Bill of lading field
What is a BOL number on a bill of lading?
The BOL number is your reference for the shipment, and you make it up. There is no central registry and nobody issues it to you. What matters is that it is unique in your own records, because it is the string everyone quotes back at you when a pallet goes missing.
Why it matters
It is the join between three systems that do not otherwise talk to each other: your order, the carrier's tracking, and the invoice you get 30 days later. Without it, reconciling a freight bill means matching on date and weight.
The mistake that costs money
Reusing a number across two shipments. It looks harmless until a claim, when two different pallets share one reference and neither the carrier nor your own records can say which one was damaged.
Worth knowing
- You assign it. The carrier does not, and there is no authority that does.
- A simple sequence works: BOL-00001, BOL-00002. Prefixing the year helps at audit time.
- It is not the PRO number. The PRO is the carrier's tracking number and it is added at pickup.
- Put it on the packing slip and the invoice too, so all three documents match.