Detention claim kit that gets paid.
Detention is the fee for a truck waiting past its free time. This free kit shows what detention costs a freight broker a year, then builds the invoice and email to claim it from the shipper.
- Nothing leaves your browser
- Example numbers
- Copy or print
Detention invoice Example
- Load
- LOAD-4821
- Facility
- Columbus DC, OH
- On site
- 4 hours 35 min
- Free
- 2 hours
- Billable
- 3 hours
- Rate
- $65.00 an hour
- Amount
- $195.00
What detention costs you, per load and per year.
Six numbers from your own books. Move a slider or type into a box and the result changes as you go. The boxes start on example numbers, replace them with yours.
Only the loads that hit the dock late.
Time on site, less free time.
Counted from arrival.
Accessorial rate on your rate confirmation.
What the carrier bills you for detention.
Your best guess from the last few loads.
Reference: the industry average detention charged is $63 an hour against an average operating cost of $66.65 an hour to run a truck, and 17% of drivers never receive detention pay (industry survey figures, UltraShip research). Those are reference points, not your numbers.
The shipper pays you $186 a load and the carrier costs you $210. You pay more than you charge on every load that sits, before anyone refuses to pay.
- Net detention per load
- -$24
- Net detention per year
- -$11,520
This week: Pull the last three loads that sat and compare the rate you charge the shipper with the rate the carrier bills you. One rate line is where this money goes.
One load, 3 billable hours
Per load, before anyone refuses or short-pays.
You pay the carrier $8 an hour more than the shipper pays you, so one hour off every load is worth $3,840 a year.
- Hours on site per load
- 5 hours
- Billable hours a year
- 1,440
- Detention billed a year
- $89,280
- Billed but not collected
- $8,928
Your 40 loads a month at $62 an hour run $11,520 a year against you. We will run this on your own loads, live, inside UltraShip.
A claim the shipper can act on the same day.
Put in one load. You get the billable hours, an invoice you can print, an email you can send, and the evidence to gather before you send it.
Load details
4 hours 35 minutes on site, 2 free, 3 hours billable at $65.00 an hour. That is $195.00.
Detention invoice
$195.00- Load or PO
- LOAD-4821
- Shipper
- Northline Foods
- Facility
- Columbus DC, OH
- Appointment
- Oct 26, 2026, 9:00 AM
- Arrived
- Oct 26, 2026, 8:45 AM
- Departed
- Oct 26, 2026, 1:20 PM
- Time on site
- 4 hours 35 minutes
- Free time
- 2 hours
- Billable detention
- 3 hours
- Rate
- $65.00 an hour
- Amount due
- $195.00
Billed as an accessorial at the rate confirmed for this load. Confirm your own rate confirmation and accessorial terms.
Email to the shipper
readySubject: Detention on load LOAD-4821 at Columbus DC, OH
Hi, Here are the detention hours on the load below, with the times our driver recorded. Load or PO: LOAD-4821 Shipper: Northline Foods Facility: Columbus DC, OH Appointment: Oct 26, 2026, 9:00 AM Arrived: Oct 26, 2026, 8:45 AM Departed: Oct 26, 2026, 1:20 PM Time on site: 4 hours 35 minutes Free time: 2 hours Billable detention: 3 hours Rate: $65.00 an hour Amount: $195.00 The billable hours are the time on site less the free hours in the rate confirmation, rounded up to the started hour. We are billing this as an accessorial on the load above, at the rate confirmed for it. We can pull the check-in and check-out timestamps, the bill of lading and the appointment confirmation for any of it. If you read it differently, tell us which line and we will walk through the timestamps with you. Thanks, [Your name and brokerage] Built by UltraShip
If the shipper does not pay, these are the next moves.
A claim is only as good as the follow up. Copy any of these as they are, they carry the same load, the same times and the same amount as the invoice above. The evidence sheet underneath prints on one page.
Second email
One week after the invoice, still friendly.
Hi, Following up on the detention invoice for the load below. I am sending the details again so nothing gets lost on either side. Load or PO: LOAD-4821 Shipper: Northline Foods Facility: Columbus DC, OH Appointment: Oct 26, 2026, 9:00 AM Arrived: Oct 26, 2026, 8:45 AM Departed: Oct 26, 2026, 1:20 PM Time on site: 4 hours 35 minutes Free time: 2 hours Billable detention: 3 hours Amount: $195.00 The amount is the time on site less the free hours in the rate confirmation, at the rate confirmed for this load. The check-in and check-out timestamps, the bill of lading and the appointment confirmation are behind every line of it. Can you tell me who is handling this invoice on your side, and when you expect it to be paid? If you read the hours differently, send me the line you are looking at and we will walk the timestamps through with you. Thanks, [Your name and brokerage] Built by UltraShip
Evidence sheet
0 of 8Tick what you already have on this load. The ticks stay in this browser tab until you close it. Print this sheet and send it with the claim.
We will build this claim from your own load, with the arrival, the departure and the rate already on it.
How the detention claim kit works
Enter what detention costs you
Six numbers from your own books: loads, hours, free time, what you charge, what you pay and how often it goes unpaid.
Build the claim
Add the load, arrival and departure times. The invoice and the email to the shipper fill in with the billable hours.
Send it and follow up
Copy the email, print the invoice, and use the second email, final notice and phone script if it stays open.
Detention is tracked and billed from the load inside UltraShip, so the claim builds itself.
The hours come off the load, the rate comes off the confirmation, and the accessorial lands in the invoice you already send. One workflow from the dock to the money.
- Load management and dispatch
- Carrier sourcing in CarrierQ
- Accounting and invoicing in one workflow
- A dated record for every carrier you onboard
- Replaces spreadsheets and disconnected tools
Questions brokers ask about detention
What is detention in trucking?
Detention is the fee charged when a driver waits at a shipper or receiver longer than the free time allowed in the rate confirmation or contract. It pays the carrier for time the truck sits idle. Brokers often bill it to the shipper and pass it on to the carrier.
How is detention calculated?
Billable hours are the time on site minus the free hours, usually rounded up to the next started hour, multiplied by the hourly detention rate. This kit works it out from the arrival and departure times you enter, and you can switch between rounding up and exact time.
What does detention cost a freight broker?
It depends on how many loads sit, for how long, what you charge the shipper, what you pay the carrier and how often the shipper refuses to pay. The calculator combines those inputs into a net result per load and per year. Reference survey figures from UltraShip research: $63 an hour charged against $66.65 an hour to run a truck.
What proof do I need for a detention claim?
Timestamps matter most: driver check-in and check-out, the bill of lading with in and out times, the appointment confirmation, tracking or ELD pings, messages with the shipper, and the rate confirmation terms. The evidence checklist in this kit lists each item and prints on one page.
Is this billing or legal advice?
No. The kit gives you a calculation, an invoice layout and email wording. Confirm your own rate confirmation, accessorial terms and free time before you send a claim, because what you can bill depends on the agreement for that load.
Does my data leave the browser?
No. Everything you type stays in your browser. The calculator and the claim builder run on the page and nothing is sent to a server. Copy the email or print the invoice when you are ready to send it to the shipper.
Built for non-asset freight brokers. An example calculator and a starting point for a claim, not legal advice and not a certified accessorial rate. Reference figures are industry survey figures from UltraShip research. Confirm your own rate confirmation, accessorial terms and free time before you send a claim.