What a dispatcher charges – and what you pay for

A dispatcher costs money, and that is fine: they sell time and negotiation. What is not fine is when the owner cannot explain what exactly they are paying for and learn the price of the service from an invoice at the end of the month.

Three ways of charging

• A percentage per load. The most common scheme: the dispatcher gets a share of the rate you actually received.

• A flat weekly fee. It doesn't depend on revenue, so it hits hardest in a weak week.

• Mixed: a small flat fee plus a percentage. Found at services that also handle paperwork.

Industry reviews put dispatch in the US at 5–10% of gross revenue, and up to 12% with full administration. That is a benchmark, not a tariff: the number depends on the number of trucks, the trailer type and how much work you hand over.

What amount the percentage is taken from

There is only one right answer: from the amount on the rate confirmation, that is, from what the broker paid for the load. Everything else is a reason to ask questions. A fee on detention, on TONU, on a fuel surcharge or on money you have not received yet turns a transparent percentage into an argument about who counted what.

What to ask before signing

What amount the percentage is taken from, when invoices are issued, what happens if you decline a load, whether there is a charge for broker setups and for leaving the contract. The answers should be in the contract text, not in a verbal promise.

What the dispatcher's work includes

• Planning the week and the loading order, not hunting for one load “right now”.
• Searching and booking on the major load boards.
• Negotiating the rate, detention and TONU.
• Vetting the broker: rating, payment terms, dispute history.
• Handling trip paperwork and tracking payment.
• Being available when something goes wrong: on site, on the road, during a delay.

What the dispatcher doesn't do

Bookkeeping and taxes, compliance and IFTA, setting up authority, insurance, factoring and truck repair are not a dispatcher's job, even if they help with advice. The boundary of the service should be written down: ours is listed on the Pricing page next to the fee.

Percentage or flat fee

A flat fee suits someone with steady, high revenue: the more you haul, the smaller the dispatcher's share. A percentage is safer where no two weeks are alike: in a weak week you pay less, and the dispatcher has a reason to look for loads rather than wait. A car hauler's revenue swings with the season and the auction calendar, which is why a percentage is more common here.

What should be in the contract

1. The rate and the calculation base: what amount the percentage comes from.
2. Invoice frequency and payment terms.
3. The right to decline a load without penalty.
4. Who agrees the rate with the broker and at what point.
5. How you part ways: notice period and no exit fee.
6. What happens to the paperwork for trips already closed.

Red flags

• The percentage is described as “about” and isn't written into the contract.
• The fee is taken from amounts you never saw.
• There is a penalty for declining a load.
• The dispatcher books a load without asking you.
• There is no contract at all, only a messenger thread.

The good sign is the opposite: the service itself offers you a trial before you pay. A week of work shows more than any price list – you see which loads come in, how negotiations are handled and whether anyone answers at seven on a Friday evening.