What are you "trying to deal with?". Bike SN#s aren't like VINs; there's very little information there: production date, maybe; and sometimes frame size, though that's pretty uncommon.
Unless you're dealing with a particularly rare or historically significant bike, SN#s don't make much difference.
If you're trying to find parts; it's not like cars, where you need to know that you have a 1998 Honda Accord LX with a 4-cyl and an automatic transmission.
Bike parts are fairly standardized*. For example; you don't need to find a chain for a 1987 Huffy Cranbrook; you need a chain for a single -speed with a coaster brake. All single -speed bikes use the same size chain, regardless of who's sticker is on the frame.
Same goes for pretty much every part on a given bike.