What am I buying when I buy a truck dispatch business?

A truck dispatch service finds loads for owner-operators and small carriers and handles the booking and paperwork around them. It does not own the trucks. That changes what a buyer is paying for. If you are comparing it with a carrier, our guide to buying a trucking business is built around fleet and equipment. This page covers a business with none.

The carrier relationships

The core asset is the group of carriers who use the service. Ask for the written dispatch agreement each one signed, if there is one, and what it says about ending the arrangement. Ask your lawyer whether a carrier who can leave on short notice is bound by any contract. Ask how long the main carriers have worked with the business and who they speak to day to day.

Accounts, software and records

Find out whose name is on the load-board and shipper accounts. Some are held by the company and some by the owner personally, and the provider’s terms decide whether they can move to you. Ask the same about the dispatch software and the files it holds: load history, rates, contacts and paperwork. Request a copy of that history before you rely on it.

The people

Dispatchers carry the contacts and the know-how. Ask who the carriers and shippers actually call, how long each dispatcher has been there, and whether they are employees or contractors. Our page on relying on one dispatcher covers that risk in more depth.

What the seller’s role really is

In many small dispatch businesses the owner is also the best dispatcher and holds the key relationships. Ask what a normal week looks like for the owner and what would stop if the owner left on closing day. Your lawyer can tell you how a transition period or non-competition terms would be written, and your accountant can review the revenue by carrier.