What belongs on a weighing ticket?
Whether a truck scale in bulk-goods trade or a floor scale in the warehouse – a complete weighing ticket usually contains these details:
- Gross, tare, net: the total weight, the empty weight (e.g. of the vehicle or container) and the goods weight calculated from them – the core statement of every weighing ticket.
- Date and time of the weighing; for first and second weighings, both points in time.
- Vehicle or licence plate, and where applicable trailer and driver.
- Goods: description of the load, and where applicable an article or waste-code number.
- Weigher: who carried out or approved the weighing.
- Weighing-ticket number: sequential and unique, so that every ticket remains referable.
- Alibi number: if weighing takes place on a verified scale in commercial transactions, the reference to the scale's Alibi memory belongs on the ticket – only then can the printed value be linked to the tamper-proof original.
Weighing ticket or delivery note?
The two documents are often confused but serve different purposes: the weighing ticket records a measurement – which weight was determined, when and on which scale. The delivery note records a transfer of goods – what was delivered, by whom and to whom. Where billing is by weight, the delivery note relies on the weighing ticket; in a dispute, the documented weighing value counts. In many businesses good weighing software generates both documents from the same transaction.
Why digital? The benefits at a glance
- No transcription errors: weight, time stamp and Alibi number come straight from the scale – nobody types values in.
- Instantly available: the ticket exists as a PDF, goes to the customer by e-mail and can be found in the system at any time – no searching through folders.
- Gap-free number ranges: the software assigns weighing-ticket numbers automatically and sequentially.
- Direct further processing: the digital weighing ticket becomes a delivery note, a posting in the inventory-management system or an invoice line – with no media break.
- Analysability: quantities per customer, product or period can be analysed at the click of a button instead of being pieced together from stacks of paper.
Free template to download
If you still work with paper or Word today: our weighing-ticket template contains all the fields mentioned above and works as an interim solution or as a checklist for your own form.
Free weighing-ticket template (PDF)
Frequently asked questions
What has to be on a weighing ticket?
A complete weighing ticket usually contains: gross weight, tare weight and net weight, date and time of the weighing, vehicle or licence plate, the description of the goods, the name of the weigher and a sequential weighing-ticket number. If weighing takes place on a verified scale in commercial transactions, the Alibi number additionally belongs on the ticket, so that every value can be linked to the scale's tamper-proof Alibi memory.
What is the difference between a weighing ticket and a delivery note?
The weighing ticket documents the result of a weighing – it records which weight was determined, when and on which scale. The delivery note, by contrast, documents the transfer of goods between sender and recipient, i.e. what was delivered. In practice the two complement each other: the weighing ticket provides the reliable weight evidence on which the delivery note and invoice rely when billing is by weight.
From form to software
Digital Trend Systems builds weighing software that generates weighing tickets automatically from the weighing – including the Alibi reference, number range and hand-off to your inventory-management system. If the template is just the first step for you, get in touch.
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