Are you an owner-operator without authority? Are you sitting on the fence wondering whether to get your own trucking Authority or find a reliable trucking company and drive under theirs?
Having your authority opens up a lot of doors for your trucking company to flourish, but it’s not for everyone. Beyond driving, owning and operating a motor carrier necessitates a wide range of additional abilities. Many excellent drivers lack the business abilities required to start their own company.
In this article, we’ll cover the pros and cons of having your own authority.
The Difference between Owner-Operator and Independent Contractor
All owner-operators are independent contractors, but there are key distinctions that make some truck drivers owner-operators, and others just independent contractors.
Who owns the operational authority is the most significant difference between the two. In order to carry products in the United States, every carrier company must get authority. Owner-operators have their authority, allowing anybody in their company to deliver freight effectively and lawfully. Because not all independent contractors have their authority, they must seek out other businesses to collaborate with.
Basically, an owner-operator is an independent contractor with a business attached to their name.
What Is Running Under Your Own Authority?
There are basically three ways to look at authorities:
- You are entirely on your own – you truly run under your authority. You’re responsible for everything, including billing, booking your freight, paperwork, insurance, etc.
- You run under your authority beneath another trucking company. They take a smaller percentage of your load to cover billing and minimal support, but everything else is on you. You book your own loads.
- You run under a trucking company’s authority, and they handle all the back-office tasks, including booking your loads.
Pros and Cons of having your authority
PROS:
You choose your own loads and runs– You get to choose what loads you take on when you work on your own authority. This provides you with a great deal of flexibility in terms of where you drive, how long you stay, and how much money you make.
Although, with a great trucking carrier like Matrix, Inc you get this advantage even if you don’t have your own authority. You can drive as an independent contractor and still have the freedom to choose your lanes, weight, rates. No forced dispatches, excellent discounts, and benefits, personal approach, and many more! Learn more about our dispatch plans and savings
Work on your own schedule– When you run your own trucking company, you may choose when you want to work and when you want to relax. For many drivers, having complete control over their time is a dream come true — but keep in mind that you’re operating a company. You won’t generate enough money to meet your expenditures and cut yourself a nice salary if you spend too much time off the road.
At Matrix, Inc consistent home time and flexible schedule have always been part of the plan for every owner-operator without authority.
Keep all of your profits– Having your own authority implies that whatever money left over after costs is yours to keep. Instead of filling someone else’s bank account, your hard work and long hours go toward generating you more money.
However, calculating how much more you may earn is more complicated than simply deducting what your present company earns from each load. As an owner-operator with your own authority, your operational costs will be substantially greater.
CONS:
Hidden Driver Expenses
The billing piece of running under your own authority is huge, but there are a lot of other hidden expenses drivers may not think about.
These include:
- Insurance
- Fuel discount
- Safety department
- Subscriptions to DAT and Truckstop
- Factoring agreement
- Transportation Management Software ($$$!)
- Dispatch and load planning services
- Fueling location optimization based on routes
- IFTA filing
- ELD
There are other perks you can get when you run under a trucking company’s authority, including:
- Trailer pools
- Big customers
- More drop and hook opportunities
- National recognition and reputation
- Financial strength and excellent credit rating
- Technical support
- Access to maintenance mechanics at a much lower rate
- ELD monitoring
Managing the business side of your trucking business
Becoming an independent owner-operator requires you to be a lot more than just a driver. You become your company’s
- CEO
- Dispatcher
- Maintenance manager
- Safety and compliance officer
- Sales and billing supervisor
- Human resources director
Will you put out time to do all of your own paperwork and assist your company? That time will detract from your time on the road. Accessing load boards costs money when you’re scheduling your own freight, let alone sitting there and deciding which shipment to take. You want to spend all of your working time on the road, spinning those wheels, because time is money.
If you are still in for driving under your authority, you might need our checklist on how to start a new trucking company. You can also read our Tips for running a successful trucking company
In Conclusion, you don’t have to run under your authority to take advantage of all the PROs in this article. If you are an owner-operator without authority (independent contractor) Matrix, Inc can give you tons of benefits while at the same time you don’t have to think about anything except your truck. With our benefits and discounts, you can save up to $21,000 yearly!! If you are not sure whether we are worth it, we give you up to 14 days of FREE Dispatch as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about our dispatch plans and savings