Simplex Group Miami, FL

Simplex Group can make sure your trucking company stays compliant with Department of Transportation safety rules and that your compliance is well documented.

If you run a trucking company in Miami, Florida, you will have to purchase trucks, hire drivers, and find loads. You will also have to work out the logistics of moving critical goods around the country. 

Your company cannot operate without complying with Department of Transportation regulations. Large trucking companies have departments strictly dedicated to compliance. If you are a small business, you probably don’t have the financial resources to devote a whole department to compliance. 

However, our Simplex Group experts in Miami can handle all DOT/FMCSA safety compliance for you.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the agency that has the responsibility of enforcing all DOT safety rules. If you are a new trucking company, you will have a new entrant safety audit with an FMCSA agent for the first 18 months you are in business. 
The FMCSA can also audit you if there is a complaint against you, you commit an infraction, or you fail a roadside inspection. We can help you keep your paperwork in order so that your entrant safety audit goes smoothly and that you pass any subsequent audits.

Florida trucking companies that operate certain types of vehicles for the interstate transportation of goods or people must follow FMCSA rules and obtain a USDOT number. You must apply for a number if any of your vehicles will transport hazardous material or if they have a gross weight or gross combination weight of 10,001 pounds or more. 

If you have vehicles that are used to transport more than eight people for compensation or more than 15 people, whether or not there is compensation, you will need to get a USDOT number.

There are certain steps you must follow to get a DOT number. You will begin by applying through the Unified Registration System, which is a platform for new transportation companies. Simplex Group can assist you with filling out this application. A mistake on the application can delay the process of getting a DOT number or cause problems down the line.

You must have insurance whenever you open any business, and trucking is no exception. Clients and lenders will want to know what will happen if their investment fails, so you must obtain insurance for your fleet. 

Simplex Group is a licensed trucking insurance agency that will make sure you have the proper insurance coverage and will send the paperwork in for you as well.  The amount of insurance you will require will depend on how many trucks you have in your fleet and the type of cargo you haul.

Once you acquire insurance and trucks, you will begin hiring drivers. Although the state of Florida says a person can be a professional truck driver when they are only 18, the federal government requires a person to be 21. In addition to having a commercial drivers license, DOT requires that truck drivers meet the following requirements:

• Pass a DOT specific physical
• Have one or two years of driving experience
• Have no active suspensions in any state 
• Have a high school diploma

A three-year motor vehicle history must be run on each driver. You must run a motor vehicle history for every state where a driver was licensed.

Although the DOT does not require drivers to pass a pre-screening urine drug test, the state of Florida does. Trucking companies must perform a random drug test on their drivers at least once a year.

Simplex Group will arrange drug tests and communicate with the lab for you.

Regular maintenance of your fleet is one of the most fundamental things you can do to ensure the safety of others. Drivers must inspect their vehicle before and after they drive it and must document the results on an Electronic Logging Device. 

If there is a problem with a vehicle, it must be fixed before it can be driven. This must be documented as well. 

A record of each of the inspections that you perform must be filed and stored. We can make sure the paperwork is filled out correctly and stored properly. Everything will be right at your fingertips if you are audited. 

A tired driver is a dangerous driver. The average semi-truck weighs 1500 to 8000 pounds, and operating one is hard work that should not be attempted when one is tired. That is why the DOT limits the number of hours a driver can be on the road. A truck driver can only operate a vehicle for 11 consecutive hours. They must be off duty for 10 hours before attempting another shift, and they cannot work over 70 hours in a 7 day period.

Driver’s track their hours by using an ELD. Simplex will keep track of each driver’s hours for you and let you know if there are any suspicious activities.

Your first audit can be scary if you have to do it alone, but we can help you prepare for, and pass it. We can help you get ready for the follow-up inspection if you make a mistake.

Running a trucking company can be profitable and rewarding if you have the right training and follow the DOT rules. Everything will be much easier if an experienced compliance company guides you.

Simplex Group can assist you with every element of setting up and running a small trucking company. When you let us take care of the paperwork and minor details, you can concentrate on running your business.

Any trucking company needs the right of insurance coverage. In addition to the liability insurance required by the FMCSA, you well also need cargo insurance to protect your client’s goods. You will need physical damage insurance for your trucks, and you will need some general insurance just for running a business. We have trained insurance experts on our staff who will put together the perfect policy for your company.

The lane a truck driver takes when getting cargo from one place to another can make or break that company. A trucking company that does not choose its lanes well may lose thousands of dollars a year. 

We know all the best routes to take across the USA. We will make sure you get your desired lanes for a reasonable rate when you use our services. We can teach you how to load your trucks for maximum profitability. We can negotiate on your behalf and ensure that the loads you haul are lucrative, and we can even check your client’s credit for you.

The trucking industry has many rules and regulations. In addition to the FMCSA, the industry is governed by several regulatory boards, programs, and committees. There are several different permits you will need to operate.

If a company is involved in interstate travel and its trucks weigh over 10,000 pounds or transport hazardous material, they must sign up for Unified Carrier Registration and pay its annual fee. 

The government mandates that you participate in this program. Different states have different fees, and trucking companies once had to pay all of those fees separately. The UCR is a way of consolidating fees for various states into one charge. The money is distributed to the states by the UCR office. The annual fee is based on how many trucks you have in your fleet.

Each state that a driver drives through charges fuel tax. It used to be that you would have to have a fuel permit in every state that you drove through. They could only calculate taxes at the pump. If a driver drove through a state without buying gas, that state would not get the taxes owed. This was confusing and time-consuming. The International Fuel Tax Agreement allows trucking companies to make one payment to the IFTA office on a quarterly basis. The money is then distributed to the states that you drove through via the IFTA office. However, there are some states that are NOT under the IFTA mandate and if you travel through their highways, you’ll have to pay to them directly. 

Our trained trucking experts are well versed in the permits your company will require. They have years of experience filling out the necessary paperwork and can make sure your permits are up to date.

Your trucks need to have certain tags on them to operate legally. You must obtain your DOT number and renew them every two years. If you have bought or sold a truck, you need to transfer the title officially.

A commercial truck requires more than just a dot number. You will have to be signed up for The International Registration Plan. The IRP is an agreement between U.S states and Canada that pays license fees based on the number of miles your drivers travel. There should be an IRP in your state; your local office will issue a tag.

Registering for all the tags you need to operate is very time-consuming. We can handle this tedious task for you. When you leave the job to us, we will ensure that you have all the tags you need and that they are up to date.

When we take you on as a client, we want to make sure your business thrives. That’s why we provide you with our magnificent fuel card. You will enjoy free maintenance service and many extra perks. The cards will get you a discount on gas at over 500 fuel stations. It also provides 24-hour roadside assistance.

Trucking companies pay a lot of taxes. You have to pay taxes in every state your trucks drive through. You have to pay your federal taxes as well. 

When you hire us, we will make it our goal to ensure you get every deduction available to you. Your taxes will be done on time, and you will be paid in full. The last thing you need is to owe late fees or penalties to the government.

Factoring is a solution to cash flow problems or simply another form of financing by getting money advanced for loads completed

Brokers may take up to 45-90 days to pay for a load that you have agreed on and completed in good faith. Unless you have at least 40K per truck saved to fund your monthly operating expenses, like your insurance, driver pay, fuel, truck maintenance, etc., while you wait for the payment, you may be better off using a factoring service With a factoring company for a small fee you get immediate cash for your freight bills as soon the load is delivered and the paperwork is approved. 

This provides you with the necessary cash flow to keep operating while you leave the collection of the payment to the factoring company.

 We offer a factoring service that is designed to benefit you. Our fee is very low, and there are no hidden costs. Some companies will only buy big debts, but we know that your company will have a better chance of success if you only sell the debts you need to sell. 

Simplex Group has partnered with OTR Solutions, one of the largest and most reliable factoring companies in the nation. Our program provides you with a dedicated team to manage all your back-office needs while offering very low factoring rates, no hidden fees, and no monthly minimums.  

Simplex brings this experience to the table. We offer a comprehensive program for new trucking companies, so give us a call today. We want to do everything we can to make sure your company is a success.