In this guide 6 sections
Give every apple lot a number at packing, and record grower, box count, grade and truck against it. When the commission agent’s slip arrives, match it lot by lot: boxes sold, rate, deductions and net. The gap between your register and the slip shows each grower’s real price.
Start the register at the packing shed
A lot is born when fruit is graded and boxed, not when the account arrives weeks later. Give each lot a number at that moment. Write it on the box label, the truck sheet and the register.
Around Theog and Kotkhai, fruit from several growers often shares one truck. Without a lot number per grower, the sale at the mandi gets blended and nobody can say whose apples fetched what.
Record the same few fields every time. Keep them short enough that the shed supervisor fills them while the boxes are still being stacked.
- Lot number and packing date
- Grower name and orchard block
- Variety, such as Royal Delicious or Red Gold
- Grade and box type, carton or wooden crate
- Box count loaded and the truck number
Tie the lot to the dispatch and the mandi
Add the destination and the agent when the truck leaves. Note the lorry receipt number, the driver’s phone and the expected arrival day. A lot with no destination recorded is a lot you will argue about later.
Ask the agent for the arrival count the same day. If you loaded 400 boxes and the agent counted 392, the shortfall is a fact on day one, not a surprise in the account.
Use the same lot number in every message. A photo of the truck sheet sent by phone is enough, as long as the lot numbers are readable.
Read the commission agent’s slip against the register
A slip normally lists boxes sold, the rate per box by grade, and deductions. Those deductions include commission, market fee, unloading, packing material and sometimes an advance already paid. Lay it next to your lot line.
Check three things in order. First the box count, then the grade, then the rate. A grade written down a step lower on the slip than at the shed is the most common source of a low realised price.
Work out the net per box for each lot, not for the whole truck. Two growers on the same truck can end up with very different figures, and the average hides the reason.
- Boxes loaded against boxes sold
- Grade at the shed against grade on the slip
- Rate per box for each grade
- Each deduction, named and checked
- Advance adjusted, with the date it was paid
Settle each grower on their own lots
Once slips are matched, produce a statement per grower. It lists their lots, boxes, grade mix, gross sale, each deduction and the amount payable. Growers accept a figure more readily when they can trace it to a lot.
Keep your own cost on the same page. Transport share, crate cost and labour add up per lot. The grower sees what the market paid and what the trade took from it.
Where a slip and your register disagree, mark the lot as disputed and move on. Settling the other lots should never wait on one argument.
Use the season’s lots to choose next season’s agent
After the last truck, sort the register by agent. Compare the grade mix sold, the shortfall between loaded and counted boxes, the days from arrival to payment and the deductions. Patterns show up quickly.
An agent who regularly books a grade below yours, or who is slow to pay, costs growers money even at a good headline rate. The register gives you the evidence to raise it in a calm conversation.
Start next season by copying the lot sheet, trimming fields nobody used and adding the one question this year raised.
Apple lot and slip matching sheet
Built as a single sheet, with a row per lot. Left block: lot number, grower, variety, grade, boxes loaded, truck number. Middle block: boxes counted at arrival, boxes sold, rate and gross. Right block: each deduction, net per box, amount payable, slip date and a disputed tick box.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is a lot register for apples?
It is a list with one line per lot, recording grower, variety, grade, boxes and truck at packing. Each line is later matched to the agent’s slip, so the sale can be traced back to one grower.
How do I handle fruit from several growers on one truck?
Give each grower a separate lot number and label their boxes. Record the count per lot at loading. At the mandi, ask the agent to report sales against those numbers.
What should I check first on a commission agent’s slip?
Start with boxes sold against boxes loaded, then the grade, then the rate. Deductions come after that. A short count or a lower grade explains most disappointing nets.
Can a spreadsheet do this or do I need software?
A spreadsheet works for a few growers. Once you handle many lots across trucks, agents and advances, software that links dispatch, slips and grower statements saves hours and reduces typing errors.