Any material you receive is described three times: by the catalogue listing you ordered from, by the label on the container, and by whatever laboratory report exists. A batch record is simply the place where those three descriptions sit next to each other, so a mismatch is visible rather than discovered later.
This is deliberately separate from validating a certificate of analysis. Validation asks whether a document can be trusted. A batch record asks whether your own three descriptions agree, and captures what you did with the material afterwards.
The three-column reconciliation
Set up one row per attribute and three columns: as listed, as labelled, as reported. Fill each column from that source only — do not copy the listing into the label column because it seems obvious.
| Compound name | Exact wording from each of the three sources, including any modifiers or fragment notation. |
|---|---|
| Stated quantity | Milligrams or other mass as printed. Note the units on each source separately. |
| Physical form | Lyophilized powder, solution, or not stated. |
| Lot or batch identifier | Transcribed character by character from each source where present. |
| Report reference | The report or certificate number, if a report exists at all. |
| Date | Listing date of order, label date if printed, report issue date. |
| Storage instruction | The exact instruction supplied, and by which source. |
Fields worth keeping beyond the reconciliation
- Internal reference you assign, so the material has one name across your own notes.
- Supplier name and the order reference.
- Date received and by whom, plus the condition of the packaging on arrival.
- Where it is stored, named so another person could find it.
- Every handling event, with a date: moved, opened, sampled, discarded.
- Any temperature excursion or deviation, recorded when it happens rather than reconstructed later.
- Documents on file, listed by what they are, with the date you received each.
- Open questions you have asked the supplier, and the answer or absence of one.
Record unknowns as unknowns
The discipline that makes a batch record useful is writing “not stated” rather than leaving a blank or filling a plausible value. A blank reads as an oversight months later; “not stated on label, 2026-09-20” reads as a finding. Every inferred value should be marked as inferred, with the reasoning beside it.
| Not stated | The source is silent. This is a fact about the documentation and belongs in the record. |
|---|---|
| Unclear | Present but illegible or ambiguous. Note what you can read and what you cannot. |
| Mismatch | Two sources disagree. Record both values verbatim; do not choose between them silently. |
| Inferred | You reached a value by reasoning. Record the reasoning, not just the conclusion. |
Why the transcription matters
Lot identifiers are the join between your material and any document about it. Transcribe them from each source independently and compare afterwards; copying one field into two columns destroys the only check you had. Where a lot identifier does not appear at all, the record should say so, because it means no document can be firmly matched to that container.