with a bag or divider per order when you can, and batch only as many orders as you can sort without mixing them up. For the end-to-end routine around a batch of labels, see the batch fulfillment day workflow.

Why does sort order matter, and how do you walk a small stockroom?

Sort order matters because a list in the order the orders arrived sends the picker back and forth across the room, and a list sorted by location lets them walk it once.

To get the walk right in a small room, start from the floor plan.

1. Sketch the room, with the door nearest your packing table as the start and the finish.
2. Walk the route you would naturally take, such as down one side, along the back and up the other side.
3. Name the shelves in the order you pass them, so the first shelf you reach is the first location.
4. Put the products you ship most often on the early shelves, at waist height.
5. Keep heavy items low and fragile ones higher.

A location that sorts as text can sort wrongly. A plain text sort puts A-10 before A-2, so write the shelf number with a zero in front, as in A-02 and A-10. On the Pro plan, GoatLabels sorts its own list by pick location and puts products with no pick location at the end of the list, so fill the field in for everything you stock.

How do you label stock locations simply?

Use a short code that reads in walking order, put it on the shelf edge as well as on the list, and give each product one home.

• Example code: A-02-B means aisle A, shelf 2, slot B. The numbers are invented.
• Keep it short: three parts at most, so it fits on a label and on one line of the list.
• One home per product: if a product spills over, move the overflow next to it or give the whole product a new code.
• Label the shelf as well as the list: a picker who trusts the shelf label can spot a wrong item at once.
• Fix the list the day you move stock: a wrong location sends the picker to the wrong shelf.

What mistakes spoil a pick list?

Bad picks often start with a list that is out of date, out of order or hard to read. Watch for these.

• No location column, so the picker has to remember where things are.
• A list sorted by order number or date instead of by location.
• A SKU with no description, so two near-identical items are not told apart.
• Locations that changed on the shelf but not on the list.
• The same product on two lines, so it is picked in two trips. Add the lines together.
• Printing early, then an order is cancelled before the picker starts. Print close to picking.

When does a paper pick list stop working?

A paper or spreadsheet list stops working when building it costs more time than the picking, or when picks go wrong often enough that you spend the saved time fixing them. Watch for these signs.

• You rebuild the list by hand from the order screen every day, and the copying causes errors.
• More than one person picks, so the list must match who is doing what.
• The same product lives in more than one place, so one location per product is no longer true.
• Mixed-up orders reach customers, and you cannot say whether the pick or the pack went wrong.
• You need to know how many units sit on each shelf.

Software that builds the list from open orders removes the retyping. Several pickers, several locations per product and per-shelf counts need more than a pick list, which says where to go and does not count what is there.

What should pick and pack software do for a small store?

It should build the list from your open orders, sort it by location, merge the same SKU across orders, and help check the pick. Look for these.

1. One line per SKU across several orders, with the order numbers kept.
2. A barcode on each line that has a product code, so a scanner can confirm the item.
3. A check at packing that the right items went in the box, called scan-to-pack.
4. A clear statement of when stock changes, so counts do not drift.

Larger operations also want wave picking, rules for splitting work between pickers, and stock counted per bin. Check whether you need them before you pay for them.

Can GoatLabels print a pick list?

Yes, on the Pro plan only. GoatLabels prints one pick list PDF for up to 50 orders, sorted by pick location, with a barcode on each line that has a GTIN or SKU. It is part of the Operations hub, which is included with Pro, with no separate add-on fee.

1. Put a pick location on each product. It is one free-text field per product, and the Pack screen shows it as the bin.
2. Open More, then Operations, then the Pack tab. It lists open orders that have items, with multi-item orders first.
3. Tick up to 50 orders and use the pick list button. Orders ticked past 50 are left off. The PDF opens in a new tab for you to print.
4. Walk the list top to bottom. A SKU that appears in several ticked orders is added into one line with its order numbers.