Trucking & Freight Company

Words in [brackets] are blanks you fill in with your own details when you adopt this sample in Supreme Plan AI.

Executive Summary

Northline Freight is a small trucking company in Indiana. We haul dry freight (boxed and palletized goods that do not need to be kept cold) in a tractor and a 53-foot dry van trailer for manufacturers, distributors and freight brokers. A freight broker is a middleman who finds trucks for shippers' loads. Our trucks run regional routes, usually within about 500 miles of home, so our drivers are home often.

Many shippers have a hard time finding a carrier that shows up on time, keeps them posted and treats a small load as important. Big carriers can be hard to reach, and some small ones come and go. We will be a small company with a real person to call, steady service and clear rates.

Here is what our numbers show. We expect 38,000 contract miles and 57,000 spot-market miles in Year 1, which brings in sales of $212,800, growing to $784,470 by Year 5 as we add trucks. We expect a loss of about $500 in Year 1, then a profit from Year 2 (about $23,800), growing to about $38,500 by Year 5. Trucking is a business with thin margins, so we plan carefully for fuel, repairs, insurance and cash.

We need $140,000 in total. Of that, $93,500 is startup costs (the truck, trailer, authority, insurance and setup) and the rest is cash to pay for fuel, drivers and bills while freight customers take about a month to pay. I am putting in $35,000 of my own money, and I am asking for a $65,000 equipment loan and a $40,000 SBA loan.

I am Marcus Bell, the owner. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this plan, not promises.

Company Description

Northline Freight will be a limited liability company (LLC) in Indiana, owned by Marcus Bell. An LLC is a business type that generally keeps your home and savings separate from the business's debts and lawsuits, although a lender may still ask for a personal guarantee. A business attorney or the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) can explain how it works in our state.

What we believe. Show up on time, tell the customer early when something changes, keep the truck safe and treat every load as if it were the only one.

What we offer:
- Dry van freight. We pick up and deliver full truckloads of boxed and palletized goods, with a dependable pickup time and a call when the load is delivered.
- Contract freight. Regular lanes (the same pickup and delivery points) for manufacturers and distributors, at an agreed rate per mile.
- Spot freight. One-time loads found through freight brokers and load boards, at the rate the market is paying that day.
- Simple updates. Customers get the driver's phone number or tracking updates and a copy of the signed delivery paperwork (called proof of delivery) the same day.

Where we work from. We will park the truck at a secure truck lot or at the owner's property if local rules allow it, and use a small home office for dispatch and billing. We budget $3,600 a year for parking and office costs. Most of our work is done on the road and by phone and computer, so we do not need a warehouse or a large building.

Rules, licenses and insurance. Trucking is regulated, and the rules depend on what we haul and where. In general, a company that hauls freight for pay across state lines needs a USDOT number and operating authority (sometimes called an MC number) from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a filing that names a legal process agent in each state (called a BOC-3), and annual registrations such as the Unified Carrier Registration. We will also plan for apportioned truck plates (IRP), fuel tax reporting (IFTA), the federal heavy vehicle use tax (Form 2290), electronic logging of driver hours (an ELD), a drug and alcohol testing program with the FMCSA Clearinghouse, and a commercial driver's license (CDL) and medical card for every driver. A new carrier is also watched closely during its first year or so through the New Entrant program, which includes a safety audit. The federal minimum liability insurance for a for-profit carrier of general freight is $750,000, and many brokers and shippers require $1,000,000 and cargo coverage as well. These rules change, so we will confirm every requirement with the FMCSA, our state and our insurance agent before we buy the truck.

Our startup costs include $1,500 for authority and registrations and $7,500 for the first insurance payments, and we budget $6,000 a year in Year 1 for authority, registrations and permits.

Where things stand today. This plan is my starting point. Before I buy a truck, I will talk with at least 15 manufacturers, distributors and freight brokers in our area to ask what lanes they ship, how often and what they pay, and I will ask for at least 3 written commitments or letters of interest. I will also get insurance quotes, because the cost of insurance for a new carrier can change the whole plan. If I cannot get the letters or the insurance cost is far higher than planned, I will change the plan before I spend money.

Problem & Opportunity

Shippers need freight moved on time, and finding a reliable truck is harder than it looks.

1. Missed and late pickups. A load that sits waiting for a truck can hold up a factory or a store.
2. Hard to reach. Large carriers can be slow to answer a small shipper, and brokers may send a different driver every time.
3. Capacity swings. In busy seasons there are not enough trucks, and rates and reliability suffer.
4. Little communication. Many shippers find out about a delay only after it has happened.
5. Safety and paperwork. Shippers worry about insurance, safety records and the paperwork behind every load.

How we will find out if shippers want this before we spend money. Before I sign any loan, I will interview at least 15 shippers and brokers. I will ask what they ship, how many loads they move each week, what they pay per mile and what frustrates them about their carriers. Our Year 1 plan needs about 38,000 paid miles from contract customers and 57,000 from spot freight, so I will ask for at least 3 written letters of interest from contract shippers. The letters tell me whether the plan is realistic.

Products & Services

What we sell. We sell freight hauling, priced by the mile. Our plan has two kinds of work.

1. Contract freight. Regular loads for the same customers on the same lanes, at an agreed rate. Our plan assumes an average of about $2.45 per paid mile in Year 1, rising to about $2.76 by Year 5. We expect about 38,000 contract miles in Year 1, growing to about 158,000 miles by Year 5.
2. Spot freight. One-time loads found through freight brokers and load boards, at the rate the market is paying. Our plan assumes an average of about $2.10 per paid mile in Year 1, rising to about $2.37. We expect about 57,000 spot miles in Year 1, growing to about 147,000 miles.

What "paid miles" means. We only get paid for loaded miles (the miles with freight on the truck). A truck also drives empty miles to get to the next pickup, called "deadhead." Our numbers count only paid miles, and the cost per paid mile includes the cost of the empty miles.

What it costs us to run. About $1.12 per paid mile in Year 1, rising to about $1.25 by Year 5. That covers diesel fuel, tires, repairs and maintenance, tolls and the truck's insurance. At that cost, the money left is about $2.45 minus $1.12 per contract mile and about $2.10 minus $1.12 per spot mile, and that has to pay for the driver, the truck payment, our overhead and the owner's pay. Driver pay is counted separately, as payroll.

How a load works:
1. A customer or broker offers a load with a pickup time, a delivery time and a rate.
2. We accept only loads that meet our minimum rate per mile and fit the driver's legal hours.
3. The driver picks up, checks the paperwork and keeps the customer updated.
4. The driver delivers and gets the signed proof of delivery.
5. We send the invoice the same day and follow up until it is paid.

Gross margin, explained. "Gross margin" is the share of each sale left after the direct cost of running the truck. Ours is about 50% in Year 1. Driver pay, our overhead and the truck payment come out of that, which is why trucking needs steady miles and tight control of costs to be profitable.

Market Analysis

Who will use us:
- Regional manufacturers and food or packaged goods plants that ship full truckloads on the same lanes every week.
- Distributors and warehouses that move product to stores and customers.
- Freight brokers who need a reliable truck on short notice.
- Small shippers that do not ship enough to attract a big carrier.

Where we work. Mostly regional lanes within about 500 miles of our home base in Indiana, so the driver can often be home on weekends. As we add trucks, we may add lanes.

How we sized the plan. One truck can often run about 100,000 paid miles in a good year. Our Year 1 plan assumes about 95,000 paid miles in all (38,000 contract and 57,000 spot) from one truck, because we expect to spend the first weeks getting our authority and insurance and the first months building customers. That is a small share of the freight moving through our region, and the plan needs only a few regular customers to start.

Season. Freight is busiest before the holidays and in the spring and summer for many industries, and slower in January and February. Our numbers show a yearly average, so we will keep extra cash for slow months and make sure our regular customers keep the truck busy in winter.

Where our supplies come from. Diesel through a fuel card, tires and repairs through a local truck shop with a maintenance plan, and parts through a dealer. We will keep a repair budget and a written maintenance schedule.

Competitive Landscape

Other choices people have:
1. Large national carriers. They have many trucks and strong systems, but a small shipper may be a low priority.
2. Other small carriers and owner-operators. They compete for the same freight, so reliability and communication matter most.
3. Freight brokers' own networks. Brokers use many carriers; we want to be the one they call first.
4. Rail and intermodal shipping. Often cheaper over long distances, but slower and less flexible for regional loads.

How we will win customers: a real person who answers the phone, a driver who communicates, on-time pickups and deliveries, a clean safety record and honest rates. These are promises we have to keep, and any carrier could make them, so we will measure ourselves on them every week.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How shippers will find us.
- Direct outreach. Call and visit manufacturers and distributors within our region, introduce the company and leave a one-page capability sheet with our insurance and safety information.
- Freight brokers. Register with a handful of reputable brokers and offer dependable service on the lanes we know.
- Load boards and shipper networks to find spot freight while we build contract customers.
- Referrals from drivers, mechanics, accountants and other small carriers, with a thank-you for every customer they send.
- A simple website and Google business listing with our company details.

Marketing budget. About $2,400 a year in Year 1 for broker and customer relationships, growing about 10% a year. The lettering on the truck, website and business cards are paid for from startup costs ($1,500).

Operations Plan

How the business runs day to day.

A normal week:
1. We plan loads for the week, accepting freight that meets our minimum rate and our driver's legal hours.
2. The driver picks up, checks and photographs the load and confirms the paperwork.
3. We track the truck with an electronic logging device (ELD), which also records the driver's hours of service as the law requires.
4. The driver delivers, gets the signed proof of delivery and sends it to the office.
5. We invoice the same day and follow up on anything late.
6. Once a week we review fuel, repairs and miles to check our cost per mile.

Safety first. We will have a written safety program, daily vehicle inspections, a maintenance schedule, a drug and alcohol testing program as required, and a clear rule that no driver is ever pressured to break the law or drive tired. A clean safety record also keeps insurance costs down.

Equipment. About $52,000 for a used tractor that has been inspected and serviced, $22,000 for a used dry van trailer and $3,000 for an ELD, dash camera and in-cab equipment, for $77,000 in all. After that we set aside money to add a second truck in Year 2 and a third in Year 4.

Software and tools. About $4,800 a year for the ELD service, load boards and a simple transportation and accounting program.

Running costs in Year 1: authority, registrations and permits about $6,000, ELD, load boards and software about $4,800, accounting, legal and compliance about $4,800, truck parking and office about $3,600 and broker and customer relations about $2,400. That is $21,600 in all, in addition to the per-mile costs and pay.

Billing and getting paid. Brokers and shippers usually pay about 30 days after delivery, and some take longer. The plan assumes customers pay in about 33 days on average, which means we are owed about $19,152 at the end of Year 1 and about $70,602 by Year 5, money we have already spent on fuel and wages. We keep cash in the bank to cover that wait. Some small carriers sell or borrow against their unpaid invoices (called factoring), which is costly, so we do not plan to use it, and we would ask a lender or accountant first.

Management & Organization

Who runs the business. Marcus Bell, owner and driver. Marcus will hold a valid commercial driver's license (CDL) and medical card before we open, will drive the first truck, find freight, handle customers and keep the books with simple software. Planned salary: $58,000 a year.

The team. Pay figures are full yearly costs for each person.
- Company drivers: one starting in Year 2 and a second in Year 4, at about $64,000 a year each, as we add a second and third truck.
- Dispatcher and office manager: one starting in Year 4, at about $42,000 a year.
- Safety and compliance coordinator (part-time): one starting in Year 5, at about $26,000 a year.

We hire drivers with a clean driving record, a valid CDL and a medical card, run the required background and drug checks and train everyone on the same written safety rules.

People who will help us: an insurance agent who understands trucking, an accountant or bookkeeper who knows fuel tax reporting, a business attorney for a one-time review of our contracts, a mechanic we trust, and a free mentor from SCORE or the Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Milestones Narrative

Our goals and when we plan to reach them.
- Before opening (4 to 6 months ahead): interview at least 15 shippers and brokers and get at least 3 letters of interest, get insurance quotes, register the LLC, get an EIN, apply for USDOT and operating authority, complete a pre-purchase inspection of the truck, set up the ELD and accounting, and open a business bank account. Buy the truck only after the letters and the insurance are in hand. Target start: spring 2027.
- Year 1: one truck, about 38,000 contract miles and 57,000 spot miles, $212,800 in sales and a loss of about $500.
- Year 2: add a second truck and a company driver; about 92,000 contract miles and 98,000 spot miles, $443,520 in sales and a profit of about $23,800.
- Year 3: two trucks, about 98,000 contract miles and 102,000 spot miles, $482,260 in sales and a profit of about $39,100.
- Year 4: add a third truck, a second company driver and a dispatcher; $735,500 in sales and a profit of about $41,100.
- Year 5: three trucks and a part-time safety and compliance coordinator; $784,470 in sales and a profit of about $38,500.
Growth depends on winning and keeping customers, so treat the later years as goals, not promises.

What we check every week: paid miles, rate per mile, cost per mile, on-time pickups and deliveries, safety events, unpaid invoices and cash in the bank.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total we are raising: $140,000.

How we got that number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds up three things:
- Startup costs of $93,500, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section: $52,000 for the used tractor, $22,000 for the trailer, $3,000 for the ELD and in-cab equipment, $1,500 for authority and registrations, $7,500 for the first insurance payments, $3,500 for legal and accounting setup and a safety program, $1,500 for lettering, a website and business cards, and $2,500 for starter parts, tires, tools and a fuel card deposit.
- A cash cushion of about $19,900: about three months of running costs, because our first months can be covered by the money we raise. Lenders call this "working capital."
- Together that comes to about $113,400, rounded up to the nearest $500: $113,500.
We are raising $26,500 more than that, $140,000 in all, to cover the loan payments and the down payment on a second truck in Year 2. With this funding, the lowest year-end cash balance is about $51,400, at the end of Year 1.

Where the money comes from:
- My own money: $35,000.
- Equipment loan for the tractor and trailer: $65,000.
- SBA 7(a) working capital loan: $40,000.

Kind of funding we are looking for. An equipment loan from a lender that finances trucks, with the truck as collateral (something the lender can claim if the loan is not repaid), plus an SBA 7(a) small loan through a local bank or community lender for working capital.

How we will pay it back. We expect a loss of about $500 in Year 1, then a profit from Year 2 (about $23,800), growing to about $38,500 by Year 5. With this funding, the business has money in the bank at the end of every year of the plan. The equipment loan is planned at 10.5% interest over 6 years, so payments are about $1,221 a month, and the SBA loan at 12.75% over 10 years, so payments are about $591 a month. Together that is about $1,812 a month, and it is already included in our cash flow. We chose these as cautious planning rates; ask the lender for the real rates, which may be lower or higher. The plan also adds two truck loans of $67,000 each in Year 2 and Year 4 (about $1,258 a month each) to buy the second and third trucks.

What we are offering the lender: the truck and trailer as collateral and my personal guarantee (my promise to repay from my own money if the business cannot).

A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start smaller and grow into this plan:
- Phase 1: lease on with an established carrier as an owner-operator, which means hauling under that carrier's authority and insurance while keeping most of the revenue, so you can build experience and income without buying your own authority. Ask each carrier for its terms in writing, and compare costs carefully.
- Phase 2: once you have steady income and customer relationships, get your own authority and insurance and follow this plan.
To plan the smaller start, make a copy of this plan (use Duplicate) and lower the numbers to match.

All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- Your resume (one page is fine) and your commercial driver's license and medical card.
- A personal financial statement (a list of what you own and what you owe; lenders usually provide a form).
- Business registration papers and your EIN (your business tax number from the IRS, free at irs.gov).
- Your USDOT number and operating authority, or proof that you have applied.
- Insurance quotes or proof of insurance, including liability and cargo coverage.
- The truck and trailer purchase quotes and the pre-purchase inspection report.
- Signed letters of interest from future shippers or brokers.
- Your safety program and drug and alcohol testing program.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Contract freight: about $2.45 per paid mile in Year 1, rising to $2.76; about $1.12 per mile in direct costs, rising to $1.25; about 38,000 miles in Year 1, growing to 158,000.
- Spot freight: about $2.10 per paid mile in Year 1, rising to $2.37; about $1.12 per mile in direct costs, rising to $1.25; about 57,000 miles in Year 1, growing to 147,000.
- Pay (a full year, per person): owner and driver $58,000, company driver $64,000, dispatcher and office manager $42,000, part-time safety and compliance coordinator $26,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: authority, registrations and permits $6,000, ELD, load boards and software $4,800, accounting, legal and compliance $4,800, truck parking and office $3,600, broker and customer relations $2,400. These grow between 6% and 22% a year.
- Customers pay about 33 days after we invoice them. Income tax at 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Startup Costs