Packaging towing company services into bundles that suit fleet accounts

What to take away

A fleet account asks one question: what will you do for my trucks, how fast, and what does it cost per month. Answer with a bundle. A bundle is a standing agreement with a named response time, a rate card, and one invoice. It is not a discount off your retail hook rate.

The four bundles that sell

Fleet management companies such as Element Fleet Management, Holman, and Wheels contract local tow providers under these structures. Each bundle names the units covered, the services included, and the invoice rhythm.

Light-duty standby. Covers pickups, vans, and service trucks up to a set weight. Includes jump starts, lockouts, tire changes, fuel delivery, and a tow allowance per unit per year. Priced as a monthly fee per vehicle, with overage billed at your retail rate. Rental, delivery, and service fleets buy this, including accounts managed by Element Fleet Management and Wheels.

Mixed-fleet per-unit. For fleets running light and medium duty together. One monthly rate per unit, tiered by weight class. A 3500 pickup and a 26,000 lb box truck sit on the same invoice at different line prices. Contractors and utilities use it; Mike Albert Fleet Solutions and Enterprise Fleet Management manage fleets that fit this shape.

Heavy-duty retainer. A flat monthly retainer buys guaranteed response for Class 7 and 8 units, plus a discounted hourly rate for recovery work beyond the retainer. Suits construction, aggregate, and utility fleets with a yard full of equipment. Holman and ARI, part of Holman, handle fleet accounts with this mix.

National account subcontracting. You sign as the local service provider under a national motor club or fleet management company. They set the rate; you set your coverage radius and hours. Agero, AAA, and Urgently run these networks. Volume is steady; margin is thin.

Price the bundle on your own numbers

Start with cost per truck-hour. It is driver wage plus burden, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and dispatch. Divide that by billable hours per truck per month. Call that C. A bundle is viable when the monthly fee per unit covers C times the truck-hours the account actually consumes, plus your overhead share.

Track calls per unit per month. A fleet that averages 0.4 calls per unit is a different account from one at 2.1, even at the same headcount. Reprice at renewal, not mid-term, unless the contract allows it.

Public rate ranges give a sanity check. As of 2026, many markets price light-duty retail hookups around $75 to $125 plus $3 to $5 per mile. Heavy-duty recovery often runs $250 to $500 per hour. Use those only as a market check, then price from C.

What goes in the agreement

Response time is the first term to write down: minutes inside the metro, hours outside it, and what happens when a storm fills the board. Say plainly that a surge can push a non-emergency call past the window.

Define a billable event. A jump start that becomes a tow is two events or one, depending on how you write it. Winch-outs, storage days, and after-hours premiums belong on the rate card with their own lines.

Dispatch software should match the contract. TowBook and Dispatch Anywhere are towing dispatch platforms with call intake, dispatch, and invoicing. Fleetio is fleet maintenance software; Samsara is a telematics platform. Keep the towing company services and packages guide open while you draft, so your bundle names match what your dispatch board and invoice software already use.

What to verify before you sign

Advertising a guaranteed response time is a claim. The Federal Trade Commission advertising guide for small business covers what you must support and how to disclose material relationships, including subcontractors you dispatch on your behalf.

If your bundle covers cargo haulers, securement duties sit with the carrier, not you. The FMCSA cargo securement rules are the reference point, and whether they apply to a given load is a question for the carrier and its counsel.

Bundle revenue lands on the same books as retail work. The IRS records guidance explains what a recordkeeping system must show, which matters when a fleet disputes a monthly invoice.

Worked example: a 40-unit delivery fleet

A shop quotes a 40-unit delivery fleet at a flat monthly fee per van. The owner works out cost per truck-hour at 22 dollars, and the fleet's history shows 0.6 calls per unit per month at roughly one truck-hour each.

Forty units times 0.6 calls is 24 calls a month. At one truck-hour and 22 dollars, that is 528 dollars of direct cost. Add overhead share and a margin, and the monthly fee per unit follows from arithmetic the owner can defend. The first winter tells him whether 0.6 was real.

Common questions

How many bundles should a small shop sell?

Two or three. A shop running four trucks cannot staff four distinct service levels without breaking one of them. Start with light-duty standby and mixed-fleet per-unit, then add heavy-duty only when you own the equipment for it.

What response time can a small fleet promise?

Promise what your worst ordinary week allows, not your best. If two trucks cover the metro and one is often on a long recovery, a 60-minute window will fail. A 90-minute window you hit every time renews better than a 45-minute window you miss.

How do you handle a fleet that stops paying?

Stop dispatching non-emergency calls once the invoice passes your stated terms, and say so in the agreement before it happens. Emergency roadside calls for a stranded driver are a separate decision, and your state's rules on abandonment and impound may apply.