Driver settlements explained: per-mile, percentage and owner-operator pay

A settlement is the weekly statement of what each driver earned and what came out of it. The math is simple; the mistakes come from rules nobody wrote down. Here are the three common pay types with worked examples.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Tandem Fleet

All amounts below are example numbers, chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow. Use your own rates.

Per-mile pay

The driver earns a fixed amount for each mile.

Miles driven this week	2,400
Rate per mile	$0.62
Gross pay	$1,488.00

Rules to decide once: loaded miles only or all miles; which mileage source (for example Google Maps ZIP to ZIP, or PC*MILER); whether the office may correct a load's miles by hand; and whether stops, detention or layover add a flat amount.

Per-mile drivers don't need to see what the load pays, and many companies prefer that they don't.

Percentage pay

The driver earns a share of what the loads paid.

Linehaul of the week's loads	$7,200.00
Driver's percentage	28%
Gross pay	$2,016.00

Rules to decide once: what the percentage is taken of (linehaul only, or linehaul plus fuel surcharge, or everything the broker pays, including detention); and what happens to lumper money the broker reimburses (usually it is not pay and stays out of the base).

A percentage driver should be able to see the amounts their pay is based on. Otherwise every Friday turns into a question.

Owner-operator pay

The owner-operator brings the truck and keeps most of the gross. The carrier keeps a percentage and passes on the costs it paid for the truck.

Gross of the week's loads	$9,500.00
Owner-operator share (88%)	$8,360.00
Fuel bought on the company card	−$2,140.00
Insurance, weekly	−$250.00
ELD fee, weekly	−$25.00
Net pay	$5,945.00

Rules to decide once: the percentage; which costs are deducted and whether at actual cost or a fixed weekly amount; and when a weekly charge starts and stops.

Deductions for company drivers

Escrow: for example $250 held from each check until $1,000 is reached, returned when the driver leaves, minus real damages.
Advances: money paid out during the trip, taken back on the next settlement.
Damages: only with a record of what happened and the amount, and taken the way your agreement with the driver says.

Every deduction should appear as its own line with a reason. A total with no lines is what drivers argue about.

When two drivers share a load

After a breakdown or a planned relay, one load is driven by two drivers. Split it by the miles each one drove.

Example: $1,000 load, 1,000 miles, both drivers on 30%	Miles	Pay
The percentage pool: 30% of $1,000		$300.00
Driver A, first part of the trip	580	$174.00
Driver B, after the handoff	420	$126.00

If both drivers are on per-mile pay, each is paid the miles they drove. If one is per-mile and the other on percentage, decide the rule once and apply it every time. Write down the handoff point and the odometer reading when it happens.

What a driver statement should show

The pay period, and the date the money is paid.
Each load: number, route, date, and the miles or the amount the pay is based on.
How each line was calculated (miles × rate, or amount × percentage).
Extras such as detention or layover, each on its own line.
Each deduction on its own line with a reason, and the escrow balance.
Gross, total deductions, net pay.

Friday pay without Thursday night. In Tandem Fleet you set each driver's pay rules once (per mile, percentage, owner-operator, deductions). Tandem Fleet prepares the week line by line, you approve it, and every driver gets a statement they can read. Its pay math was checked against a real driver statement, to the cent, on a load two drivers shared after a breakdown.

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This guide is practical advice, not tax, payroll or legal advice. Pay agreements and deductions must follow your written agreement with each driver and the law where you operate.