HOW IT WORKS
How truck dispatch works, from application to your first load
Here's exactly how truck dispatch works with our desk: one call, a few documents, broker setups under your MC, and then load offers that only become loads when you say yes. Most of the work happens on our side. Every decision stays on yours.
01
Our desk
finds and negotiates the load
02
You
say yes or no
03
The broker
books it with your MC
04
Your inbox
gets the rate con to sign
UNIT 02
Dispatch onboarding in six steps
What you do, what we do, and how long each part usually takes.
STEP 1
Apply
Three short steps online: your trucks, your authority, how to reach you. About two minutes, no commitment.STEP 2
First call
A dispatcher calls you back. We agree floor rates per truck, lanes, home time, brokers to avoid and how offers reach you.STEP 3
Documents
MC and DOT numbers, W-9, certificate of insurance, and a notice of assignment if you factor. Then a month-to-month agreement.STEP 4
Carrier setup with brokers
We complete carrier packets with the brokers that run your lanes, under your MC. Your insurance goes on file with each one.STEP 5
First offers
Load offers start coming, each with lane, miles, rate, pickup window and broker. You approve or pass. Rate cons come to you.STEP 6
Weekly reports
Every Monday, one report per truck: loads, miles, rate per mile, detention claimed and the offers you passed on.
For an established MC with clean paperwork, the first offers can come within days of the first call. A brand-new authority usually takes longer, because brokers check how old the MC is and some won't set up a carrier without history. That's why our new authority dispatch page starts with broker setups rather than rates.
What the first call covers
The first call sets the rules we dispatch by, truck by truck. For each unit: the lowest rate per mile you'll run, how far you'll deadhead to a pickup, the lanes and regions you like, states or cities you won't go to, how often the driver needs to be home, and any broker you've had trouble with. We also agree how offers reach you, by call or text, and who answers for each truck if you're on the road yourself.
Those rules aren't fixed. Change a floor rate in a slow week, block a broker after a bad experience, or add a lane when a driver moves closer to it. Tell the desk and the next offer reflects it.
After you say yes
Once you approve a load and sign the rate con, the desk confirms the pickup appointment, sends the driver the details and runs the check calls the broker asks for. If the truck waits past the free time at a shipper or receiver, we record the times and file the detention claim. After delivery, the driver sends the signed BOL, and the load goes on that truck's weekly report. Meanwhile we're already working on the next load, so the truck isn't sitting empty while you think about it.
UNIT 03
Walk through a fleet's first week
Fleet C is a made-up three-truck carrier. Step through its first week with the desk and take or pass its first load offer yourself.
EXAMPLE FLEET C IS NOT A REAL CARRIER Timing is an illustration. Real timing depends on your MC age, documents and lanes.
UNIT 04
What we never do
If a dispatcher asks for any of these, that's your signal to walk away.
Book a load without your yes
Every load starts as an offer you can turn down. Passing costs nothing.
Sign a rate confirmation for you
The broker sends it to you. You read the terms and you sign.
Charge a setup or onboarding fee
There's no fee until a truck hauls a load you approved.
Ask for your bank or factoring logins
We never need access to your money. Factoring paperwork goes to your factor, not through us.
Keep your broker setups when you leave
Packets are under your MC. They stay with your company.
Lock you into a long contract
Month-to-month, and you can stop with 30 days notice.
UNIT 05
What we need from you each week
Fast answers on offers. The best loads go quickly, so a yes or no within a few minutes of a text makes the biggest difference to your week. Tell us when a truck goes into the shop or a driver needs an extra day home, and we'll plan around it instead of finding out at the shipper.
Paperwork photos after every delivery: the signed BOL and any lumper or scale receipts. We use them for detention claims and for the weekly report, and you send them to your factoring company if you factor. If you already factor, tell us on the first call and we'll send paperwork the way your factoring company needs it.
One compliance item to have in place before the first load: if your drivers need a CDL, including you if you drive your own truck under your authority, every CDL driver must be in a DOT drug and alcohol testing program with random testing. Small carriers usually do this through a consortium; our page on joining a DOT drug testing consortium explains the rules, or you can see Vertical Identity's consortium plans. Non-CDL units, like a 26 ft box truck at 26,000 lb or less, aren't covered by DOT drug testing.
We may earn a referral fee if you sign up through this link. It does not change your price. How we're paid
Adding trucks later works the same way, one unit at a time. Our guide to adding a truck to your fleet lists the insurance, registration and driver files to have ready, and the dispatch rates page shows how your fee changes when truck two joins.
Start your setup
Pick what you run and send the short application. A dispatcher calls you back, any day of the week, and walks through your trucks and lanes before anything is signed.
Already working with another dispatcher? Finish the loads you have booked, give them the notice your agreement asks for, and take back your logins. Our guide on how to switch dispatchers lists what to collect so nothing falls between the two desks.
UNIT 07
Questions about carrier setup with a dispatcher
01How does truck dispatching work for a fleet?
You tell us the rules for each truck: floor rate, lanes, home time, brokers to avoid. We search and negotiate loads that fit, send each offer to you for a yes or no, and run the broker calls, check calls and paperwork after you approve. Every truck gets a weekly report.
02Do I approve every load?
Yes. Nothing is booked without your yes. Each offer comes with the lane, loaded miles, deadhead, rate, pickup window and broker, so you're deciding on the full picture rather than a rate alone.
03Who receives the rate confirmation?
You do. After you approve a load, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to your email. You review it and sign it. We never sign a rate con for you.
04How do my drivers talk to dispatch?
By phone or text, whichever they prefer. Drivers send pickup and delivery updates, BOL and POD photos, and problems on the road to the desk. You decide on the first call whether load offers go to you or to a particular driver.
05Do you sign carrier packets for me?
We fill out carrier packets with the information and documents you give us, under your MC. Anything that needs your signature, you sign. The broker relationships stay attached to your authority, not to us.
06What is in the weekly report?
For each truck: loads hauled, loaded and empty miles, all-in rate per mile, gross, detention or layover claimed, and the offers you passed on. It arrives every Monday for the week before.
07Can I start with one truck and add more?
Yes, and most owners do. Start with one unit at 5%, and the day a second truck joins, every unit moves to the 4% fleet rate. Adding a truck means one more set of documents and broker setups for that unit.
08What do you need from me every week?
Quick answers on load offers, any change to a truck's availability or home time, and paperwork photos from the drivers after each delivery. Most owners spend a few minutes a day approving offers instead of hours on the boards.
Your trucks, your rules, your call on every load
Send the application and a dispatcher calls you back. The first offer comes to you for a yes or no, like every one after it.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new