Accessorial Charges: The Complete Checklist for Accurate Freight Quotes
A checklist of truckload accessorial charges brokers should price or exclude in every quote: detention, layover, stop-offs, driver assist, lumper, TONU and more.
Hopelight Labs · · 2 min read
Accessorials are charges for anything beyond a standard pick-up and delivery. They're also where broker margins quietly leak. A shipper's request mentions "driver assist" in passing, the rep misses it, and the cost lands on your margin.
Use this checklist on every quote: either price each item or state clearly that it's excluded.
Time-related charges
- Detention: the carrier waits beyond the free time at pick-up or delivery, often charged per hour after a set number of free hours.
- Layover: the truck can't load or unload on the scheduled day and must wait overnight.
- Truck ordered not used (TONU): the shipper cancels after the truck is dispatched.
Tip: state your detention terms in the quote ("2 hours free, then $X per hour") so there's no argument later.
Stop and location charges
- Stop-off charges: each additional pick-up or delivery on multi-stop loads.
- Out-of-route miles: deviations beyond the direct route.
- Residential, limited-access or construction site delivery
- Inside delivery
Labor and handling
- Driver assist / driver unload: the driver helps load or unload.
- Lumper fees: third-party labor at the warehouse, often paid on site and reimbursed.
- Sort and segregate
- Pallet exchange
Equipment and securement
- Tarps for flatbed loads
- Extra securement: chains, straps, edge protection
- Liftgate where needed
- Temperature monitoring or pre-cooling for reefer. See equipment type pricing.
Special service requirements
- Team drivers for time-critical loads
- Hazmat: endorsements and compliance requirements
- High-value cargo: additional insurance or security
- Oversize/overweight: permits, escorts, route surveys
- Scale tickets or special documentation
Administrative
- Rescheduling and redelivery
- Re-consignment (changing the destination after dispatch)
- Storage
How to use this checklist
- Scan the request for any mention of these items: "no dock", "need assist", "appointment only", "tarped".
- Ask when details are unclear, ideally within minutes. Use the missing-information template in freight quote email templates.
- Price explicitly or exclude explicitly. "Rate excludes lumper; reimbursed at cost with receipt."
- Align carrier terms so what you pay the carrier matches what you bill the shipper.
Make it part of your process
Accessorials are a big part of why two brokers can quote very different all-in rates on the same lane. Consistency matters more than any single charge. Build accessorials into your pricing method and your margin rules.
Hopelight Quote flags accessorial requirements it finds in a shipper's email, such as driver assist, extra stops or tarps, and adds them to the draft based on your rules, so nothing gets missed in a busy inbox.
