Truckers are getting record payments for hauling freight these days. Because the transportation industry is in high demand and the supply of truckers is low, owner-operators are seeing big pay days. But at the same time, truckers are seeing a lot of slow loading or unloading of freight, leading to spending extra hours in limbo. Drivers are supposed to be paid detention fees when the loading dock doesn’t get the trailer done in a timely fashion. But many times, shippers refuse to pay, claiming that the truckers don’t have any proof of how long they’ve been waiting.
Now we do.
Your ELD Proves It
When a trucker pulls into a loading dock, they can record the time on their electronic logging device (ELD) as “on duty, not driving.” They can note their location in the records by taking a screenshot of the ELD screen. Then before they leave, they take another screenshot when the driver pulls out, they change their status to driving shows the time they left the loading dock.
That shows how long a trucker was waiting.
Too often we’re not getting paid what we should when the shipping crew isn’t doing their job.
Why Use Your TruckingOffice ELD to Get Your Detention Pay
Too often, a shipper will claim that they will not pay detention fees because they say the trucker wasn’t there too long or past a reasonable period of time. Shipping departments don’t want to admit that they’re behind. Their managers don’t want to report that their department isn’t doing their work.
Do shipping departments have a budget to pay detention pay? (Probably not.)
In this current employment situation, many shipping departments are running on a skeleton crew. Getting behind will happen.
You need to be able to prove the time you and your rig were stuck. Plus, you need to do it in a way that they can’t claim that you’re not telling the truth.
The best way to do that is to use an independent ELD service report.
When a trucker has an independent record, they have proof of how long the trucker was detained. A complete report – with timely reports of when the truck arrived in the shipping yard and when it left.
TruckingOffice ELD will provide you with the documentation you need. When you use it with TruckingOffice trucking management software, it’s simple to add the charge to the invoice and attach a copy of the ELD report, just like you attach the BOL.
Don’t Forget to Include It
You’re not going to get detention pay if you don’t ask for it. Don’t expect them to pay it without putting it on your invoice.
Just like every other additional charge you need to put on an invoice, add your detention charges.
How are you keeping track of all the details that should go on your invoices? Keeping track of the details is the only way to make it in the trucking industry. Owner-operators are business owners. Businesses live and die on the bottom line.
It doesn’t matter how much you love the trucking life. You have to manage
- truck maintenance
- invoices and accounting
- taxes, including IFTA and IRP
- driver records.
That’s a lot to keep track of if you don’t have a good system. That’s why truckers who want to make a profit use TruckingOffice trucking management software (TMS). It’s the solution to tracking all the details that you need and keeping it simple.
There are plenty of trucking management software packages out there. But by putting the TMS together with the ELD, you’re consolidating the data. You don’t have to worry about reconciling your records – your system will keep accurate numbers for your IFTA tax filing. In fact, you’ll be happy to find out that TruckingOffice TMS will produce a report on demand for your IFTA filing. It will reduce the amount of time you have to spend on the quarterly tax to mere minutes. You can do it on the road from your cab, while you’re waiting for your load. All you need is wifi or data on your smartphone.
The best TMS will let you have access to your data on demand, wherever you are. Some people will try to put together everything they need on Google sheets, docs, and forms. That’s a lot of work, starting from scratch. Using a software that lets you get on the road and drive instead of stuck behind a desk makes sense. Where do you make money? On the road, of course. So use the tools you have access to in TruckingOffice TMS + ELD.
Try us out and discover how much better your trucking business can run. We’ll give you a free trial to take out for a spin and find out how TMS + ELD works for you.
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