A fleet dispatcher for the owner who became the office
Somewhere between truck two and truck six, you stopped driving a business and started drowning in one: five load boards, nine broker calls, three driver texts an hour, and the compliance calendar nobody is watching. We take the load desk at 4% per truck. You take back the part only an owner can do.
The compliance calendar that fires owners
Freight misses cost you a load; compliance misses can park the whole fleet. These are the recurring items every small fleet carries. Mark who owns what: the filings are always yours by law, our desk reminds and keeps the freight side from eating the time they need.
MCS-150 biennial update
YOURS BY LAWEvery 24 months, on your USDOT number's schedule
FMCSA: updating your registration
49 CFR 390.19TUCR registration
YOURS BY LAWAnnual, opens each fall for the next year
49 U.S.C. 14504aIFTA fuel tax returns
YOURS BY LAWQuarterly: due end of April, July, October, January
Periodic (annual) inspections
YOURS BY LAWEvery vehicle, every 12 months
49 CFR 396.17Driver qualification files
YOURS BY LAWPer driver, kept current continuously
49 CFR 391.51Random testing pool + Clearinghouse queries (CDL)
YOURS BY LAWPool runs all year; annual query per driver
49 CFR 382.305, 382.701Insurance renewals and COI refresh
WE REMINDPer policy; brokers notice expiry before you do
Fleet insurance guide
Yours by law: Yours by law. No dispatcher can file it for you, and anyone who offers to "handle DOT compliance" for a fee deserves a second look.
We remind: We watch the date because a stale COI stalls tenders; your agent does the paperwork.
Checked October 2026 against the linked sources. Deadlines move; the links win over this page, always. Two habits save most small fleets: put every date on one calendar the day you read this, and never pay an unsolicited caller to fix a filing you can check yourself on the official site in two minutes. The MCS-150 and UCR guides walk the two most-missed items step by step.
How a 5-truck week runs on one desk
Fleet dispatch is not five owner-operator plans stapled together. The math changes when trucks can cover for each other:
01Truck-by-truck planning, fleet-level math
Each truck gets its own lane plan and floor, but reloads chain across units: the van that lands in Atlanta Tuesday feeds the lane the reefer leaves empty Wednesday. Deadhead shrinks when the planner can see the whole board.
02One thread per driver
Your drivers get their loads, check calls and directions from the desk, so your phone stops being the switchboard. You set the rules of engagement: some owners want copied on everything, some want Fridays only.
03The weekly fleet report
One sheet, every truck: loads, gross, fee, detention claimed, empty miles. Trucks compare against each other, which is how you catch the lane that quietly stopped paying.
04Growth without re-plumbing
Truck six onboards like truck two did: documents in, packets out, on the board by the end of the week. The 4% per-truck rate does not renegotiate every time your fleet changes size, and nothing about your deal reopens when a truck sits in the shop.
05Every load still confirmed on your side
Fleet scale does not change the rule: rate cons go to your company, and booking authority sits where you put it, with you or with the drivers you designate. The desk proposes; your side disposes.
The rate for fleets of 2 or more is 4% of gross per truck, every truck, every equipment type we dispatch. No setup fee per truck, no minimums, month to month with 30 days notice, no haul no pay. The full price list is on the fees page.
Cash flow tightens fast when five trucks fuel before any broker pays. Small fleet factoring covers how fleets keep the float breathing; we refer carriers to our factoring partner and may be paid for referrals.
What actually changes at each size
The problems are not linear. Each size class has its own failure mode, and the desk plans around it:
The snag You still drive, so dispatch happens at night. The business runs on your sleep.
On the desk The desk takes the boards and the broker calls; you get load offers and a Friday report instead of a second shift.
The snag You stopped driving but became the switchboard: every driver, broker and breakdown routes through your phone.
On the desk Driver-direct communication with your rules, reloads chained across trucks, exceptions escalated to you instead of everything.
The snag Compliance weight gets real: driver files, random pool percentages, inspections per unit, insurance schedules.
On the desk The freight side runs without you on it, which is the only way the calendar above gets owned instead of survived.
The week truck 3 went down
EXAMPLE, for illustrationTuesday morning, truck 3 drops a wheel bearing, three loads on its board for the week. On a self-run fleet that is three apology calls and two relationships burned. On the desk it went like this: the Wednesday load shifted to truck 1, whose reload was renegotiated 60 miles over; the Thursday load was covered by moving truck 4's light day; the Friday load was turned back to the broker same-hour with enough notice to cost nothing but the revenue. Truck 3 came back Monday to a full board. The point is not heroics; it is that a planner holding all five boards can trade between them, and an owner holding a wrench cannot.
Q-01Do you manage my compliance filings?
No, and be wary of anyone who says yes. Filings like the MCS-150, UCR and IFTA are the carrier's by law, filed under your own logins. What we do is watch the calendar with you, remind before dates bite, and keep the freight side off your desk so the filings get the attention they need.
Q-02Do you send fleet reports?
Every Friday: one report covering every truck, with loads, gross, fees, detention claimed and empty miles, line by line. It is built to be compared truck against truck and week against week, because that comparison is where small fleet problems show up first.
Q-03How much does outsourced fleet dispatch cost?
With us, 4% of gross per truck for fleets of 2 or more trucks, any equipment we dispatch. No setup fee, no monthly minimums, month to month with 30 days notice, and the fee applies only to loads hauled. Industry-wide you will see 8 to 12% quoted for similar work.
Q-04What happens when I add a truck?
Send the truck and driver details, we verify the insurance update, packets go out, and the truck is typically working the same week. The rate stays 4% per truck; nothing about your deal reopens because you grew. Dropping to one truck moves you to the single-truck rates.
Q-05Do you talk to my drivers directly?
Yes, if you want it that way: loads, check calls and directions go driver-direct, with you copied as much or as little as you choose. Some owners route everything through themselves; that works too, it just keeps your phone in the loop you were trying to escape.
Q-06Can I keep one truck on my own dispatch?
Yes. Some owners keep their own truck self-dispatched and put the rest on the desk; the 4% fleet rate applies to the trucks we dispatch, and the weekly report covers those. Fair warning: the self-dispatched truck usually joins within a quarter once the reports make the comparison visible.
Run the fleet. Stop being the switchboard.
4% per truck, one weekly report, drivers handled, every load still confirmed by your side. About 2 minutes to apply.