When your own fleet cannot cover a job, 4fleet lets you send it to a partner operator and keep the whole thing inside the system. This article covers setting up partners, the two ways to send work out (single dispatch vs competitive tender), and how commissions are tracked.
Setting up a partner
Add each B2B partner - another chauffeur company, a hotel, a travel agent - with their contact details, commission structure, and payout information. Two capability flags decide what each partner can do:
- Can fulfil - the partner can take subcontracted jobs you dispatch to them.
- Can refer - the partner sends inbound referral bookings your way.
A partner can be both at once. Only partners with can fulfil turned on, and a contact email, can receive a dispatch.
Partners go through a light vetting workflow (submit for review with at least one document, then approve, activate, or suspend), and you can record their fleet capabilities, service areas, contracts, and SLA response-time settings.
Two ways to send a job out
Single-partner dispatch
Dispatch sends one job leg to one specific partner. 4fleet emails them a secure, mobile-friendly link where they can accept or decline on their phone - no 4fleet account required. Only one active dispatch exists per leg at a time. When the partner responds you are notified (in-app and by email), and you complete the loop by awarding the leg to them. An expiry job automatically times out dispatches the partner never answers, and feeds their response-time SLA stats.
Note: dispatch is operator-initiated. Assigning a partner on an enquiry only sets the assignment - it does not notify them. Use dispatch (or a tender) when you want the partner actually contacted and tracked.
Competitive tender (multiple partners)
A tender invites several partners to quote on a job at once. Each invited partner receives a link, submits a per-leg price, and you compare the offers side by side and award the best one. Tenders work from both booking legs and enquiry legs, and the tender context carries over when an enquiry converts to a booking. Use a tender when you want the best price across your network; use a single dispatch when you already know who you want.
Overflow coverage
4fleet works out whether your own fleet can cover a job or needs a partner, setting a coverage status (covered by one vehicle, covered by a split, needs a partner, or needs more details). Enquiries flagged "needs partner" show up in a dedicated tab, and 4fleet can recommend partners scored by capacity fit, performance, response time, acceptance rate, and service area.
Commissions
When a partner booking is marked completed, 4fleet automatically calculates and records the commission - for an inbound job you pay the partner, for a referral you earn a finder's fee - using the partner's rate or commission templates. You then settle commissions manually or in batches, or pay them directly via Stripe Connect transfer to the partner's connected account. Cancelling a booking auto-reverses any accrued commission.
You can also generate partner self-bill invoices and batch statement runs, and export a per-partner commission statement as a PDF.
The partner portal
You can give a partner a token-gated self-service portal - no 4fleet user account needed - where they log in to see a dashboard, their bookings, their commission history, and update limited profile details. Enable the portal from the partner record and email them the invite link.
When to reach for which tool
- Own fleet can cover it - assign a vehicle and driver as normal.
- One trusted partner, need it done - single dispatch, then award.
- Want the best price across several partners - run a tender.
- Sending informal enquiries or a payout confirmation - use the job-request and payout-remittance emails.