Labels and load sheets: getting the rider handover right

The handover is the moment your parcels stop being your responsibility and become ours, and it is the one step in the whole chain that is still done by two people standing next to each other. Getting it right takes a label on every parcel and a load sheet in your hand, and it removes almost every argument that would otherwise happen three weeks later.

The label is the parcel's identity

Every parcel gets one label carrying a tracking number as both a Code128 barcode and readable text, the consignee details, the COD amount and the service. The barcode is what every scan in the chain reads: the rider at your door, the warehouse on arrival, the warehouse again if it comes back.

Four rules, and they are not cosmetic.

• One label per parcel, on the largest flat face, not across a seam and not around a corner
• Remove every old label and old barcode from a reused box. A second barcode is a scan that lands on somebody else's order
• Cover it with clear tape if the surface is textured or the parcel might meet rain. A scratched barcode means manual entry at every handling point
• Print at actual size. A label scaled to fit a different paper size produces a barcode that reads intermittently, which is worse than one that does not read at all

Print them in a batch, not one at a time

The merchant portal prints a single label or a batch. Once you are past about ten parcels a day the batch is the only sensible option, and it has a second benefit: a batch print is a natural checkpoint for counting. Labels printed should equal parcels packed.

The label template itself is editable in the back office, so if the layout does not suit your printer or your boxes, that is a configuration conversation rather than a limitation.

The load sheet is the receipt

A load sheet lists the parcels you are handing over, with their tracking numbers and COD amounts, and it is what turns a handover into a counted transaction. Generate it after the labels and before the rider arrives.

It answers one question that is otherwise unanswerable: how many parcels left your premises, and which ones.

What happens at the handover, step by step

1. 01You forward the orders to the pickup request. Until that happens a booked order is not collectable at all
2. 02The system assigns an available pickup rider
3. 03The rider arrives and scans each parcel against the expected list, with a running count of scanned and remaining
4. 04Anything on the list he does not receive is recorded as a failed pickup with a reason code and optional photo, and returns to your booked list
5. 05He completes the pickup, which locks the run
6. 06You get a summary by WhatsApp and email: what was picked up, what was not, and why

Step six is the one to read rather than skim. It is the only moment where a discrepancy is cheap to resolve.

The three handover mistakes that cost real money

Handing over parcels that were never forwarded

A parcel that is not on the pickup request is not expected, so there is nothing for the rider to scan it against. Forward first, then pack the van.

Not counting against the load sheet

If you hand over thirty parcels and the summary says twenty-nine, you want to know while the rider is still outside. An hour later it is a conversation; a week later it is a dispute.

Writing the COD amount on the box by hand

The amount on the label comes from the order. An amount written on the box in marker that differs from the label is a refusal at the door, because the rider has to ask for the figure the system holds.

Where the weight on the label comes from

The weight you declared at booking. It is also what priced the quote you saw. The warehouse may re-measure on arrival, and if it does, the re-weigh writes a fresh charge snapshot against the order while preserving the original byte for byte, so both figures stay visible to you.

Declaring accurately is therefore not a compliance exercise, it is how you avoid a charge on your statement you were not expecting. Chargeable weight versus actual weight explains why a light but bulky parcel can bill higher, and the pricing calculator will price any box before you commit to it.

A short pre-rider checklist

1. 01Orders forwarded to the pickup request
2. 02Labels printed at actual size, one per parcel, largest flat face
3. 03Old labels and barcodes removed from every reused box
4. 04Load sheet generated and in your hand
5. 05Parcel count matches the load sheet before the rider starts scanning

Five items, about two minutes, and it is the difference between a handover you can prove and one you can only describe. If you are still setting up, the first fifty orders checklist covers the rest of the operation.