Bilty format and bilty number
What goes on a bilty, field by field — and what the number on it actually means.
What a bilty is
A bilty is the receipt a transporter gives when goods are picked up. The same paper is called an LR (lorry receipt), a GR (goods receipt) or a consignment note — different names across the country, one document.
It is not a bill. The bilty travels with the goods and proves what was handed over; the bill goes to the party afterwards and asks for money. Mixing the two is the most common mistake in a new transport office.
A blank bilty format
This is what a bilty looks like. Print this page and you can fill it in by hand, or hand it to a printer to make your own book.
| YOUR TRANSPORT COMPANY Address · Phone · GSTIN | |||
| LR / Bilty No. ________ | Date ________ | ||
| CONSIGNOR (from) Name ________ Address ________ GSTIN ________ | CONSIGNEE (to) Name ________ Address ________ GSTIN ________ | ||
| From ________ To ________ Vehicle No. ________ | |||
| Packages | Description of goods | Weight | Invoice No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight ________ Paid / To Pay ________ E-way Bill No. ________ | |||
| Goods carried entirely at the owner's risk. Delivery against this receipt only. | Signature & Stamp | ||
Bilty format — every field, in the order it sits on the paper
- Transporter name, address and phone — printed across the top
- Bilty number (LR number) and the date
- Consignor — who is sending the goods, with address and GST number
- Consignee — who is to receive them, with address and GST number
- From and To — the loading station and the delivery station
- Vehicle number, and the driver name where there is one
- Goods description, number of packages, and weight
- Invoice number and invoice value of the goods being carried
- E-way bill number, where one is needed
- Freight amount, and who pays it — paid, to pay, or to be billed
- Other charges — loading, unloading, detention, hamali
- Terms at the bottom, and the signature or rubber stamp
What a bilty number is
The bilty number is the one number that follows a load from the day it is picked up to the day the money is settled. The POD, the bill, the party ledger entry and the supplier payment all hang from it. If someone asks "which load?", the answer is a bilty number.
Most transporters run a series — a short prefix and a running number, like GR-4501, GR-4502. The prefix is usually the firm initials or the branch.
- One number per load — not per vehicle and not per party
- Never reuse a number, even for a cancelled load; mark that one cancelled instead
- Keep one series for the firm, or one per branch — but do not mix the two
- Start a new book where the old one ended, so the series never breaks
The three copies
A bilty is written in three copies, and each one has its own job. The one that matters later is the office copy: until it comes back signed and stamped, a party can hold the payment and be within their rights.
- Consignor copy — stays with the party who sent the goods
- Consignee copy — travels with the goods and is handed over at delivery
- Office copy — stays with the transporter, and becomes the POD once it comes back signed and stamped
- Some firms print a fourth for the driver — useful on the road, but it is not the one you file
Where a handwritten bilty goes wrong
- The same number gets written twice, and months later nobody can prove which load was which
- The carbon copy comes out faint and the consignee name cannot be read
- The book runs out mid-month and a loose sheet gets used
- Weight or freight is written in one copy and not the other
- Half a day goes in finding one old bilty when a party asks for it
A bilty format you can use
Take the field list above in that order and you have a working bilty format — any printer will set it as a book with the three copies. Keep the number block at the top right where everyone expects it, and leave enough room at the bottom for the stamp.
If you would rather not fill it by hand, TransportMaster prints a bilty in exactly this layout, continues your own number series, and lets you move the fields around in Print & PDF Design.
Frequently asked questions
What is the full form of bilty?
Bilty is not an abbreviation, so it has no full form. It is the common Indian name for the transporter's receipt. In English the same document is called a lorry receipt (LR), a goods receipt (GR) or a consignment note.
What is a bilty number?
It is the serial number of one load. It is written on the bilty when the goods are picked up and is used after that for the POD, the bill, the party ledger and the supplier payment. One load gets one bilty number, and it is never reused.
Is a bilty the same as an invoice?
No. The bilty is the receipt for carrying the goods and travels with them. The invoice is the bill for the freight and goes to the party afterwards. A trip has one bilty; the bill may cover several bilties together.
How many copies does a bilty have?
Three as a rule — consignor, consignee and office. Some firms print a fourth for the driver. The office copy is the one that comes back signed and becomes the POD.
Can I continue my old bilty number series?
Yes. Set the prefix and the starting number once, and the next bilty carries on from where your book ended. If the book finished at GR-4500, the next one is GR-4501.
What is the difference between a bilty and an e-way bill?
The bilty is the transporter's own document. The e-way bill is a government document generated on the GST portal for goods above the limit. The e-way bill number is written on the bilty, but one does not replace the other.
Lorry receipt (LR) — what the number means · Bilty / LR software — print it instead of writing it · Billing — invoices and challans
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