Missing delivery note or CMR: organize evidence for transport invoicing

Define the expected evidence before sending a request

An incomplete record needs a more precise diagnosis than “CMR missing”. The invoicing team should identify the evidence expected, the source of that requirement and the acceptance criteria: a delivery note, CMR consignment note, proof of delivery, event record or another document defined for the workflow.

The requirement may come from a contract, customer instruction or approved internal procedure. Its version and scope should remain visible. The absence of a signed CMR may block a workflow defined by the company, but it does not by itself establish a universal legal prohibition on invoicing.

• document type and expected form;
• customer, activity or shipment covered by the rule;
• source and version of the requirement;
• checks to perform: reference, date, parties, pages, legibility or signature when a signature is actually required;
• person authorized to accept alternative evidence or decide without the document.

Link the document to the correct record without guesswork

A PDF received after delivery may contain a customer reference, shipment number, vehicle registration or only locations and dates. Linkage should compare several signals with the existing record and retain the document’s origin. A filename or nearby date is insufficient when shipments look alike.

When a unique reference and the other attributes agree, the document can be proposed for the record and checked. When two records remain plausible, processing stops: the team receives the candidates, matching facts and unresolved point. The file is neither silently duplicated nor assigned to the first search result.

1. 01
   Identify

   Read explicit references and retain the channel, sender and timestamp.

2. 02
   Compare

   Match the shipment, customer, locations, dates and other available identifiers.

3. 03
   Propose

   Show the selected record together with the evidence supporting the match.

4. 04
   Verify

   Check the required content and flag missing pages, conflicting values or illegible areas.

5. 05
   Confirm or hand off

   Approve a reliable match; otherwise request a decision with useful context.

Tracking table: expected, received and verified evidence

The tracker separates the existence of a file from its quality and the invoicing decision. The rows below are fictional examples; actual document and verification requirements must be approved for each workflow.

• Expected: the applicable rule identifies the document and its criteria.
• Received: the channel, sender, date and version are recorded.
• Verified: linkage and content checks have been completed.
• Decided: an authorized person or rule determines the next invoicing step.

Request template to adapt

The request should go to the holder defined by the organization — driver, subcontractor, site, customer or another approved contact — and provide enough context to avoid another round trip. Do not ask for “all documents” when one specific item is missing.

Subject: evidence requested — shipment [reference] — [date]. Hello [name], to complete the record for shipment [reference], from [origin] to [destination] on [date], please send us [exact document] by [expected date or event]. The document should allow us to verify [reference, pages or other genuinely required elements]. Please reply through [authorized channel] and keep reference [reference]. If the document is unavailable or alternative evidence exists, please let us know so that [responsible team] can decide the next step. Thank you.

Track the record to a decision, and keep Vigilo distinct from Vidoc

Sending a request does not close the record. The response must be tracked, the new version linked, the relevant checks repeated and a decision recorded: ready, request again, review alternative evidence, accept an exception or hold invoicing. A final status and rationale prevent the same record from resurfacing every day without an owner.

In this use case, Vigilo connects events, documents, rules, requests and decisions across the transport record through invoice control. Vidoc addresses a different need: extracting data from delivery documents and sending it to a WMS under a controlled mapping. The same file may appear in both contexts, but the objective, target system and controls differ.

1. 01
   Request required

   The expected evidence has not arrived and a recipient is known.

2. 02
   Received, awaiting checks

   A document is available, but its linkage or contents still need verification.

3. 03
   Decision required

   The evidence is incomplete, alternative or subject to an exception.

4. 04
   Ready for invoicing

   The approved criteria for this workflow are satisfied.

5. 05
   Held or closed

   The responsible person has decided the next step and retained the rationale.