Pay a company to handle dispatching and invoicing?

As an owner operator, I would like to know if you would find it appealing to hire a company to dispatch your truck (find your loads),
handle your invoicing to make sure you are paid, and take care of your IFTA taxes?

I am interested in beginning this business venture and I am not sure how much a o/o would compensate a company for such a thing.

I would like your honest opinions

I would create contracts between me and the o/o so that he or she can hold me liable for anything that should be completed that isn't

 

Except finding the loads, I'd be in. The res is a pain, but dispatchers that haven't driven don't have a real world concept of wnat acn be done. No Offense intended, but good dispatchers are hard to find.

 

I truly understand that.
You would be more interested in having someone make sure you were paid on your invoices and your IFTA taxes were handled.

 

it would depend on the budget of the small trucking companies you are wanting to dispatch for. most smaller companies have sold out what customer base they had. and reduced the office staff to a full time bones crew. and run broker freight. as for the taxes and book keeping and money management. on some of the really small companies. it is usauly done by the owner of the trucks. or the wife and maybe one of the kids if they are old enough.

so ina sense. you are wanting to build a freight brokage company that also handles the managment of the trucks. that's going to be a tuff to sell.

 

I don't necessarily want to be the broker. I more so would like to be the person you would pay an hourly rate to in order to keep the books and office on track. But instead of paying someone hourly including insurance etc, you would make a set a payment weekly to a company to handle that for you.

Now the o/o that has a wife or an old enough child, I can understand how it wouldnt be beneficial. But for the ones who do not have that on their side, and need help so that they don't have to stop their trucks while on a load in order to handle billing, I would be their right hand man.

I am considering including dispatching and finding loads for the truck as well but the for those who don't need that I would just be the billing expert for the company including IFTA taxes.

Am I confusing anyone?

 

You are trying to offer a service that is already offered by a couple companies. These companies allow you to use their operating authority but they take care of all of the legal paperwork. I am not talking about Landstar. I am talking about companies that are small like M.A.G. Carriers. You pick your own freight and run your business as you see fit with these companies. In return you get the power of a name with a good saftey score and only charged 10% per load and that includes factoring. I really don't think someone would pay for what you are offering.

 

I had never heard of this before... and it sounds like a much better deal then going out and getting your own authority and then ending up spending 15%-20% or more by the time you pay piece meal for all these different "services" to help you. Do you have any experience with any of these small motor carriers?

 

that's what i'm wondering. I also wonder in the op has any experience in upper trucking management? like operations manager head of safety, etc.

I ran a truck that was leased to a company like mag. exccept they ran there own trucks. they were responsible for finding us loads. the manger running the office hated me. and when he found out tht i wokred in the family shop on the weekends and when freight was slow. this was after the crash of 2008. he cut the 3 very short loads a week down to one load. then when the owner of this office. he asked me why i was pised. I told him. I had the 3 loads i was getting cut top one a week. and i never here from any one in your office. and when i call they say they have nothing for me. which means i look bad to my family. and none of the other driver you have. realize i only make 75 a weekend for cleaning the shop and catching up on the work orders. and i can't use the authory to fin my own freight. on may 5 2009 the little business had the assets froozen by the judge. due to the fact that the owner of the business failed to mention he was getting a divorce. after finding uot that the business was closed. that the 3 companydrivers were getting 15 loads a week. the other to owner ops. were getting 12. and i was left broke and homeless during the 6 months. so now I tend to stay away from owner/ops and small businesses like the one op is wanting to start.

so my advice is: if you do start a small brokerage business. it is important to make sure you and the staff running the office. are fair to all the drivers. the reason: you don't know there life story. you don't if the non driving work. or the second job some local drivers do have. is paying enough to cut loads. or if it's just extra work that they are doing on the weekend to help out a family business. or just a part time job to pay a bill or put food on the table.

 

I have no expierence with M.A.G. but have talked to them and researched them. In my oipinon it is just as good as having your own authority minus the paperwork headache and DOT audits.

 

if I had my own authority I would consider such a service for not more than 7 percent from the gross. I would expect every single invoice to be paid guaranteed and also taking care of all the paperwork and permits including logs ,ifta, drug tests. but again you will be hard pressed to find a load i need. I usually run about 400 miles a day and I would like to average 2.3 dollars per running mile. it will take you awhile to build a customer base who would pay such money