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Frequently Asked Questions |
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1. What is the Billing and Payroll cycle? Our Billing and payroll cycle runs from Monday through Friday of each week. Agents and Contractors will be paid for their freight bills in a timely manner, providing the invoice and all supporting documents are received at the corporate office. Payment for Invoices received by Friday of the current week will be paid on the following Friday. 2. What is the Customer Credit Approval Process? Via fax or phone call, Agents send the full legal name, billing address phone number, MC Number if we are dealing with a Freight Broker and a contact name to our Credit Department. The process of verifying the Credit Status normally takes only a few hours provided all of the information is correct. Our determination to extend credit to a customer is based on the average number of days that they extend the payment of their bills. Our major concern is the customer's total payment history. 3. What Charge Backs to Agents Occur? In accordance with our Agency Agreement, Agents are charged back for short paid invoices, per diem and equipment repair bills from customers that the agent cannot bill either to a customer or to a Contractor. It is extremely important that an Agent be aware of "Service Contracts " that exist between Ocean Carriers and certain Customers. These Service Contracts extend the Free Time that a Customer is allowed to keep a container and/or chassis before Per Diem Charges are assessed. Per Diem Invoices that do not reflect correct Free Time are sent back to the Ocean Carrier for re-computation or in most instances for cancellation. Not knowing terms of a "Service Contract" can result in an Agent paying for Per Diem charges that are not valid. In the event we decline credit to a customer, we still may allow the Agent to conduct some level of business with the customer as an "Agent Risk Account". An "Agent Risk Account" means that the agent is subject to charge backs of 100% of the balances due on all invoices that remain unpaid. Establishment of an "Agents Risk Account" and the level of credit to be extended is agreed upon by both the Vice President of Credit and Collections and the President of Harris Transport Company on a case by case basis. Charge backs to Agents for non payment of invoices identified as "Agent Risk Accounts" will be deducted from the Agent's commission on the 31st day after the date of the billing invoice. Harris Transport Company reserves the right to terminate or deny further credit to any customer who in the their opinion represents an unacceptable credit risk for non payment or for excessive delays in paying invoices. Also, we do expect the agent to actively participate in the collection of any delinquent outstanding accounts receivable. To that end, we will provide the Agent with a weekly accounts receivable listing of all invoices for their customers with outstanding balances. 4. How do we get a Driver Qualified and how long does it take? The first step of the process is to get a release from the driver to obtain the necessary information for the MVR Report and to contact any former employers. Once these releases are in hand we can obtain an MVR Report on the prospective driver. Usually the Agent needing the driver will fax the driver's current information to the Safety Department in Monroe along with the release. Current information includes Full Name, Social Security Number, All current driver's license numbers including the state of issue, and the driver's date of birth. The Safety office will need a full DAC report that will aid the Agent in documenting the last ten years of the prospective driver's work history. DAC reports are obtained by the Monroe Office. If the MVR results are acceptable, the driver is then sent for a pre-employment drug screening test. Normally the MVR and DAC results are available to us on the same day requested and if the driver can take the Drug test before 2:00 PM the results are available by the next afternoon. Provided everything goes as planned and the Driver completes all required DOT/FMSCA documents while we are waiting for the MVR/DAC reports and the results of the Drug Screen, the total turn time should not exceed three (3) to four(4) days from start to finish. Obviously it is a lot to ask for everything to go as planned and if there is a missed deadline then the time will be extended. Also, if items are turned in late in a day the time can be extended an additional day just for proper communications to take place. Each Contractor/Driver Application booklet is a complete package, documents and/or pages should not be removed from the booklet. The booklet should be returned intact to the Safety department in Monroe so that the review process can proceed more smoothly. If pages are missing they will have to be found before the driver can be qualified. We will work as fast as possible to qualify drivers, but we need help from you in providing all of the needed information in a timely manner. Together we can complete the process in as short a time period as possible. 5. How much does Bobtail and Physical Damage Insurance Cost? Our Bobtail Insurance is $12.75 per week. Though it is recommended, we do not require our contractors to have Physical Damage Insurance, and we do make it available through Harris Transport Company at the rate of 4.75% of the value of the truck. 6. Do you require Contractors to have Workers Compensation Insurance? Yes, we do require Contractors and or Drivers of the Contractors to carry Workers Compensation Insurance or an equivalent replacement. For those who do not have the coverage we make available an OCAC Policy. The cost to Contractors who drive there own vehicle is currently $38.50 per week. This amount can change periodically. The monthly cost to Drivers who work for a Contractor is based on Statutory rate for the state in which the Contractor resides and varies from state to state. Each person covered by the OCAC policy is issued a separate Policy and a copy will be provided to them. A copy of the benefits is provided to each Agent for review and to review with each Contractor and Driver. 7. Do you offer Base Plates through the Company? Yes, we offer Base Plates from the State of North Carolina. The Cost ranges from $1300.00 to $1400.00 and will be deducted at the rate of $100.00 per week from the contractors settlement until the amount is paid in full. Should a Contractor lease with Harris Transport Company, be terminated for any reason, the Base Plate must be returned to Harris Transport Company. We will return the Plate to the state of North Carolina which will refund an amount based on their pro-rated formulas for the number of months the Contractor has the Plate. Once the State of North Carolina has returned the rebate to us it will be refunded to the Owner provided there are no other outstanding debits against the drivers account. 8. Do you advance fuel money to Drivers? We can provide Comdata Cards to every Driver. The amount of Fuel Money periodically loaded to the card is determined by the Agent, but can not exceed 35% of the billable line haul for each active freight bill. 9. Do you require Contractors to maintain an Escrow account? Yes, we require all Contractors to maintain an escrow account with a minimum balance of $750.00. Escrow is deducted at the rate of $30.00 per week until the $750.00 is reached. Deductions will restart if the escrow account is used to cover an expense. Harris Transport Company does pay interest on the Contractor escrow balance. 10. If I want to maintain my own identity (use my Agency as the Operating Carrier), will Harris Transport Company accommodate such a request? Yes, for agents who wish to retain and use their Business Name as the operating Carrier, we will establish the Agency Name as "Your Agency Name, Division of Harris Transport Company". Placards for your trucks will indicate that you are operating as a Division of Titan Transport, LLC.
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