Factoring University is where you can learn all about the benefits of freight factoring and find answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Freight factoring is a pretty simple concept that’s been around for a long time. A business owner decides that they’d like to speed up payment on their slow-paying invoices, so, rather than send those invoices to their customer directly, they scan or fax them to the factoring company who will process the invoices and typically advance the company between 90-95% of the face value on the invoice. This held back amount (5-10%) is returned to you, minus the factors fee, when your customer pays the invoice. Having the cash in hand today rather than in 30-90 days helps with cash flow and gives you the ability to purchase fuel, pay insurance premiums, pay drivers, etc.

Factoring is used by all kinds of businesses, not just truckers. If a company has a large cash expense (like fuel) required to complete a job, factoring allows these companies to cover these costs without the burden of cash flow issues.

This is something we are asked on a regular basis. There’s a misconception that factoring is an expensive alternative to a bank loan, when in fact, a business will usually pay just a few pennies for every dollar factored. As an example, a $1,000 invoice will likely cost you between $25-40 in factoring fees. Most factors will also handle the collections on the account saving a business the cost of another staff member or the owner’s time handling the collections on their own. That being said, it’s important to work with a factor who has a good reputation and keeps the fees simple, fair and easy to understand.

The first step is to get you signed up. In most cases, this process takes less than an hour. Once signed up, simply fax or email the invoice, rate confirmation and proof of delivery to our office. We’ll enter it into our system and release up to 97% of the invoice amount to you via Wire, ACH, Fuel Card or Money Code. We will then forward the invoice to your customer on your behalf. Once the invoice is paid, we deduct a small fee and release any remaining amount back to you. It’s that simple! As a convenience, our Client Web module is available online to you 24/7. It details all your account activity.

With traditional bank financing, rates tend to be a little lower, however the approval criteria and restrictions are much greater. Banks will typically offer a fixed line of credit (LOC) that becomes a liability on your profit and loss statement and is tied to your collateral. This LOC often becomes difficult for companies to repay. Factoring grows as you grow. You’re advanced a percentage of your invoices up-front with no restrictions on growth and far fewer constraints. Factoring does not become a liability on your books and companies can stop factoring anytime.

Bad credit can always be explained and everyone runs into issues once in a while. We understand that. We use your shipper or broker’s credit to determine whether we can advance you on your invoices. By factoring your invoices and having cash available immediately, you can begin rebuilding your credit from day one.

No problem! Unlike banks, factors generally don’t require a long history of business. We provide you credit based on your customers credit worthiness. This allows you to get started right away. With 25 years of trucking experience, we can help you with several u003ca href=u0022/resources/u0022u003eother servicesu003c/au003e to insure your success.

No. You can pick and choose which customers you’d like to factor. If you have certain customers that pay you right away, we are happy to help, but recommend you bill these on your own and avoid factoring fees. Some customers do find it easier to send in everything and utilize our 24/7 online account access to view and download all their account information. Either way, the choice is always yours.

You bet! We can factor nearly any kind of freight, full or partial. We specialize in transportation, so feel free to send us what you have. If you run reefers, we have extensive experience with USDA inspections and are happy to help with any issues you may come across.

No. We are here to help you, not hinder you. Our agreement simply outlines the fees and we ask that you agree to the terms. Some factors claim no long term contracts only to require a payoff before releasing a UCC – 30, 60 or 90 days later. We believe you should always have a choice and if we are not providing you the level of service that you expect, then we should not stand in your way to find another factor.

You’d be surprised. Most of the shippers and brokers are well aware of factors and tend to prefer dealing with them directly. They recognize you are one of the responsible carriers who is looking after their business and see it as a positive. We work with thousands of shippers and brokers and it’s viewed no differently than a change of address to them.

Quickpays are typically only offered by the larger brokers and very rarely do shippers or smaller brokers offer any type of quickpay to their carriers. Quickpay fees are generally priced similar to factoring, however, requesting a quickpay on an invoice will sometimes take 2-3 days to process. Factoring allows you to take the better paying loads while not worrying too much about payment terms. Your invoices will be paid right away whether the customer pays in 30, 60 or 90 days.

Yes we can. We have an in-house brokerage partner that handles quite a bit of freight throughout the 48 contiguous states. We have also teamed up with u003ca href=u0022http://www.123loadboard.com/thunderfunding/u0022 target=u0022blanku0022u003e123Loadboardu003c/au003e, a leading online freight matching service to provide our Carriers with a discounted subscription. Give us a call and let us know what you’re looking for and the lanes you typically run and we’ll do our best to get you the right connection.

Our priority is factoring but with that comes several other services we can help you with. As you know running a trucking company takes a lot of work. u003ca href=u0022/trucker-carrier-services/u0022u003eClick hereu003c/au003e to see some of the other services we can help you with.

You bet! Click on the “Get Started” link below. We’ll waive the factoring fees for your first invoice and let you gauge our service. We are hopeful you’ll be very satisfied and we look forward to having you as a new carrier.

All in all, we can have you setup and ready to go within an hour. Click on the “Get Started” button below and one of our Business Development Managers will reach out right away. If you have invoices that have already been sent to your customers, we can likely get you funded on those as well – all within 1 day!

MORE THUNDER RESOURCES

Freight Factoring 101 E-Book

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Thunder Funding Blog

The Thunder Funding blog is all about trucking. We talk about life on the road, the challenges facing the freight industry, factoring, and the issues that matter the most to fleet owners and owner operators.

FACTORING FAQ

What is Factoring?

Freight factoring is a pretty simple concept that’s been around for a long time. A business owner decides that they’d like to speed up payment on their slow-paying invoices, so, rather than send those invoices to their customer directly, they scan or fax them to the factoring company who will process the invoices and typically advance the company between 90-95% of the face value on the invoice. This held back amount (5-10%) is returned to you, minus the factors fee, when your customer pays the invoice. Having the cash in hand today rather than in 30-90 days helps with cash flow and gives you the ability to purchase fuel, pay insurance premiums, pay drivers, etc.

Who uses Factoring?

Factoring is used by all kinds of businesses, not just truckers. If a company requires a large cash expense (like fuel) to complete a job, factoring makes it possible to cover these costs without being hindered by cash flow issues.

Recourse vs Non-Recourse?

With a recourse agreement, the business owner is assuming the risk of payment. This means that if the customer doesn’t end up paying their invoice to the factoring company, you are responsible for reimbursing the factoring company with the cash advance they provided you.

With a non-recourse agreement, the factoring company assumes the risk and will take the loss, not you, if the customer ends up not paying the invoice due to bankruptcy (insolvency).

How is Factoring different than a bank loan?

For some carriers, traditional bank loans aren’t flexible enough to help grow their business and end up leaving a shortfall in the available credit and the needs of the company.

What are the costs of Factoring?

At Thunder Funding, there are no upfront fees or costs whatsoever. Factoring companies take a small percentage of the invoice as payment for handling the collections on your behalf. Typically, invoices are funded for a few pennies of each dollar.

In most cases, the cost benefit of not having to wait up to 90 days for payment on an outstanding invoice far outweighs the small factoring fee. Many fleet owners and drivers consider the number of loads they will need in order to buy fuel with money out of their own pocket before they will receive a check from an outstanding invoice.

Waiting for invoices to pay is a drag!

Try Thunder for 90 days today!