SMALL FLEET DISPATCH · 2 TO 10 TRUCKS
A fleet dispatcher for the trucks you've outgrown dispatching yourself
You built the company one load at a time. Now you're running several trucks and still booking freight from your phone. Our desk works as your fleet dispatcher: every unit dispatched by its own rules, every load approved from your side, a report per truck each week. 4% of gross on each unit, month-to-month.
- Every unit dispatched, 24/7
- Every load approved from your side
- A report per truck, every Monday
UNIT 02
Set the rules once, for each truck
Click a unit and set its rules. This is the sheet we fill in together on the first call, and the desk dispatches by it every day.
UNIT 03
How a small fleet dispatch service should run
One floor rate for the whole fleet doesn't work. A paid-off dry van and a reefer with a fresh payment have different costs per mile, so they need different minimums. The same goes for home time: a driver with kids at home and a driver who wants to stay out two weeks shouldn't get the same week. We keep a rules card for every unit and dispatch each truck by its own card.
Offers go to whoever approves for that truck, usually you. Each one shows the lane, loaded miles, deadhead, rate and pickup window. After a yes, the broker sends the rate confirmation to your company's email to sign, so you have every agreement on file and can check what each truck is hauling at any time.
The desk plans the fleet as a whole, too. If two trucks are heading for the same market, we position one for a reload and send the other home, instead of letting both chase the same freight. That kind of planning is the reason outsourced truck dispatch tends to pay off at two or three units and up, not just at one.
You don't have to hand over the whole roster on day one. Plenty of owners start with the two trucks that sit the most, watch the reports for a few weeks, then move the rest. Others keep their best-paying dedicated unit on their own dispatch and give us everything else. Either way, every truck we dispatch is billed only on the loads it hauls, and you can pull a unit back with notice if the arrangement stops working for it.
Monday 06:00
Reports land
One per truck, for last week.Monday 08:00
Week planned
Each unit's next loads lined up against its rules.All week
Offers to approve
By text or call, to you or the driver you named.After each delivery
Paperwork closed
BOL collected, detention filed, next load already booked.
UNIT 04
Will one truck get all the good loads?
It's the first worry owners with drivers bring up, and it's a fair one.
Drivers notice when a teammate keeps getting the long, clean runs. On a small fleet, that feeling turns into turnover fast. So the desk doesn't hand out freight by who answers the phone first. Each unit is planned against its own rules and its own week: where it is, when its driver needs to be home, and what it has already run.
The weekly reports keep everyone honest, us included. You see gross, rate per mile and empty miles for every truck side by side. If one unit keeps landing below its floor or running more deadhead than the others, it shows up on Monday and we fix the plan. Some owners share each driver's own report with them; it settles a lot of arguments.
Pay models matter here too. A company driver on mileage pay cares about loaded miles. A leased owner-operator on a percentage cares about the rate. If you run both, tell us on the first call so the desk plans each unit around what pays its driver, inside the lease terms you've agreed.
And when a load fits two trucks equally, we bring the choice to you. It's your fleet; you know which driver needs the better week.
UNIT 05
What we need for each truck to start
Equipment details
Type, length, weight limits, and anything that opens or closes freight: liftgate, tarps, ramps, team capability.Insurance on file
A certificate of insurance listing the unit, so brokers can approve it the first time they see it.Driver contact
Name and phone for the person who drives it, and whether they approve their own loads.The rules card
Floor rate, home base, home time, places and brokers to avoid. We fill it in with you on the call.
UNIT 06
In-house dispatcher or outsourced desk: the cost per truck
A fleet of 5 trucks at $5,000 gross per truck per week, compared three ways.
| Option | Cost per truck / week | What it covers | When a truck sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| You dispatch | $350 | 10 of your hours at $35/h (your value, change it) | You still lose the hours |
| In-house dispatcher | $194+ | Median wage only; add payroll tax, benefits, a board seat, software | Salary is still due |
| Our desk at 4% | $200 | Search, negotiation, broker calls, check calls, claims, weekly reports, 24/7 | Nothing is billed |
EXAMPLE The in-house line uses the median dispatcher wage of $50,340Dispatcher median annual wage$50,340BLS OEWS, May 2025, Dispatchers except police, fire and ambulance (SOC 43-5032), national median. Wages only, before payroll taxes, benefits and overhead.BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 43-5032, 2025Checked Oct 2026 a year spread across 5 trucks. At lower gross or fewer trucks, a salaried dispatcher costs more per truck; at ten busy trucks, hiring can make sense, especially for a fleet with one dense lane. Put your own numbers into our cost per truck calculator before you decide.
Dispatch is one of several jobs that change hands as a fleet grows, along with safety files, maintenance and billing. Our truck fleet management playbook lays out which systems to have in place at three, five and ten trucks. When you're ready to add a unit, the guide to adding a truck to your fleet lists the insurance and paperwork that usually hold up its first load.
Cash is the other pressure point. Five trucks of fuel and payroll every week while brokers pay in 30 days or more is where many small fleets get squeezed. If that's you, the cash flow forecaster shows the week your balance runs lowest. Full fee details for dispatch are on our dispatch rates page.
UNIT 07
Questions fleet owners ask
01Who approves loads for my drivers' trucks?
You decide, truck by truck. Most owners approve every offer themselves. Some let an experienced driver approve loads for their own unit inside the rules you set. Either way, nothing is booked without a yes from your side, and the rate confirmation goes to your company's email.
02Do you talk to my drivers directly?
Yes, for the day-to-day: pickup times, check calls, delivery updates, BOL photos and problems on the road. Anything about money or which loads a truck takes comes back to you, unless you've told us a driver approves for their own unit.
03Do you send a report per truck?
Every Monday, one report per unit: loads, loaded and empty miles, all-in rate per mile, gross, detention claimed and the offers that were passed on. Side by side, they show which truck and which lane is pulling its weight.
04Can you dispatch owner-operators leased to my company?
Yes. Leased units on your authority count toward your roster and pay the same 4% fleet rate. We dispatch them within your lease terms, and how you settle with each operator stays between you and them.
05Do you work nights and weekends?
The desk runs 24/7. Trucks deliver on Saturday nights and reloads get booked on Sunday afternoons, so a desk that closes on Friday leaves money on the table for a fleet.
06Can I keep one truck on my own dispatch?
Yes. Put the units you want on our roster and keep dispatching the others yourself. Only the trucks we dispatch pay a fee, and with two or more of them on our roster, each pays 4%.
07What happens to the fee when I add a truck?
If you're running one truck at 5%, adding a second moves every unit to 4% from that day. From there, every truck you add pays 4%. A new MC under 6 months pays 7% until the step-down date, whatever the truck count.
Put your roster on our desk
Tell us how many trucks you run and what they haul. A dispatcher calls back, fills in the rules card for each unit with you, and brings the first offers for approval.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new