Most new carriers lose money on accessorials not because brokers refuse to pay them, but because the carrier didn't collect the documentation that makes the claim payable. A driver sits four hours at a receiver, calls the broker on the way out, and asks for detention. The broker asks for the time-stamped BOL. The driver took a photo of the gate guard's clock but doesn't have a stamped pickup time, doesn't have a stamped departure time, and didn't note the dispatch instructions about how to handle the delay. The broker can't pay the claim — not because they don't want to, but because they have nothing to send to the shipper to collect on their end. That's the pattern, and it repeats hundreds of times a week across the industry.

What detention actually is

Detention is compensation for time the driver and truck spend at the shipper or receiver beyond the agreed-upon free time. The free time, the per-hour rate, and the cap are all set by the rate confirmation, not by industry standard.

Typical structures look like this:

  • Free time: commonly 2 hours each at pickup and delivery, sometimes 3, sometimes 1.
  • Detention rate: a per-hour figure set by the rate confirmation after free time expires.
  • Cap: typically a maximum number of paid detention hours per stop, sometimes uncapped on premium loads.
  • Increment: sometimes hourly, sometimes by quarter-hour, sometimes only by full hour.

Detention starts when free time runs out, not when the truck arrives. If free time is 2 hours and the truck arrives at 09:00, detention starts at 11:00. If the truck is loaded and out the gate at 13:00, that's 2 hours of detention at whatever rate the confirmation sets.

The dollar value of a single detention event is small relative to a linehaul, but across a year of OTR work, a carrier who collects detention consistently and a carrier who collects it occasionally can be thousands of dollars apart on net revenue.

What documentation actually collects detention

The minimum documentation broker dispute desks typically require:

  1. Time-stamped arrival. The BOL or check-in slip stamped with the time the truck arrived at the gate or guard shack.
  2. Time-stamped departure. Same document, stamped with time loaded/unloaded and released.
  3. Driver-signed acknowledgment that the times reflect the actual movement of the truck.
  4. Notification to the broker that detention is accruing — ideally before it accrues, definitely while the driver is still at the dock.

If the shipper or receiver refuses to stamp times, the driver should note that on the BOL and have a phone time-stamped photo of the in/out signage and the truck at the dock. Some brokers accept driver-attested times when the facility won't stamp; many don't. Knowing which broker accepts which documentation type is part of the relationship intelligence a dispatch desk accumulates across many loads.

ELD-derived arrival and departure times can be a fallback for some brokers but not all — and the ELD data only shows when the truck was at the location, not when the driver checked in or got released, which is a real distinction at facilities where check-in and dock access are separated by significant wait time.

What layover is for

Layover is compensation when the truck has delivered or is unable to deliver and the broker requires the truck to wait beyond the normal load cycle — typically overnight or longer — before the next move. The classic scenarios:

  • Delivery on Friday afternoon, next pickup not until Monday, broker wants the truck to stay in the area.
  • Shipper or receiver isn't ready to load or unload on the scheduled day and the truck can't reposition.
  • Driver is held while a shipment is reworked or paperwork is sorted.

Layover rates are set by the rate confirmation, typically as a per-day amount with a cap of one to three days. The crucial detail: layover almost always requires the broker's written authorization before it accrues. A driver who decides to wait over the weekend on their own initiative, without the broker confirming layover in writing, may find the broker disputing the claim later.

Practically, that means: if a load isn't ready and the truck is being asked to wait, the conversation has to happen in writing — email, text, or broker portal — and the broker has to acknowledge layover authorization in writing with a start time. Without that, the claim is weak.

What TONU is for

TONU — Truck Order Not Used — is what the broker pays when a load is cancelled after dispatch has been accepted but before the truck has actually picked it up. Standard TONU is a flat amount set by the rate confirmation.

What typically counts as a TONU-eligible cancellation:

  • The truck arrived at the pickup or was close to it when the load was cancelled.
  • The truck had begun the trip on a dispatched assignment with a reasonable expectation it would be loaded.
  • The cancellation came from the broker or shipper, not from the carrier.

What typically doesn't count:

  • Cancellations within minutes of dispatch, before the truck has moved.
  • Cancellations where the truck was diverted to another load without significant idle time.
  • Cancellations after the carrier indicated they weren't going to make the pickup window.

The rate confirmation language on TONU is usually short — sometimes just a sentence — but it controls the claim. Some rate confirmations specify that TONU requires the carrier to have driven a minimum number of miles toward pickup. Some pay TONU as soon as dispatch is acknowledged.

Where disputes actually land

The pattern of broker-carrier disputes over accessorials, in rough order of frequency:

  1. Detention claims without time-stamped documentation. The most common dispute, the most preventable.
  2. Layover claims without prior authorization. The driver waited; the broker thinks the driver should have repositioned; no written authorization exists to settle the question.
  3. TONU claims where the broker says cancellation was within reasonable bounds and the carrier says they were already en route. Documentation of dispatch acceptance and actual movement of the truck decides these.
  4. Detention claims with documentation but where the rate confirmation's cap was exceeded. Driver waited well past the cap; broker pays only the capped amount regardless of the actual wait.
  5. Accessorials submitted late. Most brokers require accessorial claims within 7-14 days of delivery. Submitting at day 45 with the regular invoice often gets the accessorial denied even if everything else is in order.

These aren't bad-faith broker behaviors in most cases. They're the consequences of carriers not reading the rate confirmation, not collecting the right documentation, or not following the broker's claim procedure. A carrier (or the dispatch desk supporting that carrier) that runs a tight process — reads the rate confirmation before signing, gets times stamped religiously, notifies the broker contemporaneously, and submits within the claim window — gets paid on the large majority of legitimate claims.

The smaller accessorials worth knowing about

Beyond the big three, a few smaller accessorials show up regularly:

  • Stop charges. Multi-stop loads typically pay a per-stop fee beyond the first pickup and last delivery.
  • Driver-assist (lumper) fees. Some loads require the driver to unload by hand. Driver-assist fees apply when applicable.
  • Tarp pay (flatbed). A per-load amount depending on complexity.
  • Reweigh / rework. Sometimes paid when the load has to be redistributed at the truck's expense.
  • Layover fuel reimbursement. Some brokers reimburse for fuel needed to idle during authorized layovers in cold weather.

Each has its own documentation expectations. The pattern is the same: read the rate confirmation, get the documentation, submit on time.

Honest caveat: some brokers will pay smoothly and some won't

Industry behavior on accessorials varies enormously between brokers. Some large brokers have automated detention-claim workflows that pay submitted-with-documentation claims within days. Some smaller or less reputable brokers dispute every accessorial as a default and require multiple follow-ups before paying. The pattern shows up quickly: by the third or fourth load with the same broker, you know which side they're on. Carriers — and the dispatch desks supporting them — who track accessorial collection rates by broker can use that data to weight which broker's loads are actually worth pursuing. A slightly lower posted rate with a broker who pays accessorials cleanly often nets better than a slightly higher rate with one who fights every claim. The rate confirmation number is the headline; the accessorial behavior is the difference.

The three accessorials covered here are the most common ones a new carrier encounters and the most common ones they leave money on. Building a clean documentation habit in the first three months — every load, every time, even when it feels like overkill — is what makes the accessorials a real line of revenue rather than a complaint thread.

Talk to dispatch

The mechanics of reading rate confirmations, tracking which brokers pay accessorials cleanly, and submitting claims within the right windows are exactly the kind of back-office work a dispatch desk handles on the carrier's behalf. Talk to dispatch if accessorial collection is leaking revenue that should be hitting the account.

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