Generated from the load
Produce the BOL as a PDF from the shipment record, so the description on the paperwork and on the booking come from one source. It is filed against the load the moment it downloads.
Every plan
BOL — Bill of Lading
A bill of lading (BOL) is the document issued when freight is picked up. It is the carrier's receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and the description of the shipment that the receiver — and, on a cross-border load, customs — relies on.
Also called: bill of lading, B/L, straight bill
- Who deals with it
- Prepared by the shipper or the carrier at pickup, signed by the driver, and signed by the receiver at delivery.
- When it shows up
- At pickup, before the freight moves.
- What usually goes wrong
- Details that do not match the freight or the customs paperwork — piece count, weight, commodity — found at the border or in a claim rather than at the dock.
BOL, explained
It does three jobs at once: it shows the carrier received the freight, it records the terms the freight moves on, and it describes the goods — shipper, consignee, piece count, weight, commodity. It travels with the load, and the copy signed at delivery often becomes the proof of delivery.
Because it is both a contract and a description, what is written on it matters later. Weights, counts and any damage noted at pickup are the reference point if there is a claim, and a cross-border shipment carries those details into its customs paperwork. A bill of lading filled in carelessly at six in the morning becomes a discrepancy at the border and a harder claim months afterwards.
How Lanexa handles it
This lives mainly in Documents, where 249 catalogued capabilities are live. Each item says which plan it is on.
English or French
Set the company's document language and invoices, bills of lading and PODs are generated in French — Québec Bill 96, handled from Solo.
Every plan, including Solo
Found from any direction
A document is indexed against everything it relates to — the load, the invoice, the trip, the driver, the truck, the customer — so the signed BOL can be found from any of them.
Every plan
Questions about BOL — Bill of Lading
What is a bill of lading?
A bill of lading (BOL) is the document issued when freight is picked up.
It is the carrier's receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and the description of the shipment that the receiver — and, on a cross-border load, customs — relies on.
Is a bill of lading the same as a proof of delivery?
Not quite. The bill of lading is issued at pickup; the proof of delivery is the receiver's signed confirmation at the other end.
Often the POD is the delivery copy of the bill of lading, signed by the receiver.
Who fills out the bill of lading?
Usually the shipper prepares it, sometimes the carrier does.
The driver signs for the freight at pickup, and the receiver signs at delivery.
Can Lanexa produce bills of lading in French?
Yes. Set the company's document language to French and invoices, bills of lading and PODs are generated in French, on every plan including Solo.