Start your own operation

Business Startup Center

An educational overview of the paths into the freight business — dispatch service, brokerage, trucking company, Canadian carrier and TMS-based operations.

Cost estimator Brokerage business simulator

Choose a path

Start a dispatch service

Dispatch for owner-operators and small fleets under a written agreement. You do not arrange freight as a broker — understand where that line is.

Typical steps (general overview)

Decide your service model (percentage of gross or flat weekly fee) and the carriers you will serve.
Form a business entity and register for taxes in your state or province — talk to an accountant.
Have a lawyer prepare a dispatch service agreement that defines what you do and do not do.
Learn where dispatching ends and brokering begins. Arranging transportation for compensation can require broker registration.
Set up tools: load board subscriptions, a TMS or spreadsheet system, phone and email.
Build a carrier onboarding checklist (authority, insurance, W-9 / business details, agreement).

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Start a freight brokerage

Arrange truckload transportation between shippers and carriers. In the US this generally requires broker registration and financial security.

Typical steps (general overview)

Research the registration and financial security requirements that apply to property brokers in your country.
Form a business entity, open a business bank account and plan working capital — you usually pay carriers before shippers pay you.
Obtain the required registration, process agent designation and any financial security, using the official government portal.
Put in place contingent cargo and general liability insurance appropriate to your operation (ask a licensed insurance broker).
Draft broker–carrier and shipper–broker agreements with a lawyer.
Build carrier vetting, credit checking and fraud-prevention procedures before your first load.

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Start a US trucking company

Operate your own trucks under your own authority: registration, insurance, drug and alcohol programme, driver files and maintenance.

Typical steps (general overview)

Form a business entity and obtain an employer identification number for tax purposes.
Apply for USDOT registration and any operating authority required for your operation through the official portal.
Obtain the commercial auto liability and cargo insurance your operation requires.
Complete any required unified carrier registration and state requirements (fuel tax, apportioned plates).
Set up a drug and alcohol testing programme and driver qualification files.
Equip trucks with registered ELDs and set up maintenance and safety records.

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Start a Canadian carrier

Carrier operations in Canada are regulated federally and provincially. Requirements differ by province.

Typical steps (general overview)

Identify the province that will be your base jurisdiction and its carrier registration programme (for example CVOR in Ontario).
Form a business and register for federal and provincial taxes — talk to an accountant.
Obtain insurance appropriate to your operation.
Learn the Canadian hours-of-service and ELD rules and the safety fitness requirements of your province.
If you plan to haul into the US, research US registration requirements as well.

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Run a TMS-based logistics operation

Choose and implement the technology stack: TMS, accounting, tracking, documents and reporting.

Typical steps (general overview)

Map your process: quote → book → dispatch → track → deliver → invoice → collect.
Choose a TMS that fits your volume and mode; check integrations with load boards, tracking and accounting.
Define master data standards: customers, carriers, lanes, rates.
Set up document handling: rate confirmations, BOLs, PODs and invoices.
Build reports for margin by customer, lane and rep, and accounts receivable aging.

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Startup cost & break-even estimator

Illustrative only. Enter your own quotes — figures below are placeholders, not market data.