About & Methodology
Clear, practical operating cost and rate evaluation tools for independent owner-operators and small commercial carriers.
1Who Built This & Why
TrueUnderwrite is an independent software project developed to give owner-operators, fleet managers, and independent dispatchers transparent financial modeling tools without requiring enterprise software subscriptions, sales demonstrations, or account registrations.
Most commercial transportation software is either locked behind expensive telematics bundles or built around simple spreadsheet formulas that fail to account for essential operating costs. TrueUnderwrite provides open, immediate calculation tools built around the practical day-to-day decisions independent carriers face on the road.
The platform is maintained by independent commercial transportation software engineers committed to mathematical transparency in carrier operations. For questions, mathematical verification, or methodology inquiries, contact our team directly at support@trueunderwrite.com.
2The Operational Problem: Gross Revenue vs. Net Yield
In trucking, top-line gross revenue can easily mask an unprofitable operation. A load offering a $2,500 rate appears viable until you factor in 150 miles of uncompensated origin deadhead, recurring monthly equipment financing, dispatch fees, and long-term wear reserves.
Commercial equipment incurs costs on every mile traveled, regardless of whether freight is in the trailer. When fixed debt and empty repositioning miles are not properly attributed to paid revenue miles, carriers risk operating at an ongoing deficit while keeping their trucks fully booked. TrueUnderwrite was designed to uncover your actual cost floor so every booking decision is supported by arithmetic.
3How the Calculations Work
TrueUnderwrite uses transparent, standard managerial cost-accounting principles rather than proprietary black-box scoring:
Fixed Overhead Denominator
Monthly fixed debt, insurance premiums, permits, and software overhead are divided strictly by paid loaded miles. This reveals the exact revenue required per loaded mile just to keep the business operational.
Variable & Reserve Modeling
Fuel consumption (based on actual fuel prices and equipment MPG), maintenance accruals, tire replacement funds, and DEF are calculated per mile driven across both loaded and empty miles.
When evaluating individual spot loads, your baseline operating cost is applied across all required miles (loaded plus deadhead), deductions like dispatch fees and lumper charges are subtracted from gross revenue, and your true dollar profit and operating margin are displayed before you accept the rate confirmation.
4Data Handling & Privacy
Your financial numbers and equipment expenses belong to your business. Our architecture reflects that principle:
- Client-Side Processing: All financial and operational calculations are executed directly inside your web browser using JavaScript.
- No Server Database: We do not operate a user database, require user accounts, or store your rates, truck payments, or financial inputs on our servers.
- Transparent Link Sharing: When you use bookmarkable links or transition between tools, calculation inputs are serialized into standard URL search parameters. Anyone you share a scenario link with can view the parameters in that URL.
- Cookie-Free Analytics: We use privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics to monitor overall site traffic and technical page load performance without tracking individual users across the web.
Ready to audit your operational costs?
Explore our free underwriting calculators or review the methodology guides.