A delivery in Aberdeen done by a firm you have met once
You collected a customer's goods in Kent for a move to Scotland. Rather than send your crew nine hours north and back empty, you arrange for a firm up there to take the goods from your store or tranship them and do the delivery. The price was agreed on the phone. The inventory was emailed. The customer was told a date.
The same week, another firm asks you to deliver a load into your area, and you have a return load lined up with a third. By the end of the month there are a dozen trade arrangements in flight, and the only record is a mix of emails, WhatsApp messages and a note on the planner's desk.
Why trade work gets lost in the gaps
Trade work is built on relationships and trust, which is why it is done by phone. That works until you need to know who owes what, or a customer asks what happened on the delivery day.
- Prices are agreed verbally and not written anywhere central.
- Inventories and instructions are emailed from personal accounts.
- Status on the day comes back by text, if at all.
- Invoices to and from other firms are raised weeks later from memory.
- Claims involving another firm's crew are hard to piece together.
What informal trade work costs
Unbilled trade jobs and unchecked incoming invoices are money lost in both directions. Disputes over what was agreed can sour a good relationship with a firm you depend on. And when a customer's goods are damaged on the leg another firm handled, you need a clear record of what was handed over and in what condition.
How we give trade work its own record
- Every trade job, outgoing or incoming, is created against the customer's move with the other firm's details, the agreed price and the work covered.
- The inventory, access notes and special instructions are sent to the other firm from the record, as a pack or a link.
- Handover is recorded: condition notes and photos when goods pass between firms, signed by both drivers on a phone.
- The other firm confirms delivery through the link, adding times and the customer's sign-off, so you can answer the customer without chasing.
- Invoices to other firms are raised from the agreed price, and invoices from them are checked against it before payment.
- A monthly statement per partner firm shows jobs done each way and balances due.
| Trade job type | What the record holds |
|---|---|
| Outgoing delivery leg | Price, inventory sent, handover, delivery sign-off |
| Incoming job from another firm | Their instructions, your crew sheet, invoice due |
| Return load | Collection details, price, capacity used |
| Network or agency job | Network reference, rates, documents |
What your trade partners see
A clear job pack instead of a forwarded email, a link to confirm delivery, and an invoice that matches what was agreed. Relationships stay good because there are fewer arguments about numbers. Your office can see every trade arrangement in one list.
Is trade work tracked on WhatsApp?
- Prices for trade jobs are agreed by phone and not recorded.
- Inventories go to other firms by forwarded email.
- You chase partner firms to find out if a delivery happened.
- Invoices between firms are raised late or not checked.
- Handover condition between firms is not recorded.