I’m Not Getting Paid for Accessorials

Layover, TONU, lumper reimbursement, extra stops, tarping. Individually small enough to let go, and collectively a meaningful share of what you should have earned. They go unpaid for one reason: the terms were agreed verbally and recorded nowhere.

The four that get dropped most

Layover: owed when a driver is held overnight because a facility can’t load or unload the same day. Frequently discussed at the dock and never invoiced.

TONU (truck ordered not used): owed when you were dispatched and the load evaporated. Many carriers don’t know they can charge it, and many brokers don’t volunteer it.

Lumper: the driver pays on site and reimbursement requires a receipt submitted with the invoice. The receipt is the failure point.

Extra stops: a stop added after booking that wasn’t in the rate. Should be a rate adjustment, usually becomes a favour.

Get the terms before the load, not after

The whole problem collapses if these are established during negotiation and written into the rate confirmation. Four questions:

1. What’s layover pay, and after how long?
2. What’s the TONU rate if this cancels after dispatch?
3. Is there a lumper, and who pays?
4. How many stops, and what’s the rate for additional ones?

A broker who won’t put these in writing is telling you something useful. More on rate confirmations.

Document as it happens

The claim needs evidence created at the time, not reconstructed later:

• Layover: arrival time, the conversation confirming you couldn’t be worked, who said it
• TONU: dispatch confirmation and the cancellation message
• Lumper: the receipt, photographed at the dock, not found in a folder later
• Extra stops: the message adding the stop, and confirmation of the rate change

Bill them on the original invoice

Accessorials submitted separately, later, get treated as an afterthought and queried. On the original invoice with documentation attached, they’re part of the load.

This is the single highest-value change most carriers can make here: not chasing harder, but invoicing complete the first time.

Track which brokers do this

Brokers who resist accessorials are consistent about it. That belongs in the rate you quote them, not in an argument every load.

Where Hey Bubba! fits

Hey Bubba! is an AI back-office automation platform for fleets. Accessorial terms (layover, detention, lumper, fuel surcharge, payment schedule) are established during negotiation and extracted from the rate confirmation, then attached to the load so they reach the invoice rather than being remembered or forgotten.

See how rate confirmation processing works

Related

• The broker won’t pay detention
• The broker changed the load after booking