Transport and freight bills for trucks, tempos and goods carriers
Every load that moves on a truck needs paperwork: a lorry receipt or consignment note when the goods are booked, an e-way bill for valuable consignments, and finally the transport bill — the freight bill — that tells the customer what they owe for carrying their goods. For small fleet owners, tempo operators, packers and movers and transport agents, that last bill is often written in a transport bill book or typed into a spreadsheet after the trip, and it is where payment delays begin if details are missing.
This transport bill generator gives you a clear freight bill with the route, vehicle number, LR number, weight or load, freight rate, loading and detention charges, advance and balance — calculated automatically, with the total in words, in a handwritten style that suits a transport office. Download it as a PDF on A4 for company customers, or as an image to send on WhatsApp the moment the goods are delivered.
Freight bill meaning
A freight bill is the invoice a carrier issues for transporting goods. It states who sent the goods, who received them, the route, the vehicle, what was carried and how the charge was calculated, plus any extra charges, taxes and the amount due. In US trucking, the freight bill number is often called the PRO number and is used to track the shipment. In India the same document is usually called a transport bill or freight bill, and it refers to the LR (lorry receipt, or "bilty") number of the consignment.
Freight bill vs. bill of lading
The two are often confused:
- Bill of lading / lorry receipt (LR): issued when goods are handed to the carrier. It is a receipt for the goods and the contract of carriage — what was loaded, from whom, to whom, and on what terms.
- Freight bill: issued for payment. It is the carrier's invoice for the transport service, quoting the LR or bill of lading number.
One consignment can have one LR and one freight bill; a monthly freight bill can cover many LRs.
Transport bill format
- Header: transport company name, address, phone, PAN and GSTIN if registered.
- Bill details: bill number, date, and the customer billed (consignor or consignee) with address and GSTIN.
- Trip details: from and to, vehicle number and type (e.g. 32 ft MXL, 14 ft tempo), driver, LR number and date, e-way bill number.
- Freight: weight or packages and the rate — per tonne, per kg, per trip or per km.
- Other charges: loading, unloading, detention or halting, toll if agreed, and labour.
- Totals: total freight, GST if applicable, advance received, balance, amount in words, and payment terms.
How to make a transport bill
- Choose the transport template; it has route, vehicle and LR fields.
- Enter your transport company's details — saved in this browser.
- Fill the customer and trip: from, to, vehicle number, LR number, e-way bill number.
- Enter the freight — tonnes × rate per tonne, or a fixed trip rate — and extra charges as separate lines.
- Enter the advance paid at loading in Bill settings; the bill shows the balance.
- Download and send with the signed delivery copy of the LR.
Transport bill kaise banaye (transport bill format in Hindi)
Transport template chunein aur apni company ka naam, phone aur GSTIN likhein. Party ka naam, kahan se kahan, gaadi number, bilty (LR) number aur e-way bill number bharein. Bhada (freight) tonne × rate ya trip ke hisaab se likhein, loading, unloading aur halting alag line mein jodein. Advance Bill settings mein likhein — baaki bhada bill par dikh jayega. Hindi shabd English akshar mein likhein (Bhada, Bilty, Halting) taaki handwriting font mein sahi dikhein; Devanagari bhi type kar sakte hain, lekin woh phone ke normal font mein dikhegi.
Freight bill example
| Description | Qty | Rate (₹) | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freight, 32 ft truck, PB 10 XX 4471 — yarn bales | 18 tonnes | 2,400 | 43,200 |
| Loading charges | 1 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Unloading charges | 1 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Detention at unloading (beyond 24 hrs) | 1 day | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Total freight | 48,200 | ||
| Advance at loading | − 30,000 | ||
| Balance payable | 18,200 | ||
Whether GST is added, and by whom, depends on the arrangement explained below.
Transport bill with GST: who pays and at what rate
GST on road transport of goods depends on who provides the service:
- Goods Transport Agency (GTA) — a transporter who issues a consignment note (LR). GTA services are commonly taxed at 5% under reverse charge, where a registered business or certain specified recipients pay the GST themselves; the GTA's bill then states "GST payable by recipient under reverse charge". A GTA can instead opt to charge GST itself on a forward-charge basis — at 5% without input credit, or at a higher rate with input credit (revised in the September 2025 changes).
- Individual truck or tempo owners who hire out a vehicle and do not issue a consignment note are generally exempt from GST on transporting goods.
These rules are detailed and change from time to time; confirm the transport bill GST rate and the reverse-charge position with your accountant before you bill.
E-way bills and transport bills
An e-way bill is generated on the GST portal before goods worth more than ₹50,000 are moved (states set rules for movement within the state). It records the goods and their value, and Part B records the vehicle. It is not your freight bill — it doesn't charge the customer anything — but your freight bill should quote its number so the two can be matched. If the vehicle changes on the way, Part B must be updated.
TDS on transport payments
Businesses paying freight usually deduct TDS under section 194C (numbering of the Income-tax Act, 1961, renumbered in the Income-tax Act, 2025 from April 2026). However, if the transporter owns ten or fewer goods carriages at any time during the year and gives the payer a declaration to that effect along with their PAN, no TDS is deducted. Write your PAN on every transport bill, and send the declaration to regular customers at the start of the year.
Transport bill format in Word, Excel or Tally
Transporters often search for a transport bill format in Word or Excel, or how to make a transport bill in Tally. Accounting software is the right home for your books, but for quickly preparing and sending a bill from the road — or for small operators without accounting software — this generator is faster: the transport bill format is ready, freight × rate and balances are calculated, and a transport bill format PDF or image is ready to share. If you use Tally, enter the bill number and amount there afterwards.
Need the bill in Word? Click Word under the bill to download it as a .docx file, at the same A4, A5 or 80 mm thermal size as the PDF. It opens in Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The bill is placed in the file as a picture, so make any changes here and download it again.
Transport bill book
The traditional transport bill book format has columns for LR number, date, from, to, packages, weight, rate and freight. The bill book style here keeps that look while doing the arithmetic, and each bill is saved as a clean copy. For customers who send many loads a month, make one monthly freight bill listing each LR with date, route, weight and freight, and attach the signed delivery copies.
Freight bill format by rate type
The right freight bill format depends on how the freight was agreed. Write the basis on the line so the customer can check it:
- Per tonne: "18 tonnes × ₹2,400/tonne" — the usual basis for full truckloads of bulk goods. Use the weight from the weighbridge slip and keep the slip.
- Per trip (fixed): "Ludhiana–Jaipur, 32 ft MXL, full load — ₹43,000" — common for regular routes.
- Per package or per kg (part load): "120 cartons × ₹45" — for shared loads booked through a transport agent.
- Per km: for dedicated vehicles on hire, with a daily minimum like passenger cabs.
Where there's a minimum chargeable weight for a part load, write it ("Min. 1 tonne charged") on the line.
Getting paid faster
The most common reason freight is paid late is a missing document. Send the freight bill with the signed proof of delivery (the consignee's copy of the LR, stamped and signed), the weighbridge slip if freight is by weight, and toll receipts if they are charged separately. Send all of it the same day the goods are delivered — as photos or a PDF on WhatsApp — and the customer's accounts team has nothing to wait for.
Packers and movers, tempos and local transport
Household shifting and local tempo hire use the same bill with different lines: packing material, packing labour, loading, transport (per trip), unloading and unpacking, and insurance if offered. Write the inventory reference and the move date. For local tempos billed by the hour or trip, write the start and end time or the trip count.
Transport bill checklist
- LR (bilty) number and date for every consignment.
- Vehicle number and type, and from–to route.
- Weight or packages and the rate basis.
- E-way bill number for consignments above ₹50,000.
- Loading, unloading and detention as separate lines.
- GST treatment written clearly — charged, reverse charge, or exempt.
- PAN on the bill; advance and balance shown.
Related bill types
Passenger cabs use the taxi bill; parcel and document delivery fits the courier bill; and suppliers invoicing the goods themselves use the wholesale bill. Selling a truck? See the bill of sale.
Fair use
Issue transport bills only for loads your vehicles actually carried, with real weights, routes and amounts. Freight bills without real movement of goods — to support fake purchases or input tax credit — are a serious GST offence.