A fleet dispatcher for 2 to 10 trucks, without hiring one
- 4% per truckof gross, on loads hauled
- Mixed equipmentone desk, one weekly report
- Your approvalowner or named driver says yes
Sound familiar?
Signs you've outgrown dispatching your own fleet
Most small fleets start with the owner driving one truck and dispatching the rest from the cab. It works until it doesn't. If three or more of these sound like your week, the desk is costing you more than you think.
You book loads at 70 mph
Calling brokers while you drive, or pulling over every hour to answer a driver. Neither is safe, and neither gets the best rate.Detention goes unclaimed
Nobody has time to log times and chase claims for three trucks, so the money just disappears.Trucks wait for loads
One truck delivers Tuesday afternoon and sits until Wednesday because you were busy with the other two.Home time keeps slipping
Drivers' weekends get traded for loads you found at the last minute, and they notice.Paperwork piles up on Sunday
Invoices, PODs and settlements for every truck, done at night after a full week.You don't know which truck earns
No clean weekly numbers per truck, so the lane or broker losing money stays hidden.
Outsourced truck dispatch
In-house dispatcher or an outsourced desk?
Both can work. A small fleet dispatch service and a staff dispatcher solve the same problem in different ways, and the right one depends on how many trucks you run and how steady your freight is. Here is the honest comparison.
| What matters | In-house dispatcher | LaneHarvest desk |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Salary plus payroll costs, every week | 4% of gross, only on loads hauled |
| Hours covered | Usually one shift | Nights and weekends included |
| Sick days and vacation | Someone has to cover, often you | The desk keeps running |
| Broker network | Whoever they already know | Shared contacts across many lanes |
| If they quit | Hiring and training again | No gap in coverage |
| Control | Full, in your office | Full: you approve loads, rate cons come to you |
When does in-house win? Usually once a fleet is big enough to keep a dispatcher busy every hour of a shift, or when you run a dedicated contract that needs someone on site. Below that, paying a salary for idle hours is hard to justify. Many fleets start outsourced and hire in-house later, and we'll tell you when we think you've reached that point.
Your fleet board
Add your trucks and see the numbers
Add each truck with its equipment, weekly gross and home-time rule. The board shows an EXAMPLE week per truck, totals your fleet at the 4% rate, and compares it with an in-house dispatcher paid the average for truck transportation dispatchers, plus the overhead you set. Change the weeks worked to match how your fleet really runs.
- Fleet gross / wk
- $17,000
- Our fee / year
- $32,640
- 48 weeks
- In-house dispatcher
- $64,812
- salary + 20% overhead
- Difference / year
- $32,172
- outsourcing costs less
Salary: BLS OEWS, Dispatchers (43-5032), Truck Transportation industry mean annual wage, $54,010 (May 2023 data, checked October 2026). An in-house dispatcher usually works one shift; nights, weekends, vacations and sick days still need cover. Trucks: Dry van, Reefer, 26 ft box.
Source: BLS OEWS, Dispatchers (43-5032), Truck Transportation industry mean annual wage, May 2023 data, checked October 2026
Read the last two numbers together. The in-house figure is a full-year salary plus the overhead you entered, paid whether trucks run or not. Our figure is the fleet percentage on the gross you entered, for the weeks you said you work. If your trucks gross a lot and run every week, the gap shrinks, and past a certain size a staff dispatcher makes sense. The board will show that too.
Getting started
Setting up a fleet on the desk
Setup for a fleet is the same as for one truck, done once per truck. Most fleets are fully set up within a few days, depending on paperwork and broker approvals.
- 1
One call with the owner
Your company rules: who approves loads, brokers to avoid, how you want to be contacted, and when you want the weekly report. - 2
A profile per truck
Equipment, driver, home base, lanes, floor rate and home-time rule for each truck, written down and agreed. - 3
Packets and paperwork
One carrier packet for your MC goes to brokers, with insurance and notice of assignment if you factor. - 4
Trucks start rolling
Load offers go to whoever approves for each truck. Each yes brings a rate con to your company email.
Control
Who approves loads in your fleet: you decide
Fleets run differently. Some owners want to see every load. Others trust their drivers to choose. Pick a setup per truck, and change it whenever you like.
Owner approves
Every load offer comes to you first with the full details. You say yes or no, then we brief the driver. Best for owners who want tight control over rates and brokers, or who are training a newer driver.
Driver approves, owner sees all
A trusted driver says yes or no for their own truck inside the rules you set: floor rate, lanes, freight and brokers. You see every load in the weekly report and can step in any time.
In both setups the broker emails the rate confirmation to your company, not to us, and your weekly report breaks out each truck: loads, gross, loaded and empty miles, rate per mile, claims filed and fee. Comparing trucks side by side is often where owners spot the lane or the broker that's quietly costing them money.
Fleet dispatcher checklist
What to ask any fleet dispatcher before you sign
Whether you hire in-house or outsource, these questions separate a dispatcher who runs your fleet from one who just fills trucks. Tap each to see what a good answer sounds like.
Fleet dispatcher check
1/6 CHECKED
Good answer: you, or a driver you named, every time. No load booked without that yes.
Good answer: to your company, straight from the broker, so you always see the real rate.
Good answer: a separate profile per truck, with lanes and rates set for that rig.
Good answer: planned from the start of each run, with early warning when a plan breaks.
Good answer: weekly, split by truck, with gross, miles, rate per mile, claims and fee.
Good answer: a live desk, so drivers don't end up calling you at midnight.
Mixed equipment, one desk
A reefer, a flatbed and a 26 ft box truck on one plan
Each rig on its own profile
Every truck gets its own lanes, floor rate and freight rules. The box truck never sees a flatbed load, and the reefer isn't sent to a dry-only dock.Trucks that help each other
When two trucks end up in the same region, we look for loads that set both up for good reloads instead of competing for the same freight.One report, split by truck
One weekly report for the whole fleet, broken out truck by truck, so you can see which equipment and which lanes earn their keep.
Fleet pricing doesn't care about the mix. Every truck in a fleet of two or more pays 4%, including 26 ft box trucks and hotshots that pay 7% on their own.
Keeping drivers
Steady miles and planned home time keep drivers in the seat
Driver turnover is expensive: recruiting, training, a truck sitting while you hire. Dispatch can't fix pay or equipment, but it controls two things drivers complain about most: miles that come and go, and home time that slips.
Home time that holds
Each driver's rule is planned from the start of the run, not scrambled for on Thursday. When something breaks the plan, the driver hears about it early, not at the dock.Fewer bad loads
Loads under the floor rate, with known problem brokers or brutal appointment windows don't reach the driver's phone. Fewer bad days, fewer resignations.Steadier weeks
Planning reloads before deliveries keeps miles and pay more even from week to week, which matters more to most drivers than one great week a month.Someone answers at night
A driver stuck at a closed receiver at midnight reaches the desk, not voicemail, and doesn't have to wake you up.
Want to put a number on it? Try the driver turnover cost calculator with your own hiring costs.
Price
4% per truck, nothing else
Fleets of two or more trucks pay 4% of gross per truck on loads hauled. No setup fee, no per-truck monthly charge, no minimum, and no contract beyond 30 days notice. Adding a truck later? It joins at the same rate the day it starts running. Dropping to one truck moves you to the single-truck rate for your equipment.
EXAMPLE: three trucks grossing a combined $18,000 in a week pay $720 that week. A week when one truck is in the shop simply bills the two that ran. See the full fee breakdown or the dispatcher fee calculator.
Small fleet dispatch service: straight answers
Q01Is outsourcing cheaper than an in-house dispatcher?
Q02Can you dispatch mixed equipment in one fleet?
Q03Who approves loads for my drivers?
Q04Do you talk to my drivers directly?
Q05How do you handle driver home time across a fleet?
Q06Do you work nights and weekends for fleets?
Cash flow across several trucks? See small fleet factoring. Curious how a single load moves? Read how it works.
Put your whole fleet on one desk.
Apply in about 2 minutes. We'll set up each truck's profile on the first call.