Daily operating checklist for a towing company for new owners

What to take away

Daily operating checklist for a towing company

Use a paper board or dispatch software. TowBook, Dispatch Anywhere by Beacon Software and Ranger SST handle call intake and dispatch. The same platforms can invoice. The table below is the day in order.

| Time | Task | Record | | 5:30 a.m. | Open the board. List every truck, every driver and every open call. | Call time, location, vehicle and assigned unit. | | 5:45 a.m. | Walk around each truck. Check tires, fluids, lights and winch cable. Check chains, straps, wheel lift and flatbed locks. A Ford F-550, Ram 5500 or Chevrolet Silverado 5500HD chassis with a Miller Industries or Jerr-Dan body is common. | Defect log and driver initials. | | 6:00 a.m. | Driver check-in by radio, phone or app. Confirm the driver has a valid license and is fit for duty. | Driver status and truck number. | | 6:15 a.m. | Check the rotation list rules from the issuing police agency or city licensing office. Confirm response-time, insurance and equipment standards. | Published rule date and permit. | | 7:00 a.m. | Dispatch the first calls. Log the call time, assigned unit and arrival time. | Three timestamps for every rotation call. | | On scene | Record the service performed: hook, winch-out or flatbed load. Take photos, VIN and odometer. | Service code, mileage and damage notes. | | Impound | Record the authority that ordered the tow, the reason, storage start and daily storage rate. | Tow authority number and rate sheet. | | Release | Check ID, payment record and signature. | Signed release form. | | End of shift | Close four numbers per truck: calls run, loaded miles, empty miles and driver hours. | Revenue per driver-hour. | | End of shift | Record fuel gallons and price paid. | Fuel log. | | End of shift | Send invoices same day. Update the aging list. | Invoice and aging report. |

The morning board

A new owner opens the board before the first call. It shows every truck, every driver and every open call. Dispatch writes the call time, location, vehicle and assigned unit. Nothing moves until it is on the board. A paper board can be a whiteboard with a printed call log. TowBook and Dispatch Anywhere by Beacon Software both track dispatch, impound storage and invoicing. Small fleets lose money first here. A call taken by phone and never logged becomes an empty-mile guess at day's end. The board is the record.

Dispatch and the rotation list

Rotation lists are run by a police agency or a city licensing office. Each publishes response-time rules, insurance minimums and equipment standards. Read the published rules from the issuing agency. Do not work around them. A rotation call usually carries a clock. Dispatch logs the call time, the truck assigned time and the driver arrival time. Those three timestamps are what the agency checks. Non-rotation work runs on the same board: motor club calls, fleet accounts, private requests. AAA and Agero send motor club work. Each gets a call time and an assigned unit.

On the truck: hook, winch, securement

The driver records what the job actually was. A hook is a hook. A winch-out is a winch-out. A flatbed load is a flatbed load. Each prices differently. Each is written down at the scene, not reconstructed later. Securement follows the federal cargo rules for the load and the vehicle. FMCSA publishes the cargo securement rules that apply to interstate moves. Vehicle and operation applicability still has to be checked against the truck and the load. Rigging, recovery angles and scene safety belong to certified towing and recovery training and the state or provincial safety authority. WreckMaster and the Towing and Recovery Association of America offer courses. This checklist does not cover them.

Impound, storage and release

Every impound starts a paper trail. Record the authority that ordered the tow, the reason, the time the vehicle entered storage and the daily storage rate on file. The release needs an ID, a payment record and a signature. Lien and auction procedures are set by state law. Confirm the steps with the state motor vehicle agency or a licensed attorney before releasing or selling anything. Getting this wrong is the expensive kind of mistake.

Money at the end of the shift

Close the day with four numbers per truck: calls run, loaded miles, empty miles and driver hours. Divide revenue by driver hours to get revenue per driver-hour. Compare it to the driver's wage plus payroll cost. That gap is the day's real result.

Fuel is the second line. Record gallons and the price paid. A fuel surcharge only covers the gap if you know what the gap is. Invoices go out the same day. QuickBooks, Square and Stripe can send invoices and record card payments. Fleet accounts and motor clubs pay on terms, so the aging list tells you whether next week's payroll is covered. IRS recordkeeping guidance covers what to keep for purchases, payroll and assets.

Safety and the driver

OSHA's safety management guidance describes a program that finds and fixes hazards before an inspection or an injury does. For a tow company that means vehicle checks, PPE and a written procedure for reporting damage or near misses. Driver hours, rest and fitness-for-duty rules come from FMCSA and the state. Do not set them yourself. FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse requires pre-employment queries and annual queries for CDL drivers.

A worked example

Say a truck runs 6 calls in a shift. Loaded miles total 48, empty miles 31. Driver hours are 9. Revenue is $1,140. Revenue per driver-hour is $1,140 / 9 = $127. If the driver's loaded wage plus payroll cost is $38 per hour, the truck cleared $89 per driver-hour before fuel and maintenance. Substitute your own figures.

Common questions

Who sets the rules for a police rotation list?

The agency that runs the list, or the city licensing office that issues the permit. Each publishes response-time, insurance and equipment standards. Get the current published version and follow it.

What has to be written down on every tow?

The following details are recorded on every tow:

Where do impound and lien rules come from?

State law, enforced through the state motor vehicle agency and local police. Confirm the release and auction steps with that agency or a licensed attorney before acting.

What does a new owner check every single day?

The board, the timestamps on rotation calls, the per-truck revenue per driver-hour, fuel, and the invoice aging list. Five minutes each, and they catch most of the trouble early.