26 questions for Business Owner with workers

1. What are a few load boards to use? The only one i remembered is ooida's load board.

2. When you call a shipper, do they start off the negotiations with a price for you or do you start off with an offer to them?

3. Do you ever counter the bid with shippers and raise it by 10%, calling a few shippers to see who budges or anything like that?

4. What are some good computer programs for managing and filing IFTA?

5. Do you have a business checkings account? Or 2 or 3 accounts?


(Questions 6 - 15 are in regards to company employees)
(Questions 16 - 25 are the same questions but in regards to 1099 workers)
6. What is the whole process for hiring employees?

7. How do you do a background check and what do you do with that information?

8. How do you add an employee to ifta permit?

9. How do you add an employee to other permits?

10. OOIDA may have misunderstood me, but thwy said i needed to have my potential employees sign a lease agreement? Does that sound right?

11. (Im not sure what i meant with this question) What insurance coverages do you use for the business or the employees?
Other o/o opinions?

12. Do you keep a record of safety violations, accidents, do you report to dac? How do you report to dac?

13. Do you hire a lawyer to go over your business to make sure everything is in line and to assist you in aquiring employer resources like all the individual documents an employee signs during orientation, all that stuff, sexual harassment, acknowledgements, agreements.

14. Where do you aquire knowledge of all legal documents needed to hire someone and make copies for you to use to hire someone?

15. Is there some things you have to pay for having an employee? FICA? Unemployment insurance tax?
State unemployment program?

(Questions 16 - 25 are the same questions but in regards to 1099 workers)

16. What is the whole process for hiring 1099 workers?

17. How do you do a background check and what do you do with that information?

18. How do you add a 1099 worker to ifta permit?

19. How do you add a 1099 worker to other permits?

20. OOIDA may have misunderstood me, but they said i needed to have my potential 1099 workers sign a lease agreement? Does that sound right? How do i do that? Hire a lawyer?

21. (Im not sure what i meant with this question) What insurance coverages do you use for the business or the 1099 workers?
Other o/o opinions?

22. Do you keep a record of safety violations, accidents, do you report to dac? How do you report to dac?

23. Do you hire a lawyer to go over your business to make sure everything is in line and to assist you in aquiring employer resources like all the individual documents a 1099 worker signs during orientation, all that stuff, sexual harassment, acknowledgements, agreements.

24. Where do you aquire knowledge of all legal documents needed to hire a 1099 worker and make copies for you to use to hire someone?

25. Is there some things you have to pay for having a 1099 worker? FICA? Unemployment insurance tax?
State unemployment program

26. As a business owner, what are your opinions of hiring independent contractors vs employees? I think IC might be better for a small fleet.

 

Wire $2600 to my account and I’ll answer all of them. I also take comcheck. lol

Some good questions in there. You’ll probably have 26 more after those 26 are answered.

Edit: OK OK... I get the thread started off with a freebie.

Question #1 answer: 95% of people use dat.com or truckstop.com or a combination of both. My preference is DAT.

 

I am taking my valuable time out to answer these questions.

BUT I want you to answer mine.


I am grouping these to make it easier for me.

These questions are NOT important.

Before you consider all of them, you have to know;

1- your operating cost

2- you margin

3- your projction for the next ----- fill in the blank ----- (week, 14 days, month)

Spreadsheet, I recommend Excel, most versatile and can be easily integrated into other programs.

But again don't worry about it.

I have ONE business bank account for each business entity.

YOU ONLY NEED ONE.

The process is have them fill out an app, do your proper due diligence and hire or not hire them.

YOU have to figure out how to do your own background check, I use an investigation service which is not cheap.

YOU DO NOT, IFTA is about the truck and only the truck. YOU use the amount of miles that the truck drives within a state and that is how you pay road taxes in that state.

YOU DO NOT ADD employees to permits, the permits are issued to the company.

The OOIDA is assuming you are going to be a carrier with leased owners and they are right, you have to have by FMCSA Regulations a lease in place for a owner and your carrier.

Insurance depends on what type of business model you are going to be, a carrier leasing owners, a carrier with employees or what ever. IT ALL DEPENDS.

You have to keep records, accurate records with a retention policy by FMCSA regulations NO MATTER WHAT. It is where a lot of people FAIL and it isn't easy to setup but easy to maintain.

No you hire a lawyer to establish your business, help you with some policies to keep you out of court and so on.

IF you are concern with those other things, then you get an employment consultant, they are cheap and can help you set things up quickly.

YOU go to an accountant to have them setup your ledger, teach you what needs to go where and what to pay to whom.

OK learn what a 1099 worker is.

They are legal contractors.

They can refuse work without retaliation.

They have contracts (hence the word CONTRACTORS).

As I said you don't add anyone to IFTA, nor to other permits.

Well they don't sign lease agreements if it is your truck, they sign a contract to do a specific job.

Owner/Operators are not 1099 workers, they are business entities that you lease onto your carrier to do a job for you, they are also CONTRACTORS.

ALL RECORDS for your company are to be kept, no matter who or what you hire.

A GOOD LAWYER who deals with contracts and labor issues. More likely than not you will get a lot of push back.

YOU don't pay for anything outside your FMCSA insurance requirements and possibly worker comp insurance. 1099s get a flat check issued.

As a business owner, I have contractors working for me, I now have employees, but they came with another company I bought out.

My contractors or as I put it my drivers work as they want to work, we have mutual agreements on what work some of them do - dedicated work, etc. ... MOST make their own decisions, I do not have a dispatcher for anyone, they call for loads into the company and they do often refuse the work. I start them at 40% of the trucks gross and any accessorial fees that are labor related 100%. This is how a 1099 worker is supposed to work, independent to a point.

NOW my questions.

1- who are you?

2 - what do think you have planned?

3 - do you have money to spend to get started?

 

Thank god we don't "Add" people to that permit and papers bag behind that drivers seat in a company unit.

I don't have anything else but can only offer a squeak or two here and there besides this biggie.

 

I will only add that it might be in your best interest to look into the following. They should be able to provide answers to the questions.

You state trucking association.
State employment department.

Additional resources.
Both of these organizations offer educational materials and business tools.
OOIDA
NASTC

Having a support team in place is worth the money spent up front. Accountant, attorney, insurance agent and banker are ones to consider primary. Others, like a HR/benefits person and payroll can be contracted out for a small fee. Usually based on expected needs.

 

I have a feeling that the OP won't be back.

 

Thanks for the great info. Im getting ready to go to sleep rn. I didnt have notifications turned on for this site. So ill answer more questions tomorrow and review all information a 2nd time over.

Im a trainer for western express for the last 5 months and enjoy it enough to continue. Pay is really good. Thats is to say, i dont have a lot of bills. Single, no kids. Been company driver for 9years. 6 at KTS. First year i leased for cr england. Did all the math and had no suprises horror stories or lack of miles.

Im getting to the point of doing something else. I been very complacent, living a good life, so my newbie friend convinced me to look at a company again. So short version, i plan to co tinue to train at western and put a couple driver in my truck, possibly an Independent contractor or 2

I have enough to get started with a factoring company.

Ill throw out some of my calculations out there and answer my projection for a week, month, year

These are the calculations i ised before leasing for england and when i did, everything lined up, so my guesses of costs are based off of 11months leasing there and asking o/o questions and getting predictable answers. I havent talked to you all however, so i dont feel i know enough yet to get started, and as many questiond as i have here, i have for i surance companies and ooida authority hotline who said when i hire employees, i have to "add them to my permits"

2150mi a week
$1.75
7cpm minor repairs
1cpm IFTA
$8k a year major repair reserve fund
2% factoring
$3.50 fuel
6mpg
$50permits/wk
$500 truck and interest/wk
$250 insurance/wk

2150x1.75x0.98-2150/6x3.5-2150x0.08-800= x52-8000= /12 = 1307 income before taxes for a single driver
-employee pay cpm 2150x0.35=752

Though ill probably go the lease route possibly get into brokering and sell a pitch to a couple of 1st years who need a pay increase.

 

I’d probably put employee pay around .55/mi and 6% for workers comp. not to mention the few percent you must match on payroll taxes. At 1.75/mi you won’t make any money just so you know. Not as an independent with a driver anyway.

And drivers are looking for atleast 2400 miles FYI.

 

2150miles is my safe income calculation for my bills and stuff. Even though i mac out my miles, if i take off 3 days every 2 weeks, it averages down to around 2150 despite averaging 3000 while continuously working.

Sorry for my unrefined calculations. You are right. I may have to offer 40cpm or more if i *truly want experienced drivers.(my friend is good. Hes a newbie and will take 36cpm easy. Hes one newbie i trust to turn a profit)

Thanks for the workers comp input. I was thinking about leasing out, drivers make their own pay. I broker as soon as i can, and then the leasing fees they oay for the truck regardless of if they drive or not. I almost went to work like that, but i made the same ammount as a trainer so it wasnt worth it to me.

 

That company said they get loads at 2-2.20. And take 15% of the load pay. So that averaged my take down to $1.75 just fkr working for them. And i can make money like that. Leasing for cr england at 90cpm loaded 80cpm unloaded if i recall, i made 1200 a week as a trainer for them. Wasnt ready for the big times so i backed down to solo and made 300 a week for the next 6 months leasing, but 90cpm is profit as an employee lease