The Delivery Manifest Lists What Arrived, Not What You Ordered

A roof delivery arrives as two papers before it arrives as bundles. The first is the order the roofer placed with a supply branch. The second is the delivery ticket, usually called a manifest, that the driver carries and asks someone to sign at the curb. Many homeowners never read either one until the shingles are already on the lawn. Comparing these papers across the roofers you are considering shows whether each company tracks its own material, and whether the truck that shows up will match the bid you picked.

What the manifest records and what it does not

The manifest is a record of what was handed over. It typically lists the product line, the color name, the number of bundles or pallets, the piece size, and sometimes a plant or lot code. It also shows the branch, the truck, and the time. It is not the contract, it is not the bid, and it does not promise anything about the finished roof. A driver can sign for the wrong color, a short pallet, or a bundle with a crushed corner, and the manifest will show exactly what left the yard. That is why the paper has to be read against the record of what was agreed, not on its own.

Keys Roofing installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only. A delivery for a Keys job should therefore show one of those two product lines. If a manifest names anything else, that is a question for the roofer before the crew unloads, because a wrong line on the ticket can mean a wrong line on the roof.

Ask each roofer for a sample ticket before you choose

Ask each roofer for a blank or redacted delivery ticket from a finished job. Lay the samples next to each other and compare the fields. Does the ticket show a lot code, a color name spelled out in full, the count per bundle, and the name of the branch? Does it show a delivery window, and whether the truck will need the street or the driveway kept clear? A roofer who uses a standard ticket will show it without hesitation. A roofer who says the tickets vary from job to job should be asked what varies, and why the variation is not written into the bid.

A sample also tells you how the ticket is built. Some tickets are generated by the supplier's system and carry the branch letterhead. Others are typed by the crew lead and carry only the roofer's name. Neither format is a failure by itself, but the homeowner should know which kind is coming, because a handwritten ticket is easier to change after the fact than a system printout.

Count the bundles against the bid

An asphalt roof is usually priced by the square, and each square takes a set number of bundles depending on the product and the exposure. The arithmetic is not hard, but the rounding decides whether the order is short. Ask each roofer how many squares the bid covers, how many bundles that works out to, and what waste allowance was built in. Then compare those numbers with the count on the manifest. If one roofer's ticket shows fewer bundles than that roofer's own bid implies, the gap is either a shortfall the crew will find on the roof or a sign that the bid was figured on a different measurement than the order used.

Count the pallets on the truck as well as the bundles on the ticket. A pallet that is labeled correctly on paper can still arrive with fewer bundles than the label says, and the count is easier to check before the driver leaves than after the crew has started tearing off the old layer. Ask the crew lead to count with you, and write the number on your copy of the ticket with the time.

Read the branch and the truck, not only the brand

The supply branch on the ticket tells you where the material came from. Ask each roofer which branch fills the order for your address. Two roofers in the same city often buy from the same branch, and that is not a problem in itself. What matters is that the branch named in the answer matches the one printed on the manifest, and that the address is one you can find on a map. A mismatch can mean the order was placed through a different yard than the one the roofer described, which affects the lead time, the return terms, and who answers the phone if something is wrong.

Ask how the truck will reach your lot. A flatbed needs the street and the driveway to hold its weight and its turning radius. A boom truck needs room overhead, and a hand delivery to the eave means the crew carries bundles up the ladder line. Each of those choices changes what the lawn looks like afterward, what the driveway has to carry, and how long the crew spends on the ground before the first bundle goes up. The truck answer belongs on the same sheet as the bundle count.

Check the color name, not the swatch

The color name on the manifest is the one the shingles will carry. Colors are sold under names that do not always match the swatch in a brochure or the picture on a phone, and a color can be discontinued between the day the bid was signed and the day the truck arrives. Ask each roofer to write the color name into the bid, then compare it to the line on the ticket. If the names differ, the questions are simple but important: will the roofer take back the wrong bundles, who pays the freight, and how many days do you have to report the problem. The answers should be in writing before the bundles come off the truck, because a return window can be shorter than the crew's schedule.

Find out how the paper reaches you

Ask whether you will receive a copy of the signed manifest, and when. Some roofers keep the driver's copy with the crew lead and never give the homeowner one. Others send a photo of the signed ticket by text or email the same evening. Neither approach is wrong on its face, but you should know which one you are getting. If you sign for the delivery yourself, the signature confirms that you saw a truck and a set of pallets, not that the count or the color was right. Write down what you saw, including the number of pallets and the color name you read off the wrapper, and keep that note with the bid.

Shingle wrappers carry the product line, the color name, and a plant code. Photograph one bundle from each pallet before the crew opens the shrink film. The photo gives you a record that does not depend on the ticket, and it can be compared to the manifest later if a question comes up.

Put the three papers side by side

Lay out the shingle line of the bid, the manifest for the delivery, and each roofer's answer about the branch and the truck. Mark every place they agree and every place they do not. A roofer whose three answers line up has given you a clean record to compare. A roofer whose bid names one color, whose ticket names another, and whose phone answer names a third has told you something about how the order was placed, even if the roof later turns out sound. That mismatch is worth a written question before you sign, not a conversation after the nails are in.

If a roofer resists showing any version of the ticket, ask what the reason is. Some companies have policies about sharing supplier paperwork, and that is a reasonable thing to say out loud. An answer that is only "we handle that" leaves you without a record. Write the reply down with the date, the time, and the name of the person who gave it.

Questions to put to each roofer

• Which supply branch fills the order for this address, and what is its street address?
• What product line and color name will appear on the manifest?
• How many squares does this bid cover, and how many bundles does that work out to?
• Will I get a copy of the signed manifest, and by what date?
• If the color or the count is wrong, who pays the freight, and how many days do I have to report it?
• How will the truck reach my lot, and what does it need from the street and the driveway?

Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 if you want to ask these questions by phone, and the same questions are worth putting in writing whichever roofer you call.