Carrier management is the day-to-day work of running a trucking company's business side: keeping driver and vehicle files current, making the federal and state filings on time, keeping the trucks maintained, booking freight, billing every load and collecting the money. It is everything that has to happen in the office so the truck can keep earning on the road.
In freight brokerage, "carrier management" can also mean how a broker vets and onboards the carriers it books. This article is about the trucking company side: managing your own carrier so it stays compliant, bookable and paid.
What is carrier management?
Carrier management means running the back office of a motor carrier. It covers compliance files, federal and state filings, insurance, maintenance records, dispatch, billing, collections and cash flow. Owner-operators often handle it themselves at first. Small fleets usually need a person, a system or a management company to keep it current.
Here is how it usually goes wrong. A one-truck carrier is running hard and doing well. The owner is driving six days a week. The biennial update slips past its month, an invoice sits in the cab for two weeks, and the annual inspection date goes by. None of that shows up on the road. It shows up when a broker can't book you, a payment doesn't come, or an auditor asks for a file you don't have. Most small trucking companies don't fail on the road. They fail in the office. We wrote about why in Licensed to Fail.
What does carrier management cover?
Carrier management covers five areas of a trucking company:
- Compliance files: driver qualification files, drug and alcohol testing, hours-of-service records and maintenance records
- Filings and registrations: the MCS-150 biennial update, UCR, IFTA, apportioned plates and insurance filings
- Fleet upkeep: preventive maintenance, annual inspections and repair records
- Freight and dispatch: freight research, load booking and broker checks
- Billing and cash flow: same-day invoicing, collections, factoring and quarterly records
When one area slips, the others feel it. A lapsed filing stops loads. Stopped loads stop cash. No cash means the maintenance gets pushed back. That is why we think of a trucking company as a circle where each step feeds the next, explained on our trucking company management page.
Which compliance files does a trucking company have to keep?
A motor carrier has to keep a driver qualification file for each driver, run a drug and alcohol testing program for CDL drivers, keep hours-of-service records for six months, and keep maintenance and inspection records for each truck. These are the files an FMCSA investigator asks for first.
In more detail:
- Driver qualification file for every driver you use, including the application, motor vehicle records, road test or CDL equivalent, and medical certificate (49 CFR 391.51). See our driver qualification file service.
- Drug and alcohol testing for CDL drivers, including a pre-employment Clearinghouse query and a query on each CDL driver at least once a year (49 CFR Part 382 and 382.701). See our drug and alcohol testing program page.
- Hours-of-service records, kept for six months with their supporting documents (49 CFR 395.8).
- Maintenance records for each vehicle you control, with a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months (49 CFR 396.3 and 396.17). We explain why these files matter in FMCSA Can Demand Your Maintenance Files.
New carriers also face the new entrant safety audit in their first months. The files above are what that audit checks.
Which filings come due, and when?
The main recurring filings are the MCS-150 biennial update every 24 months, UCR registration every year, IFTA fuel tax returns every quarter, and apportioned plate renewals every year. Insurance has to stay in force with the required filings on record at FMCSA.
- MCS-150 biennial update: due every 24 months, even if nothing changed. The last digit of your USDOT number sets the month, and the next-to-last digit sets odd or even years. Missing it can get your USDOT number deactivated (FMCSA Biennial Update).
- UCR: renewed every year. See UCR Registration.
- IFTA: quarterly fuel tax returns built from your miles and fuel by state. See IFTA Fuel Tax Info.
- Insurance: liability coverage at the federal minimum or higher, kept in force with no gaps (49 CFR 387.9). See owner-operator insurance cost.
Put every due date on one calendar with a reminder 30 days ahead. Most lapses happen because nobody owned the date.
How does carrier management keep cash moving?
Cash moves when every load is billed the day it delivers, with the rate confirmation, signed bill of lading and proof of delivery attached, and every invoice is followed until it is paid. Detention and lumper charges get paid when they are written down and documented the way the broker asks.
A good routine for each load:
- Check the rate confirmation before booking: rate, appointment times, detention terms and payment terms. See the Rate Con Ready method.
- Collect the signed bill of lading at the dock, not days later.
- Invoice the same day, or send the paperwork to your factoring company. See Partnering With a Factoring Company.
- Track every open invoice and follow up on anything late.
- Note slow payers so you can decide whether to haul for them again.
If a broker won't pay for a load you delivered, FreightBrokerComplaint.com reviews carrier complaints for free.
What does a carrier management routine look like?
A simple routine runs on four clocks: every load, every week, every quarter and every year. Each item gets an owner and a due date, so nothing depends on memory.
Every load: rate confirmation checked, paperwork collected, invoice sent.
Every week: open invoices reviewed, driver logs checked against fuel and toll receipts, driver vehicle inspection reports reviewed and defects repaired, next week's freight planned.
Every quarter: IFTA return filed, preventive maintenance reviewed truck by truck, lanes reviewed for what they really paid round trip.
Every year: UCR renewed, annual inspections done, Clearinghouse annual queries run, motor vehicle records reviewed for each driver, insurance renewed, MCS-150 filed in your assigned year.
Should I manage my trucking company myself or hire help?
A one-truck owner-operator can manage the business alone with a written routine and a few hours a week. Help makes sense when invoices go out late, filings slip, the truck sits between loads, or you add drivers and the files start piling up.
Be honest about the signs. If you have ever found out about a lapsed filing from a broker, held paperwork in the cab for more than a few days, or couldn't say what a lane paid round trip, the office side of your company needs more time than it is getting. A mock audit is a good way to see where the gaps are before an investigator does.
What should I ask a carrier management company?
Ask whether your authority, your accounts and your decisions stay yours, whether you can see every load and every file, what the fee covers, and how you leave. A management company should work for your carrier, not take it over.
Good questions to start with:
- Do loads stay booked in my company's name, and do I see every rate confirmation?
- Will I have access to my files, filings and invoices at any time?
- Who owns each due date, and how will I know it was met?
- What exactly does the fee cover, and what costs extra?
- How do I end the agreement, and how do I get my records back?
How does LFS handle carrier management?
LFS has run the back office for small trucking companies for more than 20 years. Our trucking company management services cover back office and billing, dispatch, freight research, fleet management and DOT compliance. Your company stays under your own authority, and you see everything we do.
If you are still building the company, start with How to Start a Trucking Company With One Truck. If you want to learn the office side yourself, Freight University teaches it. If a dispute needs a lawyer, the National Transportation Attorney Network lists transportation attorneys by state.
Sources
- eCFR: 49 CFR 391.51, Driver qualification files
- eCFR: 49 CFR Part 382, Controlled substances and alcohol use and testing
- FMCSA Clearinghouse: annual query requirement
- eCFR: 49 CFR 395.8, Driver's record of duty status
- eCFR: 49 CFR 396.3, Inspection, repair and maintenance
- eCFR: 49 CFR 396.17, Periodic inspection
- eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels
- FMCSA: Biennial Update
Questions and answers
What is carrier management in trucking?
Carrier management is running a trucking company's business side: driver and vehicle files, federal and state filings, insurance, maintenance, dispatch, billing and collections. It is the office work that keeps a carrier compliant, bookable and paid while the trucks are on the road.
What files does a small trucking company have to keep?
A driver qualification file for each driver, a drug and alcohol testing program for CDL drivers with Clearinghouse queries, hours-of-service records for six months, and inspection, repair and maintenance records for each truck, including an annual inspection.
How often is the MCS-150 due?
Every 24 months, even if nothing changed. The last digit of your USDOT number sets the month and the next-to-last digit sets odd or even years. Missing the update can get your USDOT number deactivated, so confirm your date with FMCSA.
Can an owner-operator do carrier management alone?
Yes, with a written routine and a few hours a week. Help makes sense when invoices go out late, filings slip, the truck sits between loads, or adding drivers makes the files hard to keep current.
What should a carrier management company not control?
Your authority, your accounts and your decisions should stay yours. You should see every load, rate confirmation, file and invoice, and be able to leave and take your records with you.
Logistical Forwarding Solutions. A carrier-first company.
