Detention Pay & Accessorials: Stop Leaving Money on the Table
Most carriers know detention pay exists. Most carriers also leave most of it on the table. Here's the simple system that recovers an extra 3–5% of revenue every quarter without changing what you haul.
What you can actually bill for
- Detention beyond 2 hours at pickup or delivery
- Truck order not used (TONU) when a load cancels after dispatch
- Layover for unscheduled overnights
- Lumper fees and reimbursements
- Driver assist or unloading at non-shipper-staffed docks
- Reefer continuous-run fuel surcharges
- Out-of-route mileage for re-routes after pickup
The documentation that wins disputes
Brokers reject detention claims that lack the in/out arrival times. Photos of the BOL with the dock-stamp time and a screenshot of your tracking app are the gold standard. If your driver app timestamps these automatically, recovery rates jump from 30% to 80%+.
How to operationalize
Build accessorial line-items into your invoicing template. Train drivers to message dispatch the moment they arrive and the moment they leave. Audit every invoice against the dispatched load before it ships out.
Sources & further reading
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