How to Choose a Truck Dispatch Service: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Choose a truck dispatch service by asking twelve questions before you sign: what the fee applies to, whether there is a contract, whether you approve every rate, who the broker pays, how many trucks each dispatcher handles, and what happens when you leave. A good service answers all twelve without hesitating. A bad one gets vague on the money questions.
Search for the best truck dispatch service and you get lists written by dispatch companies ranking themselves first. That is not useful. What is useful is a set of questions that any service, including us, should be able to answer plainly, and a clear idea of which answers should make you hang up.
The money questions
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1. Is your fee calculated on linehaul only, or on the total on the rate confirmation?
Fuel surcharge reimburses your fuel; it is not profit. A service charging on the total is taking a cut of your fuel money. The right answer is linehaul only, in writing.
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2. Do you charge on detention, layover or TONU that I collect?
You should not pay a percentage of money you earned by waiting. Good services exclude accessorials, or at most charge on accessorials they personally negotiated and recovered for you.
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3. Do you charge on loads from my own customers?
No, and it should be in the agreement. Your direct relationships predate the dispatcher and are not their work.
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4. Is there a setup fee, a minimum weekly fee, or a floor?
Setup fees of $100-$300 are common and negotiable. A minimum weekly fee turns a bad week into an expensive one. Know if either exists before you sign.
The control questions
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5. Do I approve every rate before you book?
The only acceptable answer is yes. A dispatcher who books without your sign-off has taken a decision that is yours and may have booked you under your floor to hit their own volume.
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6. Can I refuse a load without penalty?
Yes, any load, for any reason. If there is a penalty for refusing, the service is prioritising its fee over your truck.
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7. Who does the broker pay?
You or your factoring company, directly. If the dispatch service takes the payment into its own account and pays you a portion, it is acting as an unlicensed broker and you have no bond to claim against if it fails.
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8. Will you need to be on my insurance or hold any part of my authority?
No. A dispatcher works as your agent under your authority. Needing to be named on your insurance or to control your MC is a sign the arrangement is something other than dispatch.
The service questions
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9. How many trucks does each of your dispatchers handle?
This is the question that predicts pre-planning. One dispatcher across forty trucks cannot work anyone's reload while they drive; they can only react. Ask for the number and expect a straight answer.
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10. Who answers at 2am?
A named desk you can reach, an answering service, or nobody. Breakdowns and detentions do not keep business hours, and the difference between these three answers is the difference between a reset load and a lost day.
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11. What exactly is included beyond booking?
Carrier packets, broker setups, rate confirmations, BOLs and PODs, invoicing, factoring coordination, IFTA, 2290, UCR. Two 8% quotes can differ by hours of your time a week depending on what is bundled.
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12. What is the notice period, and what happens to in-transit loads if I leave?
Month to month with 14-30 days written notice is reasonable. They should be paid on loads already booked and delivered, and nothing beyond that. A six- or twelve-month term tells you the service does not expect to earn the renewal.
Red flags that end the conversation
- They will not put the fee basis in writing, or the agreement says "gross revenue" without defining it.
- The broker pays them, not you.
- They want onto your insurance or want control of your MC.
- They book loads without your approval.
- They promise a guaranteed rate per mile. Nobody controls the market; a guarantee means cheap freight to hit the number.
- The fee is unusually low. Dispatch at 3% is either volume-over-rate booking or a business that will not exist next year.
- They cannot or will not tell you the dispatcher-to-truck ratio.
- Testimonials with no names, no equipment and no states. Real carriers have all three.
How we answer the twelve
Fee on linehaul only, never on fuel surcharge or accessorials you earned. Your own customers excluded. No setup fee, no minimum. You approve every rate; refuse any load. Brokers pay you or your factoring company directly; we are never in the money. Nothing to do with your insurance or your authority. Dispatcher ratio stated before you sign. A 24/7 desk staffed by our own team. Packets, paperwork, invoicing and compliance included. Month to month, 14 days notice, paid only on loads already delivered.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single best service; there is the one that answers the twelve questions in this article correctly for your truck. Lists ranking "the best" are usually written by dispatch companies ranking themselves. Judge on fee basis, approval rights, payment flow, dispatcher ratio and exit terms instead.
Five to ten percent of gross linehaul is the normal range, or $400 to $800 per truck per week on a flat basis. More important than the number is what it applies to: linehaul only, never fuel surcharge or accessorials you collected yourself.
No. The broker should pay you or your factoring company directly. A dispatcher who collects the freight revenue and pays you a portion is functioning as a broker without a licence or bond, which leaves you unprotected if they fail.
No. Reputable services run month to month with 14 to 30 days written notice. A fixed six- or twelve-month term with a penalty to leave is a reason to look elsewhere; a service confident in its work does not need to lock you in.
Low enough that they can pre-plan your next load while you are under the current one. There is no single right number, but a service that will not tell you the ratio, or whose dispatchers each carry dozens of trucks, cannot plan anyone's freight.