How to bill waiting time at loading and unloading
Hours at the ramp are the cost hauliers most often give away. How to agree on it, what to record and how to put together a claim the customer will find hard to refuse.
What waiting costs you
Take ten trucks that each wait three hours a week longer than agreed. At €35 an hour, that is about €4,550 a month, or more than €54,000 a year. The truck and the driver are paid for that time, but the transport goes nowhere.
Work out your own figure with the waiting calculator on the home page.
Agree the terms in advance
Without an agreement, a waiting claim is only a request. The order or your order confirmation should state:
- free time at the stop, for example two hours for loading and two for unloading,
- the hourly rate after that, and whether every started hour counts or only full hours,
- when the clock starts: on arrival, or at the agreed slot if you arrive early,
- how time is proven: the vehicle tracking record, the time on the consignment note or at the gatehouse.
If the customer orders on their own form, check whether it already contains waiting terms. If it doesn’t, add them to your order confirmation.
What to record on site
- the agreed loading or unloading slot,
- arrival and departure times,
- the reason for waiting, if you know it: ramp occupied, missing documents, goods not ready,
- the customer’s confirmation: time and signature on the consignment note, or a photo of the gatehouse check-in.
Arrival and departure from the tracking record are the strongest proof, because neither side writes them down by hand.
How to put the claim together
Send the claim right after the trip, not at the end of the month. For each stop, include the order number, place, agreed slot, arrival and departure, free time, billable time and amount. Attach a printout with the times and a map. Customers accept it most easily as a line on the freight invoice.
Even when the customer won’t pay
When you collect waiting by customer and location, you see where you lose the most time. Factor it into the next price, or agree different slots with the customer. Simply knowing that their warehouse ties up 60 hours of your trucks every month is a strong argument in negotiation.
This article is a general summary of EU rules on the date of publication and is not legal advice. For a specific case, check the rules in force with the competent authority.
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