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When to use this

Use a fuel surcharge when your rate needs to move with diesel prices instead of staying fixed. Tread applies the right surcharge tier automatically once it’s configured — no manual invoice edits each time fuel prices change.

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How it works

A fuel surcharge has three parts, and all three are required — skip one and the surcharge silently drops off invoices. See Rates, Add-Ons & Fuel Surcharges for how this fits the broader pricing model.
  1. Fuel Price Index — the current price of fuel you’re tracking (e.g. a regional diesel average). You update this weekly.
  2. Fuel Surcharge Schedule — a table mapping fuel price tiers to a surcharge (a percentage of the base rate, or a flat amount per unit).
  3. Add On — the piece that actually attaches the schedule to an order or project so it shows up on invoices and driver pay.

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Setup

1

Set up a Fuel Price Index

Go to Settings → Rates → Fuel Price Index and create an index (e.g. Gulf Coast (PADD 3)). Add a price entry with the current fuel price and today’s date. Tread matches orders to the price entry dated closest to (without exceeding) the order date, so add a new entry — don’t edit the old one — each time the price changes.
2

Build a Fuel Surcharge Schedule

Go to Settings → Rates → Fuel Surcharge Schedule and create a schedule linked to the index from step 1. Pick a rate type — Percentage (e.g. 1% of the base freight rate) or Flat (e.g. 0.25perton)—thenaddtiers:afuelpricethresholdpairedwiththesurchargethatappliesatthatprice(e.g.0.25 per ton) — then add tiers: a fuel price threshold paired with the surcharge that applies at that price (e.g. 3.50 = 0%, 3.60=13.60 = 1%, 3.70 = 2%).
3

Create the Add On

Go to Settings → Rates → Add On Charges and create an add-on with rate type Fuel Surcharge, then select the schedule from step 2. Choose which add-on types it applies to — most companies select all of them.
4

Apply it to an order or project

Open an order from Dispatch or Projects and scroll to Freight Rates. Under the Customer Rate block (or Vendor Rate, if you pass the surcharge through to a vendor), click the ••• menu, choose Add On, and select the fuel surcharge add-on.
5

Keep the price current

Add a new Fuel Price Index entry every week (or on whatever cadence your surcharge schedule assumes). Tread recalculates the surcharge on every open invoice that uses that schedule within moments — no need to touch individual orders.

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How the surcharge is calculated

The surcharge applies on top of the base freight rate. If the customer rate is $31/ton and the current tier is 1%, the fuel surcharge add-on adds that 1% to the invoice and driver pay totals automatically — no manual line-item math.

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Common pitfalls

A locked invoice won’t pick up a new fuel price. Tread recalculates fuel surcharges automatically when you add a new Fuel Price Index entry — but only on invoices that are still open. Once an invoice is approved, paid, voided, or customer-approved, the surcharge is frozen. If a rate looks wrong, check the invoice’s lock status first — reopening or re-saving the order will not fix it.
Missing any one of the three pieces — index, schedule, or add-on — removes the surcharge with no error. Test on a sample order before go-live, and reconcile the result against your existing fuel matrix.