TraxQBill For The Hours You Sat Waiting
Work out detention owed after free time, and what the delay actually cost you.
How to use the Detention Pay calculator
Detention compensates you for time a facility takes beyond the free window on your rate confirmation — usually two hours, measured from your appointment or arrival, whichever is later. Enter your rate and variable cost per mile too, because that converts waiting into the margin you could have earned instead — a parked truck earns nothing but also burns no fuel, so revenue foregone overstates the damage. The insight is how close the two usually land: four hours at $65 is $260, while 200 miles of driving contributes about $330 once fuel, maintenance and tires come out. Detention gets you most of the way back but rarely past it, so treat it as compensation for a delay rather than revenue — and reprice customers who reliably cost you both.
Detention Pay Calculator Questions
The things carriers ask most about this calculation.
How much detention pay should a carrier get?
Fifty to a hundred dollars an hour is the common range, usually after two hours of free time and often capped per day. The rate matters less than whether the broker actually honours it, so get it in writing on the rate confirmation.
When does detention start?
After the free time in your rate confirmation, measured from your scheduled appointment or arrival, whichever is later. Arriving early rarely starts the clock early, which is why documenting arrival time matters.
How do I prove detention?
Time-stamped arrival and departure, signed by the facility where possible, backed by GPS or ELD records. Most detention claims are denied for lack of documentation rather than because the delay was disputed.
Why does detention pay often not cover the loss?
Because sitting still stops you earning contribution margin. Four billable hours at $65 is $260, while 200 miles of driving contributes about $330 once fuel, maintenance and tires are taken out. The comparison is margin against margin rather than detention against gross revenue, because a parked truck burns no fuel. This calculator shows both so you can see when detention is genuinely making you whole.
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