Operating Under Your Own Authority vs. Leasing-On Authority: Which is better?

Are you ready to start your journey in the trucking business but still not sure which path to take? This could help you identify whether which of these options fits you and your business needs best so hop in and read this one.

You might be a driver for quite some time now and have been able to save up to have your own truck. Or you were just able to muster up all the courage entering the logistics industry as a carrier. But then you were stuck and torn deciding if you should get your own authority or maybe just Lease-On for the moment being. Give this some time, we can help you with that.

 

What does it take to operate under your own authority?

 

Let’s start with the best part. You enjoy your whole income alone. you are your own boss. You get to have control over everything, the way you operate, loads you take, and customers you deal with. Sounds all great. But what do you not see behind all these? Getting back on that part that you got control over every aspect of your business also means you bear the sole responsibility of managing the business or you pay someone to do things for you.

Here’s an overview of the things that you need to do when you operate on your own authority that you don’t when you lease-on:

• Registering your business with your state

• Getting and paying insurance

• Registering with DOT

• Applying for MC

• Getting Apportioned Plates

• Opening and renewing IFTA account

• Quarterly filing and paying fuel tax

• Permitting

• ELD Compliance

• Drug Testing

• Truck Signage

• Accounting

• Checking credit, invoicing, and collections

• Sales and marketing to customers

• Ensuring and maintaining compliance

Seems to be a lot, and this is not even all. Some you have to do one time, others you’ve got to deal with on a regular basis.Depending on your familiarity with how the business works, you may either struggle or do everything even with closed eyes. If you are really good with business management, this could be the way to go.

 

What is the catch leasing on somebody else’s authority?

 

Leasing on authority, you get things chill and easy. You will get to choose which loads to haul or customers to deal with minus all the administrative work and the hassle of undergoing multiple registration to a number of government agencies as a requirement. You may not need to bother with any filing needed and everything that you got to pay is just taken out of your pay.

But the catch, of course, is you not getting all your revenue for yourself. Depending on which company you get in, you could be charged from 15% - 25% of your total pay. Others may see this as a pain but for those who really love to be on the road running and not needing to worry about anything other than finishing the lane, you can say that this could be the best way to go.

 

Which way do I go then?

 

Bet you are much more confused than earlier, aren’t you? With all these conditions at hand, how should you come up with a decision? Now you have an idea what is it to do one and the other, you should decide depending on what would best work for you because no one knows you better than you. You definitely are aware which you can tolerate, where you can perform better. And now that you have enough knowledge on what you could expect, we are confident that you can now come up with an informed decision. But there is one thing that we haven’t discussed yet.

 

Dispatch Service

 

You may be in the situation where you want full autonomy over your business but you are not yet ready to do everything on your own. You already did some of those one time errands like the registrations, but you definitely want the administrative weight off of your chest. You are willing to get someone to do the backend work for you but the Lease-On Authority path gets much more than you can. Then dispatch service is the answer you are looking for.

 

Charge-wise, you only shell out less than half of that minimum of 15% as compared to leasing on authority. Aside from dispatching, you can take the load of accounting, checking credit, invoicing, sales, and marketing off of you. Everything will be taken care of while you focus and maximize your time doing and finishing lanes. You’ve got the best of both worlds. And the best thing is, Inmay as a carrier does offer Dispatch Service to businesses that started out just like us.

 

We wanted to be part of your success, the decision is now in your hands. Do you want us to be your partner in growing as a carrier? If you are a hard-working carrier looking for a partner that will be with you as you scale your business, this is for you. Just go to this page so we can get to know each other better as a business and see if we’re a match.

 

Want to clear something up? Let us know in the comments or click the “Ask Questions” button at the top right part of this page.