Truck dispatch fee: 5% of gross, and nothing when you do not haul

Here is every number in our truck dispatch fee, in plain words: what it costs, what it is charged on, what it covers and what we never charge for. Then move the slider and see what it means for your week and your truck payment.

Lock in my rate

of gross load revenue for one truck with an MC 6 months or older. 7% before that, 4% for two or more trucks. Same for every rig.

Your fee next to your payment

Set your weekly gross, your MC age and how many trucks you run. The slider shows our fee, what a 10% dispatcher would charge, and what your own hours on the board are worth. Below it, the deal sheet puts your truck payment on the same page.

Weekly gross load revenue$6,000

MC age

Trucks on the MC

Hours a week finding loads

Your own estimate

What an hour is worth

ASSUMPTION

5% applies: Standard (1 truck, MC 6+ months). Same for every rig.

Our fee$300 /wk
A 10% desk$600 /wk
Your hours, self-dispatching$200 /wk

No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, 30 days notice, no haul no pay. The fee is on linehaul plus accessorials, excluding reimbursed pass-through costs. The comparison desk and hourly value are ASSUMPTIONS you can edit.

Price

Down payment

Rate (APR)

EXAMPLE rate, not an offer

Term

Fees

Balloon at end

Add the 12% federal excise tax. It applies to some first retail sales of heavy trucks, trailers and tractors. See the Tax Meter to check yours.

PRICE: $85,000
FET (IF IT APPLIES): $0
FEES: $1,500
DOWN: - $8,500
AMOUNT FINANCED: $78,000
APR / TERM: 11.5% / 60 mo
BALLOON: $0
PAYMENT: $1,715 /mo
TOTAL INTEREST: $24,925
TOTAL COST: $111,425

Where each year of payments goes

Principal and interest. Estimates only; a lender's real terms will differ.

Want the full math on one load or a whole month? Use the dispatcher fee calculator or the dispatch ROI calculator.

The three rates, and who pays which

Rate	Who it applies to	When it changes
7%	Any rig, any fleet size, MC under 6 months	Drops on its own in month 7
5%	One truck, MC 6 months or older	Moves to 4% when you add a second truck
4%	Two or more trucks on one MC, MC 6 months or older	Applies to every truck on the MC

The rig never changes the fee. A 26 ft box truck and a heavy haul rig pay the same schedule.

How much do dispatchers charge in general?

Dispatch pricing is not regulated and there is no reliable public survey of what dispatch services charge, so we will not quote an industry average. In practice you will see three models: a percentage of each load's gross, a flat weekly fee per truck, and a flat fee per load. Percentages are the most common model you will be quoted.

Whichever model you are offered, ask the same questions. What is the fee charged on? Are there setup, onboarding or software fees? Is there a minimum when the truck sits? How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave? A low headline rate with a setup fee and a long contract can cost more than a higher rate with neither.

One EXAMPLE month, fee next to the payment

An EXAMPLE month with $22,000 in gross load revenue. The truck payment, insurance and running costs are the same in every column; only the fee changes.

	7% (new MC)	5% (one truck)	4% (fleet)	10% desk
Gross load revenue	$22,000	$22,000	$22,000	$22,000
Dispatch fee	$1,540	$1,100	$880	$2,200
Left before payment and costs	$20,460	$20,900	$21,120	$19,800

EXAMPLE figures, not a result. Fuel, insurance and the truck payment still come out of what is left.

What the fee covers

One percentage covers the whole desk. There is nothing extra to buy:

Load sourcing on the major load boards and with direct broker and shipper contacts
Rate negotiation on every load, against your floor rate
Carrier packet setup with every new broker
Broker calls, check calls and delivery confirmations
Deadhead and reload planning
Detention and layover claims
A weekly earnings report
Dispatchers on nights and weekends

What we never charge for

Some of the most expensive dispatch deals have a low headline rate. These are the charges you will never see from us:

A setup or onboarding fee
A monthly minimum when the truck sits
A cancellation fee: give 30 days notice and you are free
Software, tracking or report fees
Any fee on a week you do not haul

What the fee is charged on

The fee is a percentage of gross load revenue: linehaul plus accessorials, excluding reimbursed pass-through costs. Permit, escort and similar pass-through costs that a broker reimburses are not revenue to you, so they are not part of the fee. The final wording is in the dispatch agreement you read before signing.

We invoice weekly based on the loads you hauled that week. The onboarding steps page walks through the agreement and the first week in order.

The fee against your hours

Finding a load is not one task. It is searching, calling, waiting for a call back, negotiating, sending a packet and confirming the appointment. Owners who self-dispatch often tell us that adds up to several hours for every load, much of it while they should be driving or resting.

Put a value on those hours in the slider above. For some owners the fee is less than the time it buys back; for others it is not. Either way, you should decide with the number in front of you.

When your rate changes

When the new authority period ends, counted from the date your MC became active, the next weekly invoice simply uses the standard or fleet rate. When you add a second truck to an established MC, every truck moves to the fleet rate from that week. You do not need to ask, and there is nothing new to sign.

You approve every load the fee is charged on

1Dispatcher finds and negotiates
2Broker sends the rate con to you
3You sign it, or you say no

The fee only applies to loads you chose to haul. Every load comes to you first, and when you say yes the broker sends the rate con to your email in your company name. You sign it, or you say no.

We never accept a load for you, so you never pay a fee on a load you did not want.

Straight answers on price

5% on top of my truck payment?

Look at net, not the fee. The fee earns its keep through higher rates, fewer empty miles, detention collected and hours you get back. If it does not, the weekly report will show it and you can leave with 30 days notice.

Why not a flat weekly fee?

A flat fee charges you the same in a slow week as in a busy one. A percentage only earns when you haul, which keeps our interest lined up with yours.

Truck dispatch fee questions

Is the dispatch fee tax deductible?

Dispatch fees are generally a business expense for a trucking business, like fuel or insurance. Tax rules depend on how your business is set up, so confirm with a tax professional. We send a weekly report and invoices that make the records easy to keep. This is general information, not tax advice.

Is the dispatch fee on gross or net?

On gross load revenue: linehaul plus accessorials, excluding reimbursed pass-through costs. It is not charged on your profit after costs, which would be hard to verify, and it is not charged on reimbursed pass-through costs such as permits. The exact wording is in the agreement.

Is the dispatch fee a business expense?

For most carriers it is recorded as an ordinary business expense, the same as other services you pay to run the truck. Keep the weekly invoices with your records. Ask a tax professional how it applies to your own business structure.

What if I do not haul a week?

Then you pay nothing that week. There is no minimum, no standby charge and no fee on time off. The fee only applies to loads you chose to haul, so home time, repairs and slow weeks never cost you a dispatch fee.

When is the dispatch fee invoiced?

Weekly, based on the loads you hauled and delivered that week, with the weekly earnings report alongside it so you can check every line. The dispatch agreement spells out the payment method and timing before you sign anything. A cancelled load, or a week you do not haul, never appears on an invoice.

Why do some dispatchers charge 10% or more?

Some include extra services, some work with fewer trucks, and some simply price high. A higher percentage is not wrong if the work behind it pays. Compare what the fee covers, what it is charged on, and how long the contract holds you.

Do you charge a setup fee?

No. There is no setup fee, no onboarding fee and no software fee. You sign a month-to-month agreement, and the first dollar you pay is a percentage of the first load you choose to haul. If you leave, you give 30 days notice and owe nothing beyond fees on loads already hauled.

Do fleet rates apply to every truck?

Yes. Once you run two or more trucks on one MC that is at least 6 months old, every truck on that MC pays 4%, not just the second one. Before month 7, all trucks pay the new authority rate.

See the fee on your own numbers

Tell us your rig and your MC age. A dispatcher calls you back with your rate.

Lock in my rate

YOUR NUMBERS, EXAMPLE

Payment: $1,715 /mo
Our fee: 5% of gross
YOU KEEP: the rest