LoadHoller
POST 01 / HOW IT WORKS

How truck dispatch works, from your first posting to your first payday

Signing up with a dispatcher shouldn't feel like signing your truck away. Here's exactly how truck dispatch works on our desk: what you do, what we do, and the one rule that never changes. Every load comes to you before it's booked, and the rate confirmation goes straight to you.

Below is a hypothetical carrier's first two weeks, step by step. The carrier and the loads are made up. The steps are the real ones.

Start my setup
  • About 2 minutes to apply
  • No setup fee
  • You approve every load
  • Month-to-month
POST 02 / A HYPOTHETICAL FIRST TWO WEEKS

First posting to first payday: eight steps

Meet a hypothetical carrier: one dry van, authority a year old, home base outside Dallas, home every weekend. Nothing here is a real result. It's the path, laid out card by card, with what the carrier does and what we do at each step.

  • 1. APPLY

    Carrier: fills out the three-step application in about two minutes. Us: read it and pick a time to call that matches the one chosen on the form.

  • 2. THE CALL

    Carrier: talks truck, trailer, lanes, home time and documents. Us: explain the fee in writing and answer every question before anything is signed.

  • 3. FLOOR AND LANES

    Carrier: sets a floor rate and the lanes to run or avoid. Us: write the rules down so every dispatcher on the desk works from the same card.

  • 4. BROKER PACKETS

    Carrier: sends MC, W-9, COI and NOA if factoring. A CDL carrier confirms the drug and alcohol testing program is in place. Us: fill out packets with brokers.

  • EXAMPLE

    5. FIRST COUNTER

    Carrier: drives, sleeps, waits. Us: find a posting that fits, check the broker, counter above the floor. EXAMPLE: posted $1,500, countered to $1,700.

  • 6. RATE CON

    Carrier: gets the lane, rate, stops and terms, says yes, then receives the rate con from the broker and signs it. Us: confirm pickup details and start on the reload.

  • 7. DELIVERY

    Carrier: picks up, delivers, gets the BOL signed. Us: handle check calls and delivery updates, and file detention if the shipper held the truck past free time.

  • 8. PAYDAY

    Carrier: invoices the broker with the rate con and signed BOL, or sends them to a factoring company. Us: list the load on the weekly report with gross and fee.

A note on step 4. If your truck requires a CDL, you need a pre-employment drug test, a place in a random testing pool and FMCSA Clearinghouse registration before your first load, and many owner-operators get those through a consortium. You can join a DOT consortium through our partner. We may earn a referral fee if you sign up through that link, and it doesn't change your price. Non-CDL trucks aren't under these rules.

How long all eight steps take depends mostly on paperwork. A carrier with documents ready and an insurance agent who answers the phone moves fast. A brand-new authority usually takes longer, because fewer brokers say yes at first. Our page on dispatch for a new authority covers that path.

POST 03 / HOW WE PICK AND COUNTER

How we pick a load and counter it

Every load starts from the rules on your card: your floor rate, your lanes, your home date and anything you won't haul. A posting that breaks one of them never reaches you.

Then we read the posting the way a careful carrier would. We work out the all-in rate per mile with the empty miles to the pickup counted. We look at where the load leaves you and what reloads from there. We check appointment times and whether the shipper is known to hold trucks.

Before we call, we check the broker: operating authority and registration on FMCSA's public records, contact details that match the registration, payment terms, and the usual double-brokering warning signs. If something doesn't line up, we move on.

Then we counter, starting above your floor, not from the posted number. When the broker meets a rate that works, the load goes to you with everything we learned. You say yes or no. Try it on the card to see the order of things. Our guide on how dispatchers find loads goes deeper into the search side.

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POST 04 / WHAT WE NEVER ASK FOR

Things a real dispatcher never needs from you

Fake dispatchers and scammers count on carriers not knowing what's normal. Here's what we will never ask for. If anyone claiming to be us asks for one of these, hang up and call the number on this site.

  • Money up front. No setup fee, no deposit, no "activation" charge. You pay a percentage of loads you've hauled, nothing before.
  • Your FMCSA portal login. Your authority is yours. We never need your USDOT account credentials to dispatch you.
  • Your bank login or freight payments. Brokers pay you or your factoring company. Your freight money never runs through us.
  • Your signature on a rate con we filled in. The broker sends the rate confirmation to you. You read it and sign it yourself.
  • A fee to a broker. Real brokers don't charge carriers to book a load. Neither do we, and we walk away from brokers who try.

What we do need is ordinary paperwork: your MC and DOT numbers, a W-9, your certificate of insurance and, if you factor, your notice of assignment. Our guide to the rate confirmation explains what to check on every rate con before you sign it.

POST 05 / THE FEE, BRIEFLY

What it costs once you're set up

5% of the gross on loads you haul for one truck with authority 6 months or older. 7% for an MC under 6 months, 26 ft box trucks and hotshots. 4% for two or more trucks while the fleet rate lasts. No setup fee, no minimum, month-to-month, 30 days notice to cancel. The fee breakdown shows the math in cents per mile.

If you factor, or want to, we set your packets up with your notice of assignment so brokers pay the factoring company. Dispatch and factoring together explains how the two fit.

POST 06 / THE FIRST CALL

What the first call covers

The first call is where the rules get set, so it's worth a few minutes of prep. Here's what we'll go through, in roughly this order.

  • Your truck. Equipment, trailer length, weight limits, any endorsements. Box trucks need to be 26 ft or longer for us to dispatch them.
  • Your authority. MC and DOT, how long you've had it, your insurance limits and whether you factor.
  • Your lanes. Where you like to run, where you won't go, and where home is.
  • Your home time. How long you want to stay out and which days you need to be home.
  • Your floor rate. The lowest all-in rate per mile you'll run, empty miles counted. If you're not sure, we'll work it out with you from your costs.
  • Your contact rules. Phone or text, quiet hours, and who approves loads if you run more than one truck.
  • The fee and the agreement. Your tier, how billing works, and the 30 days notice to cancel, all in writing before your first load.

Bring your numbers if you have them: what the truck costs you per month, your fuel mileage and your insurance. If you don't know your cost per mile yet, that's common, and it's the first thing worth knowing whether you use a dispatcher or not.

POST 07 / AFTER WEEK ONE

What carries on after the first loads

Once the first loads are running, the routine settles. We search and counter, you approve or decline, the broker sends you the rate con, we handle check calls and claims, and you get a weekly report with every load, its gross, our fee and your empty miles.

Your rules aren't set in stone. Change your floor rate when your costs change, add a lane when you want to try a new region, or tell us you're taking two weeks off. One call or text and the card is updated. If you ever want to stop, give 30 days notice. There's no penalty and nothing to buy back.

POST 08 / STRAIGHT ANSWERS

Dispatch onboarding questions

How do you check a broker before booking?
We look up the broker's operating authority and registration on FMCSA's public records, check that their contact details match that registration, read the payment terms and watch for double-brokering signs like mismatched email domains or pressure to move fast. If anything fails, the load doesn't reach you.
Do I approve every load?
Yes, every one. We send you the lane, miles, rate, stops, appointment times and terms. You say yes or no. Saying no costs nothing. Saying yes means the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you to read and sign. Nothing is booked on your truck without your yes.
What is a rate confirmation?
It's the agreement between your company and the broker for one load: the rate, the pickup and delivery details, accessorial terms like detention, and the payment terms. The broker sends it to you, and you sign it. Read every rate con before you sign, even when a dispatcher negotiated it.
How do dispatchers get paid?
We're paid a percentage of the gross on loads you haul: 5% standard, 7% for new authorities, box trucks and hotshots, 4% for fleets. The fee is billed on the schedule in your dispatch agreement. We never take money from the broker or out of your freight payment.
How do I talk to my dispatcher?
By phone and text, with whichever you prefer set on the first call. Loads come to you with all the details in writing so you can read them when it's safe, and you reply yes or no. The desk is staffed nights and weekends, so there's someone to answer when freight moves.
Who handles check calls?
We do. Brokers want updates at pickup, in transit and at delivery, and those calls come to our desk instead of your phone while you're driving. We'll only reach you when we need something from you, like a delay, a changed appointment or a signed document.
What paperwork does a dispatcher need?
Your MC and DOT numbers, a W-9, your certificate of insurance, truck and trailer details, and your notice of assignment if you factor. CDL carriers should also have their drug and alcohol testing program in place. We use these to fill out carrier packets with brokers.
Who sends invoices to brokers?
You or your factoring company send the invoice, with the rate con and the signed bill of lading. Your freight money goes from the broker to you or your factor, never through us. We'll tell you what each broker needs on the paperwork so payments don't stall.

Ready for step one?

You say yes or no to every load. The rate con comes to you. No setup fee. Month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.