Expedite FAQ

Expedite FAQ

F.A.Q: Operating Your Business
- 1. Should I incorporate my business? - Top
  When you incorporate a company, you are separating your personal assets from your business assets. That's what protects you when a lawsuit arises. If you wait til the accident happens, it's too late.
  
  Some reasons to incorporate under the guidelines of a Limited Liability Corporation:
  
  *Work under a company name of your choice
  
  *Save on taxes
  
  *Peace of mind for your family
  
  *Write-off company expenses
  
  *Get credit in your company name
  
  Also, in the case of financial reversals, a creditor cannot seize control of the assets of the LLC.
  
  For other legal and financial reasons, it's worthwhile to investigate the advantages of incorporation by using specialists in that area.
  
  - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 2. How should I handle the bookkeeping? - Top
  One of the first people to consult when you're considering the expediting business as an owner/operator is an accountant.
  
  Before you sign for a truck or sign on with a company, you should spend some time with that financial advisor who can look over your projected
  expense and income figures and tell you if looks like you should be in the business or not.
  
  The accountant doesn't necessarily need trucking experience, his experience with figuring the bottom line is what you're paying for. If he feels your business plan is sound, he'll advise if you should take the plunge into your own business. Naturally, he can also take care your budgeting, accounts payable, taxes and all the other check-writing duties. A good accountant or CPA can be one of the best friends to your business. - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 3. How about a husband/wife team? - Top
  Team Operation with joint income.
  
  This type of operation with a husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend sharing the truck's revenue as a joint income is probably the most successful and profitable arrangement. Joint income teams which can operate in all size units, but especially in the straight trucks and semi's, can enjoy very good revenue at times, and also enjoy the company of a significant other on the road. Long a favorite of retired couples and empty nesters, this type of operation can give those couples a chance to renew or refresh their relationship which the demands of family and work through the previous years might have diminished, and give them the chance to travel together while working their own business. On the other hand, it can also present some challenges to a relationship because of the cramped confines of a truck. - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 4. Does a joint ownership work with a team operation? - Top
  Another variation that we at Expediters Online have witnessed is the split ownership situation in which two individuals, most often family members, own the truck equally and divide the revenue the same way.
  
  Aside from the personality conflicts and problems we mentioned above, the main drawback is one of revenue; one truck does not usually provide two full-size paychecks, especially for those with families to support.
  
  Of course, the expenses are supposed to be shared equally, but it's been our experience that disagreements occur frequently when family members partner in this business, and the family relationships suffer.
  - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 5. How about a team in a larger truck? - Top
  Given the longer miles available to a two-driver operation, this offers the highest revenue potential. The team operation can be categorized in several ways:
  
  Team with O/O and hired co-driver.
  The owner can hire a co-driver after qualification from his company, usually for a percentage of the gross revenue to the truck. A variety of compensation packages can be arranged between the owner and driver; food allowances, motel rooms, etc., whatever is agreeable between the two. Historically, it would appear that the greatest turnover in drivers occurs in this type of operation, and for many owners, it's difficult to keep good drivers in the operation. The reasons include the likelihood that this is the driver's first experience on the road, and it's not what he/she expected with the long hours of boredom or loneliness in the cramped confines of a truck cab with a stranger, the uncertainty of decent pay, especially in the slow times, days and weeks away from home, and a variety of other reasons. Or, the co-driver discovers the potential revenue in this business, and just puts in enough time to gain experience before becoming an owner himself. For the O/O in this operation, the obvious downside is the expense of the driver himself. Expediters Online knows of a few owners that have paid their co-drivers anywhere from as little as fifteen percent to thirty percent of the truck's gross. It's a trade-off between the pay for the longer mileage loads and the extra expense of that driver. The owner also experiences the constant company of a stranger in the truck, the sometimes frustrating job of training a newbie in the operation of the truck, and all the assorted problems that this type of operation can present. We've heard stories of family members hired as co-drivers for a short time with the result being family members that don't speak to each other anymore. This type of team operation is for the strong minded only.
  - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 6. How about running single in a larger truck? - Top
  The regulatory restrictions for the straight trucks and tractor trailers are more stringent, and severely limit the miles available to the single driver for those units. This is not to say that the single expediter in a larger unit can not be successful or make a living wage, we know of several O/O's in straight trucks and tractors in the larger metropolitan areas that do very well with short haul freight at very lucrative rates, especially in the North Eastern areas. These expediters actually prefer to stay within their own local area running two and even three short loads a day, and be home on a nightly basis. For those other expediters not based out of a large city, the restrictions on a single driver can limit his/her income potential with the longer mileage runs going to team operations. In some cases, when the run miles are still within the capability of the single driver, a team will still receive preference because the load will be delivering into an area from which many team loads originate.
  - Updated: October 28, 2005
- 7. How about running single in a van? - Top
  Single operation.
  
  As the name implies, one truck, one driver. The main factor in this question would be unit size. The B unit more traditionally lends itself to a solo driver because of it's smaller living space dimensions and that most van loads are shorter in mileage and don't require the extended drive time capability that a straight truck with a team can offer. In most cases, vans are excluded from many of the DOT regulations under which larger units must operate, including hours of service. In the majority of states, log books are not required for this size unit, except when transporting a placarded hazardous load. However, some expediting companies do have their own policies which limit the miles a single driver in a van can run. Some companies for example, restrict the single driver in a B unit to 700 total run miles, less for a hazardous load. Other companies operate with fewer or no restrictions on the O/O with unlimited run miles in some cases. The B unit does have a distinct advantage over the larger units in regards to the miles available to the single driver. - Updated: October 28, 2005

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