New authority? The first year is a paperwork war. Arm yourself.
The 1–2 year failure rate for new trucking authorities is brutal, and it's almost never the driving — it's unknown cost per mile, late invoices, and compliance surprises. CabCommand is built to close exactly those three holes.
Start with your state's actual list
Before the first load: USDOT and MC authority, BOC-3, primary liability insurance, UCR — then your state's stack. Your IFTA license comes from your home state's own agency, IRP plates from another, and some states run intrastate programs on top. CabCommand resolves the checklist from your real answers and names each agency; find yours on the state-by-state requirement pages.
As documents arrive — authority letter, COI, cab card — the vault reads them, checks items off, and starts tracking the expirations. The roadmap stays a living thing instead of a PDF you read once.
Invoice same-day or bleed
New authorities die in the gap between delivering a load and getting paid for it. A complete invoice packet — invoice, signed rate con, signed BOL, receipts, one PDF — sent the day of delivery is the single highest-leverage habit in your first year. CabCommand makes it one tap, with the broker's billing email read off the rate con. If you factor, the same packet is what gets same-day funding.
Know your number before you book
Insurance, truck payment, fuel, permits: your costs are highest exactly when your judgment is newest. CabCommand computes your all-in cost per mile from real data, so 'good rate' stops being a guess. The FAQ covers the money questions every first-year carrier asks — dispatcher fees, factoring versus direct billing, detention.
Don't learn the permit states the hard way
Oregon, New York, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Connecticut charge per-mile programs that follow your truck across their line, and California checks emissions on nearly every diesel entering the state. New carriers usually discover these at a weigh station. CabCommand warns you when a booked route — or a live tracked truck — touches a program you haven't set up.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need before booking my first load?
Active MC authority, BOC-3 process agent, primary liability insurance, UCR registration, and your state's IFTA/IRP setup if you run interstate. CabCommand builds the full list for your specific operation.
Should a new authority use factoring?
Usually yes at the start: a 1–5% fee buys same-day cash and broker credit checks while your reserves are thin. Once you hold 2–3 months of expenses, direct billing keeps thousands per year.
What's the most common first-year mistake?
Hauling below your cost per mile without knowing it. Second place: incomplete invoice packets silently restarting brokers' NET-30 clocks.
Which states will surprise me with extra taxes?
Oregon (weight-mile), New York (HUT), Kentucky (KYU), New Mexico (weight-distance), Connecticut (Highway Use Fee), and California (Clean Truck Check). Register before you enter — CabCommand flags them per route.
Put it to work on your next load
3-minute setup, everything included from $29/mo, 30-day money-back guarantee.
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