Settlement

The carrier’s statement of what it owes the owner-operator for a load, and the check that pays it.

Also called: Settlement sheet, Owner-operator settlement summary, Driver settlement.

A leased owner-operator never sends the carrier an invoice. Turning in the paperwork for a load triggers a settlement: the carrier’s statement for that load with the miles, the gross, the owner’s percentage, any earnings such as fuel surcharge, and any deductions such as card fuel.

One settlement sheet usually lists several loads and ends in one check or deposit. The settlement number is normally the load or order number, which is how you match a settlement back to the load it paid.

Checking every settlement against the load is the owner’s job: were the miles right, were the extras paid, did every load that ran get paid at all. A load with no settlement after a few weeks is money still out there.

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• Order share — The owner-operator’s cut of what the shipper paid for the load — often 75 to 85 percent of the order gross.
• Fuel surcharge — An amount the carrier pays the owner-operator on each load, on top of the order share, to offset the price of diesel.
• Load number — The carrier’s identifier for one load — the number that ties the dispatch, the paperwork, the settlement and the driver’s pay together.

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Made with the free settlement at loadtally.app/tools/glossary/settlement — LoadTally, loads, settlements and driver pay for owner-operators.