Do you like it when things are running along as smoothly as a well-greased bearing, or do you prefer taking risks? Drivers will know what I mean. There is a place for risk in business, but sometimes, unexpected costs of transportation will strike you like a bolt from the blue. If you have at least once encountered extraordinary repairs or simply underestimated the costs of fuel or drivers’ salaries, you must know that a fast cash flow could be vital for your business. Where there is a will, there is a way. The contemporary market offers some financial services, which help you get your money ASAP for reinvestment and to cover your daily needs. The two most well-known and used of those are factoring and quick pay for truckers, which are modern financial tools that reduce your risks while providing many benefits.
Customers will typically pay the trucking company within one to three months after the load is delivered, but that is sometimes too long to wait. Many owner operators prefer advance payments or at least paid-on-deliveries. At the same time, they could treat the assignment of right of demand to third parties with some mistrust. In this case, factoring is not an option, since it implies that a factoring company would be involved. The best way out of the situation is quick pay trucking.
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What Is Quick Pay?
Quick pay for truckers is a prompt payment service that allows carriers to receive their money from a broker within days for a percentage of the invoice value.
Be advised that not every broker offers quick pay trucking, and brokers can offer quick pay on their own loads only. Besides, each broker sets the size of fees they charge. The due date can also vary. We recommend reviewing the terms of the agreement carefully before making a decision.
Most brokers are open to discussing the terms with customers. Deferred payment means that the owner operator will get more money for their services but has to wait longer to get paid, typically 30 to 90 days. It is up to you whether to use the quick pay option in each specific case, for example, when you do not require the cash right now and you would rather save on fees.
How Does Quick Pay Work?
Before you reach any conclusion on which financial tool to use, contact the broker’s agents to discuss the terms, find out all about how quick pay works, and check the amount that will be paid. Brokers typically pay less for freight with quick pay.
Once you sign the agreement, you need to provide the documents for quick pay to the broker, including the invoice and proof of delivery.
How Long Does Quick Pay Take?
On the average, quick pay for truckers takes two to five days from documents approval.
Sometimes you cannot wait even that long, so you might be able to get paid within one banking day by prior agreement with the broker. In that case, there will be a slight increase in the amount of the fee.
Note that it is always possible to choose the payment time on every load at extra cost.
What Is Factoring?
Factoring is a financial service for manufacturers and suppliers that sell goods or services using a deferred payment method. Producers refer to a factor — a factoring organization or a specialized bank’s department. This way, the factoring organization pays bills instead of buyers for a small percentage.
Three parties are involved in a factoring deal:
- A lender is a seller who sells a product or service via deferred payment;
- A debtor is a customer who buys goods or services using deferred payment;
- And the factor — the bank — that covers receivables at a small percentage.
Factoring allows the company to make a favorable offer to the client. Deferral of payment for customers is a benefit: by offering them agreeable payment terms, a company can get ahead of its competitors. And with the help of factoring, a business can release goods or provide services with a deferred payment, avoiding losing money: the proceeds will come on the day of shipment, and this money can be used immediately.
One of the important advantages of factoring is that the factor can verify the client and control the refund.
This reduces the risk of non-payment by the client. The factor itself can check the solvency of the lender's clients, set a limit on credit deliveries to a specific buyer, and recommend the duration of the payment deferral. And after the factor provides financing, it takes on the responsibility of reminding the buyer about the terms of payment.
Factoring can relieve a business from the hassle of credit, risk of non-payment and cash gaps. However, factoring only works with deferred payment agreements. The factor cannot be involved in cases of concluding an agreement with the condition of immediate payment.
So, in simple terms, factoring is the exchange of future revenue for money with no time delay.
Factoring vs Quick Pay for Truckers
The time value of money is a financial concept stating that the value of a dollar today is worth more than the value of a dollar tomorrow. The trucking business implies a choice of attractive payment options, including factoring and quick pay, which help to speed up the cash flow and boost your trucking business if used wisely.
To choose the better one at any given time, you need to understand the basic difference between freight factoring and quick pay:
- Many people compare quick pay vs. factoring, but the terms have more or less the same meaning and both are popular payment methods that speed up the cash flow going from the broker to the owner operator. The difference is the timespan: while you may get your money immediately with factoring, you will have to wait two to five days or even longer to get your quick pay.
- A trucker will get professional assistance from a factoring company, with all the papers, fuel card discounts and advances, invoicing and collections for all loads from different brokers. With quick pay, you work directly with the brokers, who will pay on their own loads only. Besides, you will handle all the paperwork yourself.
- With factoring, the trucker delivers a load to the client and then sends the invoice to a factoring company instead of sending it to the client. The factoring company pays the majority of the invoiced amount. After getting the full payment from the client, the factor pays the rest of the invoiced amount net of a small fee. With quick pay, the broker will only pay the agreed amount to the carrier against proof of delivery.
- If the trucker’s choice is to get quick pay instead of waiting for 30 to 90 days, brokers will dictate the rules and the rates. In cases where the trucking company cannot wait that long, it takes a low-paying freight from a fast-paying broker. Brokers will make money in any case by offering the carrier a load at a lower rate than what it is worth. With factoring, the carrier is more flexible in choosing well-paid loads.
- With quick pay, the carrier does not have to enter into a long-term agreement with brokers: it is simply a case-by-case arrangement. With factoring, the trucker signs an agreement with a third-party funding source, a factor, and sells accounts receivable to it. Any payments are only made after thorough verification that your customer is creditworthy. The reputation of all the interested parties is built over a long-term partnership.
- Factoring fees are normally higher than quick pay fees because factoring companies charge hidden payments for online services, review account, reporting, debtor checks and ongoing credit support. Note that the size of factoring fees usually depends on the volume of invoices being processed.
Conclusion
Decisions around quick pay versus deferred payment are often based on the freight rate, because a better paid load implies a longer payment period. However, it is important to consider that early payment methods like factoring and quick pay offer trucking companies of all sizes a range of benefits, including a short accounts receivable turnaround time and increased revenue.
At the same time, not all trucking companies are ready to engage third-party factoring organizations, because of a lack of experience or small turnover. Quick pay is considered a proper financial tool to start with if you need quick financing for current expenditures.
With its considerable experience in freight factoring, HMD Financial ensures competence and provides a full range of personalized services for owner-operators and freight carriers. Our customers have the most attractive factoring rates and payment terms on the market. Your success story will become a real-life case that proves your company's value.
Are you a hardworking truck driver looking to optimize your earnings and minimize your tax liability? The road to financial success starts with understanding the tax deductions available specifically for truck drivers. Discover how you can keep more money in your pocket by exploring our informative article on "Tax Deductions for Truck Drivers".
