How to choose consignment note software

Searching for the best consignment note software? Skip the top-ten lists. The right tool is simply the one that keeps you legal, works where you actually work, and is ready for DEFRA's digital tracking. Here is an honest checklist to judge any of them by, and what good looks like for each.

1. Does it make a legally correct consignment note?

This is the whole point, and it is where weak tools fall down. The software must build a proper hazardous waste consignment note, with all the parts, the right EWC and hazard codes, and the producer, carrier and receiving site details. If it just stores a PDF you filled in somewhere else, it is a filing cabinet, not consignment note software. Look for a tool that builds the note for you and will not let a required field go blank. Our guide on digital consignment notes sets out what a complete note needs.

2. Does it work with no phone signal?

Waste gets collected at the roadside, on farms, and at sites with thick walls and no bars on the phone. If the software needs a live connection to make or sign a note, it will let you down on the worst day. Look for true offline working, where the note is made and signed on the device and syncs the moment the signal comes back.

3. Is it live with DEFRA's digital waste tracking?

This is the big one for the next few years. Digital waste tracking is becoming mandatory, and your software has to send records to DEFRA's real, live system, not a test version. Do not take the word integrated at face value. Ask the provider plainly: are you switched on for DEFRA's live system today? Our digital waste tracking guide explains why it matters and when.

4. Can the customer sign on the spot?

A consignment note needs signatures, and the easiest software captures them on screen, on site, the way you sign for a parcel. That means no paper to chase and no note left half-finished back at the depot. Look for signatures taken on the device at the point of collection, not a print it and sign it later workaround.

5. Does it keep your records for the full keeping period?

You must keep consignment notes for at least three years, or five years if you are the site that receives the waste, and produce them quickly when the Environment Agency asks. Look for software that stores every note automatically and lets you find any of them in seconds, by date, customer, code or driver, with nothing to file by hand. Our EA inspection checklist shows what an inspector will want to see.

6. Is it simple enough for everyone, and clear on price?

The best tool is the one your team will actually use. If it needs a training course or a sales demo before you can even try it, treat that as a warning sign. Look for software a new driver can pick up in minutes, and pricing you can read on the website without booking a call.

How Consigns measures up

We built Consigns against this exact list. It makes a legally correct consignment note on any device, works offline and syncs later, is already live with DEFRA's tracking system, captures signatures on site, and stores every record for the full keeping period, searchable in seconds. The pricing is on the page, and every plan starts with a free 14-day trial, so you can hold it up against this checklist yourself before you pay anything.

Weighing us against a particular tool? We have honest side-by-side comparisons with Quick Consign, WasteMatrix and DigitalWTN.