Selling a Cargo Business

Most cargo and freight brokerages sell based on a multiple of owner earnings, but the range depends on the quality of your gross profit. Buyers pay more for repeat contract freight, clean lane-level reporting, low claim frequency, and disciplined accessorial billing. A spot-heavy book with big shipper concentration and messy float usually prices lower. You can get a starting estimate with Rejigg’s free valuation calculator.

Buyers focus on whether they have to fund the float after closing. In freight, that is the gap between paying carriers or drivers and collecting from shippers, plus how often invoices stall in disputes or short-pays. Many deals require you to leave enough working capital in the business so loads keep moving normally. To pressure-test financing alongside float, Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator helps model payments.

Sometimes. SBA lenders usually want clean financials, stable customers, and a business that is not held together by one owner relationship. Freight can be harder because float, margin swings, and claims can stress cash, so the buyer needs a clear story for liquidity. Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator helps buyers model payments, and sellers help by providing lender-ready reporting in a data room.

A clean freight deal can move quickly once buyers can verify lane-level gross profit, float, a real claims log, and TMS exports. Most sales still take a few months because diligence takes time, and lenders add time if the buyer is financing. You can speed things up by building a tight diligence package before you go to market. Rejigg provides a built-in due diligence checklist and a controlled data room.

No. Brokers charge 5–10% of the sale price for work you can do yourself if you have the right tools and buyer access. Rejigg is built for a broker-free sale process with vetted buyers, digital NDAs, a secure data room, direct messaging, and offer tracking. Start with the guide to finding buyers, then list when you’re ready.

Most buyers will ask for two years of financials, customer and lane summaries, TMS exports, shipper and carrier agreements, a claims log, and insurance and authority documents that match your model. Freight diligence also includes accessorial examples and accounts receivable aging because disputes and short-pays can hide real margin leakage. Rejigg’s data room keeps it organized and lets you control access after NDAs are signed through the platform.

Buyers typically request load-level exports that show buy rate, sell rate, accessorials billed, and gross profit, then they reconcile the totals back to your financial statements. They look for margin leakage like uncollected accessorials, overrides, and claim write-offs that are hard to spot in a blended margin. If your data is split across a TMS and spreadsheets, expect deeper follow-up. A clean export package in a data room speeds diligence up.

Many freight deals are structured so the buyer takes the operations without your old debt, but you still have to address float. The main negotiation is usually how much cash, receivables, and payables stay in the business so it can keep paying carriers on the normal cadence. Sellers often get surprised by this late in the process if they have not mapped the timing. Rejigg’s negotiation guide explains how these terms usually land.

An earnout means part of the purchase price is paid later if the business hits agreed targets, often tied to gross profit or customer retention. In freight, earnouts come up when shipper concentration is high, margins are choppy, or the book is relationship-driven. They tend to work best when the target can be measured from your TMS, and the seller can influence results during transition. Rejigg’s deal tracking helps you compare earnout-heavy offers against cleaner cash offers side-by-side.

Seller financing means you take part of the price over time, like you are lending to the buyer. It can widen the buyer pool and sometimes supports a higher headline price, but freight needs guardrails because float can pressure cash. Most sellers want strong reporting, clear default terms, and visibility into carrier pay practices so they know the buyer is not playing games with liquidity. Rejigg helps you compare offers that include seller notes with different terms and timelines.

Many freight deals include a 60–90 day heavy transition for top shipper introductions, carrier continuity, and handing off exception handling. Some sellers provide lighter support after that, especially if key accounts want the reassurance. If the owner is still the default problem-solver, buyers often push for longer involvement. The smoothest transitions are role-based with clear owners for dispatch, billing, and claims. Rejigg’s transition planning guide helps map day-one responsibilities.

Buyers often ask the seller not to start or join a competing freight business for a set period, usually defined by geography, customer type, and service lines. In cargo, the practical worry is you pulling the same shippers and carrier relationships back out the door. A reasonable scope tracks what you actually sold and where you actually operate. Your attorney should draft and review it, but you can reduce friction by being clear about your post-close plans early.

Taxes depend on the deal structure and what you are selling, including whether the buyer is buying business assets or buying the company itself. Cargo businesses that mix brokerage with warehouses, cross-docks, trucks, or trailers can have different outcomes because equipment, leases, and working capital often get treated differently. Talk to a CPA who has handled transactions and model it before you sign. Rejigg helps keep deal terms organized so your CPA can review structures quickly.

Accounts receivable and payables are tied to float, so buyers look closely at what is collectible and what is stuck in disputes or short-pays. Many deals leave receivables with the seller, but buyers may ask you to clean up aged disputes or reserve for claim-related offsets. On payables, they want confidence carriers will not get slow-paid during transition. Clean aging reports and a clear dispute workflow reduce last-minute re-trades. Rejigg’s data room is built for sharing these reports securely.

The most common diligence problems are freight-mechanics issues: lane-level margins that do not tie to exports, accessorials that are not documented or collected, repeat claim causes that never got fixed, and float that is bigger than the seller described. Owner dependence shows up fast when buyers keep hearing that everything escalates to the owner. None of these automatically kills a deal, but vague answers usually slow it down and move price. Rejigg helps by keeping diligence centered on operating proof.

Confidentiality usually comes down to timing and control. You limit who sees shipper names, lane detail, carrier lists, and contracts, and you avoid broad outreach that tips off the market. Serious buyers should sign an NDA before they see anything that could be used to backdoor your accounts. Rejigg handles buyer vetting and digital NDAs, and you can permission folders so early buyers see a sanitized view while later-stage buyers see specifics.

That is common in freight, and most buyers can live with it if you can explain the drivers. They will want to see what changed in contract versus spot mix, which lanes tightened, and what you did about pricing, carrier coverage, and accessorial capture. Sellers who win trust bring lane-level history and a simple narrative, not just a P&L swing. Rejigg’s data room is a good place to share that “market story” next to the exports.

Start by reconciling totals by month, then explain the drivers that usually cause drift in freight. Common culprits are timing differences, accessorial billing lag, claim write-offs, and loads coded differently between the TMS and the accounting system. Buyers can accept normal timing noise, but they need to trust that load-level gross profit rolls up to the financials. If you use QuickBooks, Rejigg’s preparation guide and QuickBooks integration help organize exports and backup fast.