Getting started

This guide helps you set up Consigns from scratch. By the end, your company details are saved and you can create your first job.

Creating your account

Go to the sign-up page and enter your name, email address, and a password. The form also asks what kind of business you are: a limited company, a sole trader, or a partnership. If you pick limited company, Consigns can look up your registered details for you, so your paperwork starts out right. We will then send you a verification email. Open the link in that email to confirm your address, then sign in.

Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial of the plan you choose, in full. There is no separate trial cap, just your plan's normal monthly allowance. A card is needed to start, but you are not charged during the 14 days and you can cancel any time before the trial ends. For the full detail, see the Billing and plans guide.

Completing the setup guide

When you first sign in, Consigns walks you through a short setup. It covers the basics you need before creating jobs:

• Your company name and address
• Your waste carrier registration details
• Adding your signature
• Uploading your company logo, if you want to

You can skip steps and come back to them later. Once you are set up, the same checklist stays available as Setup guide at the bottom of the Settings menu, so you can finish any step you left.

Adding company and carrier details

Your company details appear on each consignment note, so they need to be right. From Settings, add:

• Company name - your registered business name as it should appear on notes
• Address - your principal place of business
• Phone number - your office number
• Waste carrier registration number - your CBDU or CBDL number issued by the Environment Agency

These details fill the carrier section (Part C) on each new consignment note, so you do not have to enter them every time.

Adding your signature

A consignment note needs a carrier signature. In Consigns, you can save your signature once in Settings and use it on new notes. Use your mouse or finger on a touchscreen, then save it.

You can update your signature from Settings at any time.

Creating your first job

Once your company details are in place, click Waste In in the menu (or New job on the jobs board). Consigns opens a guided form that asks one question at a time, the way you would take a booking over the phone. You do not have to know every field up front. The main questions are:

1. Which country is the collection in? England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. This sets which note the job uses and how its code is made.
2. Where are we collecting from? Start typing the business name or first line of the address and pick a match to fill the rest.
3. Where is the waste going? Choose the receiving site this load goes to. This ties the job to the right permit. If you have one saved site it is picked for you.
4. What is the waste? A short description, how it was produced, and the EWC code (you search by code or description, and only official codes show).
5. Is it hazardous? If yes, you add the HP codes, and the code question matches the country: England and Wales build a consignment code for you, Scotland asks for the code on the SEPA note, Northern Ireland for the NIEA one.
6. How much, and what is it in: quantity, container type and number.
7. Who requested it and how to reach them, so the receipt can be emailed.
8. When is it being collected? Pick the date, or leave it open if it is not booked in yet.

The form only asks about hazards, POPs, brokers and extra waste items when they apply, so a simple job stays short. The bar at the side shows how far through you are. At the end you get a read-back to check before you save. The job is saved as a draft.

If you prefer to see every field on one screen, you can switch to the full form at any point without losing what you have typed.

Special collections

One question in the guided form asks "Is this a special kind of collection?". Almost every job is "Normal", so you can leave it. You only change it for waste taken off a ship, fly-tipped waste, waste moved under a consignee-return derogation, or waste piped straight out. Each of these adds one letter to the consignment code, which the Environment Agency requires. The form tells you which letter it adds.

After you save, you can confirm the job, assign it to a driver, or come back to it later. It stays on your jobs board so you can always see where it is up to. To learn the board, see the Managing jobs guide.

Inviting your team

If other people need access, invite them from the Team page. Enter their email address, choose a role, and they will get an invite to join your company account.

For more on roles and access, see the Team management guide.