What a flat 12% actually pays for

Dispatch, compliance filings, permits, settlements, collections, and a phone answered at 2 AM. The whole list, and what is not on it.

Author: The LineHaul desk
Published: 14 Aug 2026
Updated: 14 Aug 2026
Read time: 6 min

In short

Twelve percent of linehaul, the same on every load. It pays for the desk that books the freight and handles the paperwork; it does not pay for anything attached to your truck.

The fee, and what it is a fee for

Twelve percent of linehaul. Not of the gross, not of the accessorials, and not a number that moves depending on how the week went. It is the same twelve on the first load and the four hundredth.

What it buys is a desk. Somebody books the freight, checks the broker, sends the rate confirmation, chases the paperwork, files what has to be filed, and answers the phone when a shipper holds you four hours. That is the whole product, and it is worth being specific about what is inside it rather than gesturing at 'back office'.

What is inside it

Booking and negotiation. Broker vetting before a load is accepted rather than after a problem. Rate confirmations read line by line: the detention terms and the lumper clause are the two that cost money quietly. Settlement paperwork, invoicing and collections. Filing the registrations and returns that fall to the carrier of record.

Also: somebody who knows which of your trailers is where, and does not offer you a lane you cannot physically make.

What is not inside it

Your truck payment, your fuel, your insurance, your maintenance, your tires and your tolls. Your medical certificate and your license are personal to you, and nobody can hold them for you.

We also do not factor your invoices at a markup, hold escrow we have not explained, or charge you for the privilege of being dispatched. If a deduction appears on a settlement that is not in the agreement you signed, that is a conversation to have on the first one rather than the tenth.

Why a flat number instead of a sliding one

A percentage that changes with the load is a percentage you have to audit. A flat one you can check with arithmetic you do in your head at a truck stop, which is the point. It also means we have no incentive to steer you toward a particular kind of freight. The fee is the same either way, so the only reason to recommend a load is that it is a good load.

The trade is that we do not discount it. There is no volume tier and no negotiated rate for a bigger fleet, because the moment there is, the number on the homepage stops being true.

What the fee coversStatus

Booking, negotiation and broker vetting before a load is acceptedCovered

Rate confirmations read line by lineCovered

Settlement paperwork, invoicing and collectionsCovered

Registrations and returns that fall to the carrier of recordCovered

Truck payment, fuel, insurance, maintenance, tires and tollsNot covered

Your medical certificate and your licenseNot covered

Our own fee schedule, current 19 Aug 2026. Not a rate quote.

Questions we get

Is the 12% taken from the gross or from linehaul?

Linehaul. Not the gross, and not the accessorials.

Does the percentage change with the load?

No. It is the same twelve on the first load and the four hundredth. A percentage that changes with the load is a percentage you have to audit.

Do you factor invoices or hold escrow?

No. We do not factor your invoices at a markup or hold escrow we have not explained. If a deduction shows up on a settlement that is not in the agreement you signed, raise it on the first one rather than the tenth.

The rule behind this

Your Truth-in-Leasing rights, in the words of the rule →In the resource library · last checked 15 Aug 2026