A consignment note is filled out correctly when every field a driver, a depot and a receiver need is complete and accurate, and All Freight Carrying sees the same handful of missing details behind most failed deliveries and invoice queries. The consignment note, or con note, identifies your freight for its whole journey. This guide goes through what it does, how to complete each field, the mistakes that cost senders money, and a checklist to run before the vehicle arrives.
What is a consignment note and what does it do?
A consignment note is the document a sender completes to hand freight to a carrier. It records who is sending, who is receiving, what the freight is, how much of it there is and how it should be handled, and it carries the consignment number that identifies the job from pickup to delivery. It does three things at once:
- It references the contract of carriage. The consignment note is the record of what was tendered and on what terms. Under our Conditions of Carriage, those conditions apply to every booking whether or not a consignment note is signed, and terms printed on a sender’s own consignment note do not override them.
- It is the tracking reference. The consignment number is what the driver scans at pickup, what the depot scans on arrival and what you enter on our tracking page to see where the freight is.
- It is the basis of proof of delivery. The receiver signs, or the driver photographs, against the consignment number, and that scan is the evidence the delivery was made.
How do you complete each field?
Sender
Your business name, the pickup address, and a contact name and mobile number for the person on site who knows the freight is going. If the pickup is not at your own premises, give the name of the business where the freight actually is.
Receiver
The receiving business or person’s name as the people at the address would recognise it. A trading name nobody at the dock has heard of is a common reason a driver is turned away.
Full street address
The complete delivery address, including the unit, suite, shop or warehouse number, the street number, the street, the suburb and the postcode. No PO boxes: a freight carrier delivers to a street address, not a post office box, so a consignment addressed to one cannot go out until a street address is supplied.
Receiver contact name and phone
The name and mobile number of the person who will actually receive the freight, not the head office switchboard. When a driver is at a locked gate or an empty dock, this number is the difference between a delivery and a futile attempt.
Delivery hours and access notes
The hours the site receives freight, any day it is closed, and anything about access a driver would not expect: a narrow or steep driveway, a height limit, a gate code, a locked compound, unsealed ground, or a dock that only takes certain vehicles. Say whether there is a forklift or a dock. If there is neither, the consignment needs a tailgate delivery, and that has to be booked rather than written on the note and hoped for.
Item count
The number of separate pieces being handed over: cartons, pallets, bundles, crates. Every piece should carry its own label showing the count, for example 2 of 3, so a short delivery is obvious the moment it happens.
Description
What the freight is, in plain words: cartons of packaged food, one pallet of tiles, two bundles of steel lengths. A description lets the depot handle the freight properly and lets the receiver check what arrived.
Weight and dimensions per item
The length, width, height and weight of each item, with pallets measured to include the base. Freight is charged on the greater of actual weight and cubic weight, and under-declared freight is re-measured and re-charged, so measure rather than estimate. A pallet or carton that is larger or heavier than declared may also need a different vehicle from the one sent.
Pallet type
For palletised freight, whether the pallets are CHEP, Loscam or plain one-way pallets, and how many of each. Pallet transfer documentation for hired pallets is the sender’s responsibility and travels with the consignment.
Dangerous goods declaration
Whether the consignment contains dangerous goods, and if so the UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group and quantity. Aerosols, some paints and adhesives, pool chemicals, gas bottles, lithium batteries and engines that have held fuel can all be dangerous goods. With us they must be declared and accepted in writing before booking, so the consignment note confirms a declaration already made. Our guide to dangerous goods and what you must declare explains the paperwork.
Special instructions
Tailgate at pickup, delivery or both; an appointment or booking requirement at the receiving end; authority to leave and a safe place for a home delivery; fragile or this-way-up handling. Instructions that affect the vehicle must also be on the booking, because the vehicle is allocated before the driver reads the note.
References and PO numbers
The purchase order number, booking reference, job number or invoice number the receiver uses. Many warehouses and distribution centres will not accept freight without the reference they are expecting, and a refusal on that basis turns a delivery into a futile attempt.
What mistakes cause futile deliveries and billing disputes?
The same few errors account for most freight that comes back to the depot and most invoices that do not match the quote.
- Missing unit, shop or warehouse numbers. The driver finds the street but not the receiver.
- Old or wrong addresses. A business that has moved, a street name that exists in several suburbs, or a reused carton with a previous label still on it.
- No contact who answers. A landline for a head office instead of a mobile for the person at the dock.
- No receiving hours. The run reaches the address after the site has closed for the day.
- Forklift or tailgate not stated. A pallet arrives at an address with no way to get it off the vehicle. This is the single most common avoidable cause.
- Under-declared weight or size. The freight is re-weighed and re-measured, the charge is adjusted, and the quote and the invoice no longer match.
- Wrong item count. A short delivery is signed for as complete, or an extra piece travels without a label.
- Missing references. The receiver will not accept the goods without the purchase order number.
- Undeclared dangerous goods. The freight is refused, held or returned at the sender’s cost.
A futile attempt is chargeable, and so is the redelivery, so every one of these is a cost that a complete consignment note would have avoided. Our guide to futile deliveries and how to avoid them goes through the causes in more detail.
What should you check before the driver arrives?
- Receiver’s name matches what the people at the address call themselves.
- Full street address with unit, suite, shop or warehouse number, suburb and postcode. No PO box.
- Receiver’s contact name and a mobile number that will be answered.
- Receiving hours and any closed days.
- Forklift or dock at the delivery end, or a tailgate booked.
- Access notes: driveway, height limit, gate code, ground conditions.
- Item count, with every piece labelled on at least two sides and old labels removed.
- Description, and weight and dimensions for every item, measured not guessed.
- Pallet type and count, with transfer paperwork for hired pallets.
- Dangerous goods declared in writing before booking, with the Safety Data Sheet.
- Purchase order, booking or job reference the receiver needs.
- Freight packed, wrapped and ready, as set out in our guide to packaging freight.
How does it work with All Freight Carrying?
Bookings with us start with a quote, online through our quote form or by calling 1300 882 117 during office hours. Give us the pickup and delivery addresses, what you are sending, the count, dimensions and weight of each item, and whether either end needs a tailgate, and we reply with a price and an estimated transit time. Our guide to booking a freight pickup on the Sunshine Coast walks through the steps.
Once the freight is collected, it is scanned at pickup, into the Yandina depot, onto the delivery vehicle and again at delivery, and the delivery scan carries a GPS-stamped photo or a signature. You can follow it on our tracking page using the consignment number. If a delivery cannot be completed, the consignment shows as held or futile, the freight comes back to the depot, and the office contacts the sender or the receiver to arrange the next attempt. Held and futile freight is reviewed every day.
A complete consignment note is the quickest way to make sure that next attempt is never needed. Get a quote or call 1300 882 117, Monday to Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm, and we will tell you exactly what we need for your freight.
Published by All Freight Carrying, Yandina, Sunshine Coast · 1 November 2026 · Last updated 1 November 2026
