Detention Pay Calculator

What the detention result means

• Add to invoice is the detention owed plus any reimbursable lumper you paid. It's the amount to add on top of the linehaul when you bill the broker.
• Time on site is check-in to departure.
• Free time ended is when the detention clock started running: free hours counted from the appointment, or from check-in if you arrived late and the terms allow it.
• Billable detention is the time after free time, rounded down to the increment your rate con uses.
• Detention owed is billable hours times your hourly rate, limited by any cap, or zero if a late arrival voids it.
• Copy summary for the broker puts the times, terms and totals into plain text for an email or a message, so the claim goes in the same day.

How detention pay is calculated

clock start       = later of appointment and check-in
free time ends    = clock start + free hours
raw minutes       = departure - free time ends (never below zero)
billable minutes  = raw minutes rounded down to the billing increment
detention owed    = billable hours x hourly rate
                    limited to the cap, if any
                    zero if you were late and late arrival voids detention
reimbursement     = lumper you paid, if the rate con makes it reimbursable
add to invoice    = detention owed + reimbursement

Assumptions

• Example defaults (an 08:00 appointment, 2 free hours, $50 per hour, a $275 lumper) are placeholders, not market rates. Use the terms on your own rate confirmation.
• Rounding down to the increment is the common reading of "billed per hour." If your terms round up or prorate, choose "Exact minutes."
• Times are wall-clock times at the facility; time zones don't matter as long as all three come from the same clock.
• Proof is up to you: the calculator can't make a broker pay. In and out times on the bill of lading and a legible lumper receipt are what get claims paid.
• Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

Use it before you leave the dock

1. Before the load: read the detention and lumper lines on the rate con. If they're missing, ask for a revised rate con before pickup.
2. At the facility: note the check-in time, and warn the broker as free time is running out.
3. When you leave: get your in and out times written on the bill of lading, then enter them here.
4. Same day: copy the summary and send it with the bill of lading photo and the lumper receipt.

For the full picture on who pays and how to get reimbursed, read our guide to lumper fees and detention. The dry van rates guide shows how accessorials fit into what a load really pays.

Our dispatchers do this paperwork for every load: we get detention and lumper terms on the rate con before you roll, then file the claims and follow up until they're paid. The fee works the same on detention as on linehaul, and it's spelled out on our pricing page. Learn how our dry van dispatch works, or browse the other dry van calculators.