Finance
17 field notes on finance from an active FedEx Ground operation.
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FedEx Contractor Software: Payroll, Fuel-Card Review & Handbook
Operator-built software for FedEx Ground contractors: payroll, fuel-card review, and a handbook that run on data you already collect every week.
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What You're Actually Selling FedEx
A FedEx Ground contract is an arbitrage on delivery capacity. The moment you sign, you're short a flow of stops you don't yet have the means to cover.
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How to Read Your FedEx Ground Settlement Statement
FedEx Ground settlement statements explained — fixed vs floating revenue, fuel surcharge mechanics, and why the structure makes FedEx routes a liquid business.
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Insurance for FedEx Ground Contractors: What You Actually Need
An operator's primer on FedEx Ground contractor insurance — NTL, PD, Excess, EPLI, workers comp, broker selection, and why most contractors overpay.
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Workers Comp for FedEx Ground Contractors: Mod Scores, Injuries, and the Light-Duty Playbook
Workers comp for FedEx Ground operations — mod scores, injury response, and the light-duty test that separates real claims from manufactured ones.
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The 10,000 GVWR Rule: Why Bigger Trucks Mean Lower Driver Costs
The federal Motor Carrier Exemption that decides whether daily pay works for your drivers — the single largest variable in your driver labor cost.
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Best Fuel Cards for FedEx Ground Contractors (2026 Real-Operator Review)
WEX, Comdata, RTS — operator review of the fuel cards FedEx Ground contractors actually use, plus the theft-detection workflow that protects margin.
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How FedEx Ground Contractors Catch Fuel Theft: The Scanner Cross-Reference Method
Fuel theft in FedEx fleets is hard to prove with MPG flags. Cross-reference fuel card transactions with scanner activity for evidence that holds up.
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The Carve-Out Warning: How to Split Purchase Price to Protect Yourself From Bad Contract Terms
The two hidden risks every carve-out buyer faces — contract terms and adverse selection — and the pricing structure that protects you from both.
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The SDE Trap
A $1M route with $250K SDE listed at $500K is not a 50% yield. SDE is the biggest number in the stack — and it's computed before the trucks are paid for.
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How Sellers Dress Up a Route for Sale
The fleet-refresh move: new trucks before a sale improve the books while the business spends more. How a sharp buyer defeats it, and the real multiple.
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Don't Buy Used FedEx Trucks
The cheap step van you found online is cheap because it's worn out. In a FedEx Ground fleet, every truck decision is really an uptime decision. Buy new.
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Skip the Extended Warranty
On a working delivery truck, the cost of a repair is the downtime, not the part — and a warranty almost always makes the downtime worse. Pay your own mechanic.
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Never Lease a Delivery Truck
The lease pitch is a low payment plus a residual-value windfall you'll never collect. Finance the truck, own it, and run the cheapest capacity there is.
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The Mixed-Fleet Overtime Trap
One trip in a small van triggers federal overtime for the full week. Why mixed fleets are the biggest hidden wage-and-hour liability — and how to manage it.
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Fixed vs Floating Pay: Why I Always Go Max Floating
FedEx Ground volume rides a decade of e-commerce growth. A fixed-heavy ISPA absorbs rising costs on a flat top line — here's why I negotiate for max floating.
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The FedEx Ground Payroll Audit: What It Checks, and How to Be Ready Before They Ask
A FedEx Ground payroll audit checks driver classification on records you already hold every week. What it examines — and how to be clean before they ask.