Freight factoring: get paid for a delivered load in about a day, not in 30 to 45
Every carrier pays for fuel, tolls and repairs this week, then waits a month or more for the broker to pay the invoice. Reefers add lumper fees, flatbeds add tarps and sometimes permits, and box trucks and hotshots run short loads that pile up small invoices. Freight factoring closes that gap. You sell the invoice to a factoring company, it pays most of it right away, and it collects from the broker.
We dispatch trucks; we don't factor invoices. When you want a factoring rate, we pass your details to our factoring partner, a factoring partner, and you get a quote based on your freight. Asking costs nothing and you don't have to sign.
Invoices per month
Trucks
We refer carriers to a factoring partner and may be paid for referrals. Disclosure.
Follow one invoice from delivery to the reserve release
Pick a reefer invoice with a lumper line or a flatbed invoice with tarp pay, set the advance, the factor's fee and how long the broker takes, then step through the five stops. Each one shows who does the work and how much money has reached you. Every number is an example to change, not a quote.
Invoice 0412
Stop 1 / Who acts: You (the carrier)
After delivery you send the factor the rate con, the signed BOL or POD, and your invoice. Most factors take photos or scans through an app or email.
- Paid to you so far
- $0
- Day (about)
- 0
- Advance
- $2,543
- Reserve held
- $283
- Factor fee
- $85
- Reserve released
- $198
Our dispatch fee on this invoice at 5% would be $130, because the $225 lumper is a reimbursement and stays out of the fee base. Ask any factor whether its fee applies to reimbursement lines too.
The point of the drawing is the gap between stop 3 and stop 5. Without factoring, you wait for the whole amount until the broker pays. With it, most of the money arrives the day after you upload, and only the reserve waits for the broker. The fee is the price of not waiting. Whether that price is worth it depends on how tight your cash is and what the waiting costs you, which is exactly what our is factoring worth it page works through.
Notice too that the broker's payment terms don't change. Factoring doesn't make a slow broker pay faster; it moves the wait from your bank account to the factor's. That's why factors care so much about which brokers you haul for, and why some will turn down invoices from a broker with a poor payment record. That refusal can be useful information when you're deciding which loads to accept in the first place.
Which carriers factor, and which page fits your operation
Factoring fits carriers whose bills come due faster than their brokers pay. That covers most new authorities and many established ones. Here's how it lines up with the kinds of carriers we dispatch, with the page that goes deeper on each.
One truck, one set of bills, and fuel due before the broker pays.
A new MC with no payment history and brokers that pay in 30 days or more.
Payroll for drivers every week, invoices from many brokers.
Tarp pay, permits and escort costs on the invoice.
Short, fast loads and lots of small invoices.
Cash for fuel at pickup, before the load is delivered.
Loads booked by us, invoices paid by your factor.
Owner-operators feel the gap hardest. One truck can burn through a week's fuel, insurance and payment before the first broker check arrives, and one breakdown can empty the account. A steady advance lets you plan around the truck instead of around the mailbox.
New authorities have it twice over. Your MC has no payment history, some brokers set long terms for new carriers, and you still need fuel for the first loads. Factors judge the broker's credit more than yours, which is why many new carriers get approved for factoring before they could get a business credit line.
Small fleets run into payroll. Drivers expect pay every week, while invoices from ten brokers arrive on ten schedules. Factoring turns that into one predictable deposit, and many factors also handle the collection calls that would otherwise land on the owner.
Flatbed, step deck and oversize carriers often front more cost per load: tarps and straps, and on oversize freight the permits and escorts that are billed back later. Reefer carriers pay lumpers at the dock, and dry van carriers see detention billed weeks after the wait. Every equipment type has its version of the same problem, and the invoice route above works the same way for all of them.
Factoring doesn't fit everyone. A carrier with healthy cash reserves and brokers that pay in under two weeks may be paying a fee to solve a problem it doesn't have. If that's you, keep the money and skip it.
Most carriers sit somewhere in between: comfortable most months, squeezed after a repair bill or a slow stretch. For them the useful question is how often the squeeze happens and what it costs when it does, from a missed load because the tank was low to a late fee on the truck payment. If you'd rather see real numbers than guess, the factoring quote form takes about two minutes and commits you to nothing.
How freight factoring works in 3 steps
The setup takes a few days the first time. After that, each load is a short routine. Our guide to how factoring works covers each step in more detail.
01
Set up the account
You apply with your MC or DOT number, W-9 and insurance certificate, and sign the factoring agreement. The factor checks your authority and the brokers you haul for, then sends each broker a notice of assignment.
02
Send each delivered load
After delivery you send the rate con, the signed BOL or POD and your invoice, plus any lumper or scale receipts you're billing. Clean, matching paperwork is what makes the payment fast.
03
Get the advance, then the reserve
The factor pays the advance, usually within about a day. When the broker pays the factor, the reserve comes back to you minus the fee and any agreed charges.
The documents a factor needs
| Document | When | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Rate confirmation | Every load | The broker agreed to this rate, these stops and these accessorials. |
| Signed BOL or POD | Every load | The freight was delivered, and what the receiver noted on arrival. |
| Your invoice | Every load | What you are billing, matched line for line to the rate con. |
| Receipts (lumper, scale, permits) | When billed | Costs you paid and are passing back to the broker. |
| Notice of assignment (NOA) | Once per broker | The broker must now pay the factor, not you. |
| MC/DOT, W-9, insurance certificate | At setup | Your authority, tax details and coverage are in order. |
The notice of assignment carries legal weight. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, once a broker gets notice that an invoice has been assigned and that payment goes to the assignee, it can only clear the debt by paying the factor. If it pays you by mistake after the notice, it may still owe the factor, and you'll be asked to pass that money on.
Source:UCC 9-406(a), discharge of account debtor; notification of assignment · checked 2026-10
On loads we book, the paperwork starts right. You approve each load before it's booked, the broker sends the rate con straight to you, and we check that the rate, stops and accessorials on it match what you agreed to. A rate con that matches the invoice is the first thing a factor looks for. You can read more on running dispatch and factoring together.
What freight factoring costs, and the terms that move the price
There's no single price. The fee depends on your volume, your brokers' credit, recourse or non-recourse, and the extras in the contract. These are the ranges trade press reported this year; your quote can land outside them.
| Item | Reported range |
|---|---|
| Recourse factoring fee | 1.5% to 3.0% |
| Non-recourse factoring fee | 2.5% to 5.0% |
| Non-recourse, under contract | 2.0% to 4.0% |
| Non-recourse, spot (single invoices) | 3% to 6% |
| Same-day funding | +0.25% to 1.0% |
| ACH transfer | $2 to $15 |
| Wire transfer | $10 to $35 |
Source:FreightWaves, Freight factoring rates: how much does factoring really cost? (Jul 1, 2026) · checked 2026-10
Advance rates. A normal advance in trucking is about 70% to 95% of the invoice, and some programs advance up to 100% by changing how the fee and reserve are handled. A higher advance means more cash today, not a cheaper deal; compare the total cost, not the headline percentage.
Source:FreightWaves Checkpoint, Average factoring advance rate for truckers (Feb 26, 2026) · checked 2026-10
Flat or tiered. A flat rate is one percentage no matter when the broker pays, within a set window. A tiered rate starts lower and climbs the longer the invoice stays unpaid. The example FreightWaves gives is 2% for the first 30 days plus 0.5% for every 10 days after. Tiered pricing rewards you for hauling for fast-paying brokers and costs you on slow ones.
Recourse or non-recourse. With recourse, you buy back an invoice the broker never pays. Non-recourse moves some of that risk to the factor, which is why it costs more. Read what it covers: many agreements limit it to a broker going insolvent and leave disputes over damage or shortages with you. Our page on recourse vs non-recourse factoring goes through the fine print.
The charges that don't show up in the headline rate
The same report lists the extras that can sit on top of the fee: monthly minimums of $250 to $1,000 or more, termination fees of $500 to $5,000 or more, credit check fees of $10 to $50 per customer, and setup fees of $100 to $500. Not every factor charges them, and none of them is unusual on its own. Together they can turn a low quoted rate into an expensive year.
- Contract term and notice. How long you're committed, how much notice you must give, and what leaving early costs.
- All-invoice clauses. Whether you must factor every load, or can choose loads and brokers.
- Minimum volume. What you pay in a month you don't reach the minimum, like a slow month or a week in the shop.
- Reserve timing. When the reserve is released, and whether it's held against other unpaid invoices.
- Fee base. Whether the fee applies to reimbursed lumper, permit and escort lines, or only to linehaul.
For a side-by-side of rates and terms, see our freight factoring rates page, which has a cost calculator, and our comparison of the best factoring companies for trucking. If fuel at pickup is the pinch, the page on factoring with fuel advances covers how those programs are priced.
Our own fee is separate and simple: 5% of gross load revenue for most single trucks, 7% for a new MC, 26 ft box trucks and hotshots, and 4% for fleets of 2 or more trucks, with no setup fee and no contract. Reimbursed costs such as lumpers stay out of the base. See how we dispatch flatbed and every other trailer type.
Freight factoring questions
Note 01Can I use a dispatcher and factoring together?
Yes, and most of our carriers do. The dispatcher books the load and sends the paperwork list; you deliver and send the rate con, BOL and invoice to your factor. We can send copies to your factor for you if you ask. The dispatch fee and the factoring fee are separate bills from separate companies, and neither one sets the other's price.
Note 02Is factoring a loan?
No. In freight factoring you sell an invoice you've already earned, at a discount, and the factor collects it from the broker. There's no loan balance and no interest rate. That's why factors look closely at the broker's payment record and less at your personal credit. Read the contract all the same: recourse terms can make you buy back an invoice the broker never pays.
Note 03What is a factoring reserve?
The reserve is the part of the invoice the factor holds back when it pays your advance. If you get a 90% advance, the other 10% sits in reserve until the broker pays. Then the factor releases it to you minus its fee and any agreed charges. Some factors advance close to 100% and hold no reserve, but that changes how the fee is taken, not whether you pay one.
Note 04Can I factor only some loads?
With some factors, yes. Spot factoring lets you sell single invoices without a full contract, though trade press puts spot pricing higher than contract pricing. Other factors require you to send every invoice from every broker, or every invoice from a named broker. That clause decides how flexible your cash flow really is, so ask about it before you sign anything.
Note 05What documents do I need to factor a load?
For each load: the rate confirmation, the signed bill of lading or proof of delivery, and your invoice. Lumper and scale receipts go with it if you're billing them. To set up the account, a factor usually asks for your MC or DOT number, a W-9, your certificate of insurance and a signed notice of assignment it sends to your brokers.
Note 06Can I switch factoring companies?
Yes, but plan it. Read your contract for the term, the notice period and any termination fee. The old factor sends your brokers a release letter, and the new factor sends a fresh notice of assignment. Invoices already sold to the old factor stay with it until the brokers pay. Switching mid-month without that paperwork is how payments get sent to the wrong company.
Note 07How fast do I get paid?
The advance usually lands within about a day of a clean upload, and some factors offer same-day funding for an extra fee. The broker then pays the factor on its own terms, commonly 30 to 45 days, and the reserve comes back to you after that. Missing signatures or a rate con that doesn't match the invoice are the usual causes of delay.
See what your invoices would cost to factor
Two minutes, your MC number and a rough monthly volume. You get a rate from our factoring partner and decide from there.
Invoices per month
Trucks
We refer carriers to a factoring partner and may be paid for referrals. Disclosure.