Why is my detention invoice not getting paid?
For drivers and carriers who bill for detention and watch invoices die in accounts payable.
Sources: ATRI 2024, US DOT OIG ST2018019, FMCSA. Checked August 2026.
Short answer: because the invoice turns into a debate about time. In ATRI's 2024 research, 94.5% of fleets billed for detention but fewer than half collected. Invoices die when the shipper's dock log and your driver's word disagree. Three system-recorded timestamps, arrival, door release, and exit, end that debate.
It is an evidence problem, not a billing problem
ATRI found detention on 39.3% of stops (56.2% refrigerated) and put the industry cost near $15B a year (ATRI, 2024). Yet fewer than half of the 94.5% of fleets that bill actually collect. The gap is proof. The US DOT Inspector General wrote that "accurate industrywide data on driver detention do not currently exist" (OIG ST2018019, 2018). A handwritten in/out log inherits that weakness, and drivers eat it: the same report put lost driver income at $1.1 to $1.3B a year.
What shippers dispute, and what ends it
| The pushback | Why it works on you | What ends it |
|---|---|---|
| "Your driver arrived late" | Their dock log vs. your driver's memory | A gate-stamped arrival time recorded at check-in |
| "Free time had not expired" | Free time is customarily 2 hours (DOT OIG, 2018); FMCSA: dwell 3.4 hours, 1.4 past the window | A timestamp for door release |
| "Your log does not match ours" | Hand transcription slips: 3.7% of 6,930 records had discrepancies (JAMIA, 2019) | Digital capture at the gate, no retyping |
| "We never agreed to that rate" | Contract rates run $50 to $125/hr; nothing in writing means $0 | A detention clause in the rate confirmation |
At a commonly cited $85/hr, FMCSA's 1.4 billable hours come to about $119 per stop. Example scenario, not a measured average.
The three timestamps that get invoices paid
1. Arrival at the gate. Not the shipping-window check-in, often well after the truck hit the property. The clock starts here. 2. Door release. When loading or unloading finished, showing whose clock the delay sat on. 3. Departure through the gate. All three must be recorded as they happen, where both parties can see them. Paper yards cannot produce that record; a phone-based YMS like Vantage creates it as a side effect of gate check-in, from $149 a month, no hardware.
What to change this week
Put the detention rate and free time on every rate confirmation. Have drivers stamp arrival time today, even a photo of the guard-shack clock. Submit fast, all three timestamps attached: cargo claims run on a 9-month clock (49 U.S.C. 14706) and detention clauses often set shorter windows. Then run your lanes through the free detention pay calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What proof do I need to get a detention invoice paid?
Three system-recorded timestamps: gate arrival, door release, and gate departure, plus a rate agreed in writing before the load, commonly $50 to $125 per hour.
How much detention actually gets collected?
ATRI (2024): 94.5% of fleets billed for detention but fewer than half collected. FMCSA: average dwell 3.4 hours, 1.4 past the typical free window.
What is a normal detention rate and free time?
Free time is customarily two hours (US DOT OIG, 2018). Rates commonly run $50 to $125 per hour, with $85 widely cited, and only help when in the rate confirmation.
Give every invoice a gate timestamp
14-day free trial, published pricing, no hardware.
Related: detention pay calculator · 2026 yard & detention benchmarks · what records win a detention claim · who actually pays truck detention