MC numbers, insurance, I'm lost! Help!

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by DeDeDispatcher, Jul 30, 2014.

  1. DeDeDispatcher

    DeDeDispatcher Bobtail Member

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    Ok, so here's what is going on. My husband joined a small company about 4 months ago (only ten trucks) and we were so excited. 1500$ paychecks after tax in a company truck? heck yah, sign me up! And everything was great. The company decided to expand from getting their loads from JB Hunt and hired me to dispatch them. I'm making pennies, but its a work at home job, and heck, I had no training and was just learning and getting paid to do it! Everything was great... at first. I started having issues with getting contracts for brokers completed on time because I was not allowed to do them. I had to send them to one of the girls in the office and I soon discovered she was doing everything. From contracts and invoices to sales and payroll. She was over worked and over logged and making way too little for her job. She walked out last night, and I finally have the skinny on this company. Though I have been bringing in #### good money with these loads, the company is broke. You may ask, if you are bringing in such good money, why are they broke? Because, as I found out to my horror this morning, the owner has an expensive girlfriend and is using company funds to keep her. $700 at miejer, $300 at Burlington, all in one day. It happens daily. Between the owner's personal use of the company accounts and actual legitimate company expenses, $9000 disapeared from the company account over one weekend.. this is not giving myself and my husband very good feelings about our job security! We are so tired of feeling trapped by the companies we work for. So. Here is what I am trying to research and coming up blank on... I want to rent a tractor and trailer from Penske and Dispatch my husband, just like I was doing with the company. So what do I do about mc numbers? which types do I need? Penske has their own insurance, so how the heck do i prove insurance to file for the mc numbers? Hep!
     
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  3. Passin Thru

    Passin Thru Road Train Member

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    They won't rent to you unless you are a Legit. business with a tax number. It is way expensive to start a trucking business. $20000.00 is a good round number. Fuel on a tractor running 6 days and 600 mi/day is $10000.00/month + too many expenses to mention. You just can't start a business without any money.
     
  4. baha

    baha Road Train Member

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    You may have just found a step up without trying, take over what she was trying to do and you will learn it all!
     
    RedForeman Thanks this.
  5. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    What if the girl that walked out was skimming money? She might have taken the $9,000.00 then walked out the door.
     
    RedForeman and baha Thank this.
  6. double yellow

    double yellow Road Train Member

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    I bet Penske's insurance is just covering the cost of their truck if you wreck it -- this is not the insurance you need for DOT. If you want to strike out on your own, you'll need to do the following:



    1) Decide on what business structure you will use. Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, LLC, etc ($0-1000 and 0-3 weeks depending)

    2) Obtain Federal & state tax ID numbers (free for federal)

    3) Register your business name ~$25 & 1-5 days

    3a) If your business name is not your last name and clear on the manner of business you will also need to file a fictitious business name statement. "Smith Trucking Company" would not require one if your last name is Smith. "Super Trucking Company" would (unless Super is your last name). "Smith Enterprises" would also require one because "enterprises" is too vague of a business description. ~$50 & ~1 month (have to run fictitious name statement in newspaper for like 3 weeks before you can be approved).

    3b) You may want to register with NMFTA to get a SCAC code. Some shippers & brokers require this, but you will definitely need it if you ever deal with Customs. ~$70 & instant online application

    4) Set up a business bank account (You will want to deposit at least $20,000). Be prepared to offer proof of address.

    4a) Set up a business "rewards" credit card (e.g. 3% cash back). This is just to use for payment whenever there is no fee for paying with credit card -- you will pay it off every month from your business bank account

    5) Get a business license if you ever plan to do business inside your city (~$25 & 1-14 days)

    6) Register with the fmcsa & get a DOT number ($300 & immediate online application). Once you do this, you'll have 2 months to complete the other required steps to get your authority active.

    7) Shop for insurance. You will want $1,000,000 "auto liability" ($5,000,000 if hazmat), and $100,000 cargo insurance. You may also want Physical Damage insurance (this covers the cost to repair/replace your truck), General Liability (some shippers and brokers ask for $1,000,000), and Gap (covers any gap between your truck's replacement value and your outstanding loan). Insurance agents will ask for your DOT and/or MC number (you'll get the MC# in step 6, but it isn't active yet), the truck year/make/model or VIN, and maybe a trailer year/make/model or vin. You should have been doing lots of window shopping up to this point -- copy the VIN from ads of equipment like what you expect to buy just so the agent can get you a reasonably accurate quote. Expect quotes from $7,000-$25,000 depending on your needs. And expect quotes to take 1-7 days to even get.

    8. Get a process agent (this is a free service as part of your $45 OOIDA membership)

    9) Find a place to park your truck. It can take well over a month from the time you buy your truck to the time you have everything needed to start rolling... ($0-100)

    10) Join a DOT drug testing consortium and have your drivers get a pre-employment drug screen ($250 & 3 days)

    11) Buy your truck (and trailer?). $10,000-$210,000 (plan on taking a month if shopping for used).

    12) Buy insurance $7,000-$25,000 & 1-3 business days

    13) Get DOT inspection(s) -- $0-$100 & couple hours (not including any repairs)

    14) Buy trip permit to move truck (and trailer?) $0-$400 depending

    15) Pay HHVUT: $550

    16) Register and pay for UCR: $80

    17) Register truck and get base plate ($2000-$20,000 & 1-14 days)

    18. Sign up for IFTA (~$10)

    19) Get weight-distance permits to operate in New York (~$15), New Mexico (~$15), Kentucky (free?), Oregon ($2000 bond refundable after 1 year).

    20) Intrastate authority for California ($150 & 3+ weeks), Texas ($220), etc

    21) Get laptop, portable printer/scanner, cell phone with data plan & hotspot, & e-fax account

    22) Get decals -- minimum is 2" high contrasting-color lettering with Trucking Co name and USDOT # (no space between US and DOT). You may also need to put CA, TX, or KYU number depending on your state. You may also want the last 8 of your VIN.

    23) Toll and Scale Transponders: Prepass, EZ pass, Pike Pass, Tx Tag, Sun Pass, etc?

    24) File business property statement & pay tax with your local jurisdiction

    25) Register and pay Use Tax (difference in sales tax you pay for items purchased out of state)


    I'm sure I'm forgetting half a dozen things -- are you sure you wouldn't rather just run for/under someone else?
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2014
    Dan-FL, mp4694330, CargoWahgo and 3 others Thank this.
  7. DeDeDispatcher

    DeDeDispatcher Bobtail Member

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    This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Step by step, easy to follow list of what to do and when/how to do it. Yes, it looks complicated, and it is definately not going to happen as fast as I wanted it to. But the important thing is now I know what our goal is and we can have clear eyes on what we are doing. We probably will run under someone else for a while, but eventually, we're still interested. Something appealing to me about owning our own business. Thanks Double Yellow!
     
  8. DeDeDispatcher

    DeDeDispatcher Bobtail Member

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    Thank you for helping me see the silver lining in this situation. I'm going to talk to the bossman about taking over some of her responsibilities tomorrow :)
     
  9. jbatmick

    jbatmick Road Train Member

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    I bet you can do a good job, and enjoy doing it. Good luck.
     
  10. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Before you do a thing, get an accountant and ask them to look at your plans to tell you what entity you need to become, and at the same time get a lawyer for a few reasons - one is to have him set up protection for you, meaning set you up to limit your liability but more importantly to make sure NOTHING that this guy or the company employees (even if there is one) comes back on you or your husband.
     
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