Road charges, tolls, and detention

Road quotes and invoices use a richer charge model than air or sea because the cost variables are local and frequent (tolls, fuel surcharge, detention, stops).

Rate cards

Rate cards per customer / vendor / lane. Each card has:

• Base charge — per-trip, per-km, per-kg, or per-pallet.
• Minimum charge — floor regardless of distance / weight.
• Stop charge — fee per additional stop beyond the first.
• Waiting / detention — per hour after the free time at each stop.
• Fuel surcharge — a percentage or absolute amount keyed to a diesel index (per region, updated monthly).
• Toll pass-through — actual tolls, billed at cost + optional handling fee.
• Border / customs fees — fixed per crossing.
• Accessorials — tail-lift, hazmat, temperature control, extra labour, empty return.

See smart quotes for how the rate card resolves on a booking.

Tolls

Two ways to capture:

1. Estimated at quote time — a lane-level toll table provides an estimate. Pass-through to the customer with or without markup.
2. Actualised on trip close — driver logs tolls (or the telematics / toll-tag integration posts them automatically). Difference between estimate and actual is either absorbed or billed as a reconciliation.

Detention and waiting

Detention kicks in when a driver waits at a stop beyond the contracted free time. The driver app records arrival and departure timestamps at each stop; detention minutes beyond the free window bill at the configured rate. Ops reviews high detention claims before billing (controversial line items).

Fuel surcharge

Tied to a regional diesel index. The tenant configures:

• Which index to use (e.g. EIA for US, DKV / AID for EU, country PSU for IN).
• Update cadence (monthly typical).
• The surcharge formula (e.g. 1% of base per $0.05/gallon above a baseline).

Updates affect only new quotes; in-flight shipments use the surcharge at their booking date.

Subcontractor cost side

The mirror: when a subbed trip runs, the vendor's rate card resolves into cost lines on the shipment — same structure (base, stops, detention, tolls, accessorials). See subcontractors.

Invoicing

Charge lines flow from the trip / shipment into the invoice. Customers can see the itemised breakdown on the invoice PDF per their template (usually yes, sometimes rolled up into "road freight charges").