Nobody gets on the field carrying an injury
A shipper handing over a container is handing over money. The only reason to do that through a board is if the board does the checking first. So the supply side of Mashofe.com is gated: a transporter or a clearing desk will not be visible here until the company, the vehicle, the cover and the permits have been seen. If you are short on any of it, that is not the end of the conversation - it is the start of a different one.
Six things a posting must clear before it is visible
Every one of these is checked against a document, not against an assurance. A posting sits unlisted until all six clear, and the operator is told exactly which one is holding it up.
The check runs on a person at the Mashofe.com desk rather than on a form, and it starts when the confirmation gate goes live - see the note at the foot of this page.
The company is real
A registered trading entity with a company number we can read back to you, and a person named on it who answers the phone. A trading name on a WhatsApp status is not a company.
The vehicle is real and legal
Registration in the operator's own name or a written lease that says otherwise, a current certificate of fitness, and a driver holding the class of licence the rig actually needs. A borrowed horse with no paperwork does not go on the board.
The cover is in force
Goods-in-transit cover at a stated limit and third-party liability, both current. On cross-border work that means a COMESA yellow card or the equivalent for every country on the leg.
The permits match the route
A domestic operating licence for internal work. A cross-border road transport permit for each transiting country on a corridor run, with road user charges and carbon tax accounted for at each entry.
The clearing desk is licensed
A clearing agent carries a customs licence issued by the revenue authority of the country they clear in, tied to the posts they say they work. We check the licence against the post, not just that a licence exists.
Someone stands behind it
Association membership where the market has one, or two trade references from counterparties we can reach. A new operator with no history is not disqualified - an operator nobody will vouch for is.
What the mark will say, and what it will not
A posting carrying the compliance mark will have cleared all six gates above and been re-checked within the last ninety days. That is a narrow statement by design.
Read what it will not cover before you rely on it. No posting on the board carries the mark yet.
The mark will say
- That the trading entity exists and is registered where it says it is
- That the vehicle is registered, fit and legally in this operator's hands
- That goods-in-transit and liability cover were in force when last seen
- That the permits on file match the routes the operator is posting on
- That a clearing desk holds a current customs licence for the posts it claims
- That the documents were re-checked inside the last ninety days
The mark will not say
- That the rate quoted to you is fair
- That the operator will arrive on the day agreed
- That cargo is insured for the value you place on it
- That Mashofe.com carries, forwards, insures or clears anything
- That a claim against the operator becomes a claim against us
- That you should skip your own due diligence on a large consignment
We would rather fix it than turn you away
Most operators who fail the gate fail it on paperwork, not on competence. A good driver with a good truck and an expired fitness certificate is not a bad operator - he is an operator with a job to do first.
Mashofe.com works with compliance partners in each market who do that job, and you come onto the board when it is done.
Registration and statutory filing
Company registration, annual returns, tax clearance and the operating licence application itself, handled in your own jurisdiction.
Cover and risk
Goods-in-transit and liability cover quoted against the work you actually do, rather than a policy bought for the certificate.
Cross-border permits
Permit applications for each country on the corridors you want to run, and the yellow card that goes with them.
Fitness and compliance repair
Vehicle fitness, weighbridge and axle-load compliance, and the lease paperwork that makes a rig you operate legitimately yours to operate.
Mashofe.com does not charge for the referral and does not take a share of what a compliance partner charges you. The introduction is made for the same reason every other introduction on this board is made: the work only exists if both sides are able to do it.
Questions people ask about the gate
Other boards say their operators are vetted. How is this different?
Mostly by being specific. A board that says its operators are vetted and does not say what was looked at, who looked at it, or what happens when a document expires is asking you to take a word on trust. The six gates above name the documents. The re-check interval is stated. A person at the desk performs it, not a form. And when the gate is not running, as it is not today, this page says so instead of leaving the word up.
I have one truck and no company. Am I locked out?
Not permanently. You cannot be listed as a trading operator without a registered entity, because a shipper needs someone to contract with. Registering one is a small piece of work in every market we operate in, and a compliance partner will do it. Come back when it is done and the posting goes live.
My cover lapsed last month. Does my posting come down?
Yes. The mark is a statement about the present, so it will come off the moment a document expires and the posting is unlisted with it. Send the renewal and it goes back up the same day.
Will shippers be checked the same way?
Not to the same depth. A shipper posting cargo is not being trusted with someone else's property, so the check is that the company and the person are real and the consignment is legal to move. The heavy gate sits on the side that carries the goods.
Who actually looks at the documents?
A person on the Mashofe.com desk, against the register or the issuing authority wherever one can be reached. It will not be a checkbox on a form and it will not be automated.
Does a compliance badge make Mashofe.com liable if something goes wrong?
No, and the terms say so plainly. Mashofe.com introduces two parties and earns a commission on the trip. It never takes custody of cargo, never carries the risk on it, and is not a party to the contract you sign with the operator.
How often is a listed operator re-checked?
Every ninety days, and immediately on any document with an expiry date inside that window. Operators will be reminded before the date, not after it.
The gate is built and it is not switched on
Everything above describes the standard Mashofe.com will hold the supply side to, and the machinery to run it is written and ready. It is not yet live. Until it is, no posting on this board has been checked by anybody, every listing reads Post not confirmed, and no compliance mark or verification mark appears anywhere on the site. We would rather tell you that plainly than let a badge do work it has not earned.
Ask before you post, not after
If you have read this far and you are not certain your paperwork clears the gate, say so. The desk would far rather answer a question now than turn down a posting later, and nothing you ask here counts against you.