Straight answers to the questions carriers ask.

Look up its MC or USDOT number on FMCSA's website and confirm the broker authority is active and the name, address and phone match who you are dealing with. Check its credit and average days to pay with a credit service or your factoring company, read what other carriers report, and confirm its broker bond or trust fund is on file. Then read the rate confirmation's terms before you sign, not after the truck moves.

Double brokering is when a load is passed to another carrier without the shipper's or the original broker's permission, often by someone posing as a real broker or carrier, and the carrier who hauls it can end up unpaid. Book only with brokers you have checked, call back on a number you found yourself, such as the one on the broker's own website, rather than one given in an email or text, and check that email addresses use the company's real domain. Be wary of a rate far above the going rate that comes with pressure to move fast.

That the rate, pickup and delivery addresses, appointment times, commodity, weight and equipment match what you agreed. Then the terms that cost money later: detention and layover pay, truck order not used (TONU), lumper reimbursement, tracking requirements and fines, payment terms and the cargo liability limit. If something you agreed is missing, ask for a corrected confirmation before the truck moves.

The set of documents a broker needs before it will give you a load. Usually that is your MC and USDOT numbers, a W-9, a certificate of insurance listing the broker as certificate holder, a signed broker-carrier agreement and your payment details, plus a notice of assignment if you use a factoring company. Read the agreement before you sign, because its payment and claims terms apply to every load you haul for that broker, and make sure each broker gets your new certificate when your insurance renews.

Highway is one of the platforms brokers use to onboard carriers and check their identity, in place of an emailed carrier packet. You build a profile with your authority, insurance, W-9, contacts and payment details, and the platform verifies that you really are the carrier you say you are, which is what the broker wants to know before booking you. Keep the profile current: when your insurance, bank account, phone or email changes, update it right away, because a mismatch can hold up loads and payments. Never share a login or a one-time code with anyone who calls or texts asking for it.

With your own authority you choose your loads and are paid the full rate, but you carry the insurance, the compliance work and every broker setup yourself. Leasing onto a carrier trades part of the pay for the carrier's authority, insurance and often its freight. Which suits you depends on your cash, your credit and how much of the back office you want to run, so read any lease agreement closely and have a professional check it before you sign.

Tell the broker as soon as you know, before the appointment, with the reason and a realistic new time, and ask them to reschedule with the receiver. Get the new appointment in writing. Keep a record of what happened and when (check-in and check-out at the shipper, a breakdown, weather, a closed road), because any late fee or deduction gets argued over that record. If the delay started with a long wait at the shipper, that wait may be detention, and an overnight hold may be layover: claim them under the rate confirmation's terms.

Detention is pay for time the truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time on the rate confirmation, usually two hours. The clock runs from check-in, not arrival, so get the check-in and check-out times in writing, on the bill of lading if the facility will sign them. The rate is set by each broker and varies; around $50 an hour is a common average, but the rate confirmation decides. Claim it in writing inside the window the rate confirmation gives.

Layover is pay for a day the truck is held, usually overnight, when the load is not ready or the receiver cannot unload you, through no fault of the driver. Whether it is paid and how much depends on the rate confirmation or what the broker agrees, so get it in writing before the truck sits, and keep the times on record as you would for detention.

A lumper is a worker or service that unloads the trailer at some warehouses, and the fee is usually paid at the dock. The broker or shipper normally covers it, but only if you get approval before paying, pay the way they tell you (often with a payment code they send) and keep the receipt for your invoice. No receipt usually means no reimbursement.

Truck order not used: a payment some brokers make when a load is canceled after your truck was dispatched for it or reached the shipper. It is owed only if the rate confirmation includes it or the broker agrees, so get the amount and the cancellation in writing at the time.

Shippers want to see where their freight is without calling the driver, and tracking helps brokers confirm the truck on the load is the one they booked, so many require it on every load. It usually runs through an app on the driver's phone or a connection to your ELD. Read what the rate confirmation says happens if tracking drops, because some brokers charge a fine or deduct pay. Share location for the load only, and stop sharing once it delivers.

Expect different apps for different brokers, and install each one only when a load needs it. Allow the location access it asks for, often set to Always, and turn off battery saving for that app, or tracking can stop when the screen locks. Keep the phone charged and mounted, start tracking before pickup, and end it once the load delivers. Where a broker accepts it, connecting your ELD can save the driver juggling apps.

We do far more than that. Load sourcing is one of eight responsibilities. The other seven, from broker checks and billing to breakdowns, and help with claims and renewal dates, are what stop a good load from becoming a bad week.

In several places at once: our own relationships in freight, brokers whose authority, credit and days to pay we check before we book, load boards such as DAT and 123Loadboard, other spot-market boards, the load portals some brokers such as TQL run for carriers, and the other platforms carriers use every day. We search them side by side for your lanes, so a quiet day on one source is not the end of the search. Wherever a load comes from, we check who is paying for it and price it before the truck moves.

Owner-operators under their own authority, small fleets and larger fleets, with leased or owned equipment. A larger fleet with its own dispatch office can choose the parts it wants from us, such as dispatch and billing, or help with claims and renewal dates.

Dry van, reefer and power-only to start. Other equipment is considered case by case.

Contact us directly by email, WhatsApp or a call.

Yes. Dispatch runs 24/7 for our clients, within the agreed scope. Nights, weekends and disruptions are when the job actually happens.

Yes. Credit, average days to pay and communication history are checked before a rate is treated as attractive. A strong rate from a slow payer is not a good load.

Start with a question on WhatsApp, by call or by email, or book a demo.

No. It is general operational guidance for U.S. carriers. When a question needs an attorney, an adjuster or a CPA we say so, and still give you the operational half.

Yes, as help and guidance. After an accident, we guide the driver through the scene checklist and you through the notice to your insurer, and we help you chase short pays and chargebacks with the proof. The outcome of any claim is not guaranteed. We also help you keep track of renewal dates for insurance, permits and driver files and guide you on what each renewal needs. Staying compliant remains your responsibility.