Quick pay, factoring and broker terms | Powerhaul Freightmovers

Getting paid for the load you hauled

A broker pays you on the terms in the broker carrier agreement, counted from when it receives clean paperwork, not from delivery. Quick pay is the broker paying sooner for a fee. Factoring is selling the invoice to a factoring company for most of its value now. Both cost money, so know your standard terms first.

When the payment clock starts

Your payment terms are written in the broker carrier agreement you signed during setup. The rate con for each load may repeat them or add rules about paperwork. The number of days is set by each broker, so there is no single industry answer.

What almost every broker shares is when the clock starts. It starts when the broker receives complete, readable paperwork, not when you deliver. A load delivered Monday with paperwork sent Friday has already lost four days before the terms even begin.

That makes paperwork the one part of getting paid you fully control. Send it the day you deliver. Use a scanning app, not a blurry photo on the cab floor. Check that every stop's bill of lading is signed, that the in and out times are on it, and that you included the receipts for anything the broker agreed to pay. Then save the email you sent. When a payment is late, the first question will be when the paperwork arrived.

Clean paperwork, every time

Most late payments trace back to a missing page. Before you hit send, check the packet against this list.

The signed rate confirmation, including any revised version
The bill of lading or proof of delivery, signed at every stop
Receipts for approved accessorials: lumper, scale ticket, tolls if agreed
Your invoice, if the broker does not pay off the rate con
The load or PO number in the email subject, written the way the broker asked

Send it to the address the broker gives for invoices, not to your load contact unless they told you to. If you factor, everything goes to the factoring company instead, and the broker needs your notice of assignment on file first. Keep your originals for at least as long as a broker would keep its records, which federal rules set at three years (49 CFR 371.3 (opens in a new tab)).

Quick pay: faster, for a fee

Quick pay is the broker paying your invoice sooner than its standard terms in exchange for a fee taken out of the payment. The fee and the speed are set by each broker.

Quick pay works load by load. You choose it when you need cash this week and skip it when you do not. There is no contract with a third party and no one else collecting from the broker. The cost is the fee, and it comes straight out of the rate.

Run the math before you take it. On a $2,000 load, a fee of 3 percent would be $2,000 times 0.03, or $60. If that $60 keeps your fuel card from going dry before the next load pays, it is money well spent. If you had the cash anyway, it is $60 off your margin. Ask each broker for its quick pay terms in writing during setup, so the number is not a surprise when you need it.

Factoring: selling the invoice

A factoring company buys your invoice from you and pays you most of its value upfront. It then collects the full amount from the broker on the broker's normal terms and keeps a fee.

Factoring usually covers all your invoices, not just one, and it comes with a contract. Read it closely. Look at the fee, whether the factor can come back to you if the broker never pays (recourse), any minimum volume, and what it costs to leave. Some contracts are hard to exit.

Factoring also changes your paperwork flow. The factor sends brokers a notice of assignment telling them to pay the factor, and many factors run credit checks on brokers before you haul. That check is useful: if your factor will not buy invoices from a broker, ask yourself why you would haul for them. Powerhaul's carrier FAQ covers how we work with carriers who factor.

When a broker does not pay

Start with a calm written demand. Email the broker's accounting team with the load number, the date your paperwork was sent, a copy of the rate con and the signed proof of delivery, and the amount owed. Many late payments end there, with a missing page you can resend.

If the broker still does not pay, the law gives you something to file against. Every licensed property broker must keep $75,000 of financial security on file with FMCSA, as a surety bond or a trust fund (49 CFR 387.307 (opens in a new tab)). Look up the broker on SAFER (opens in a new tab) and its FMCSA licensing record to find who holds the bond, then file your claim with that company.

This is why you check authority before you haul. A middleman with no broker authority has no bond behind it. The steps are in how to vet a broker.

Questions people ask.

How long do freight brokers take to pay carriers?

As long as the payment terms in your broker carrier agreement say, counted from the day the broker receives your complete paperwork. Terms differ by broker, so check the agreement and the rate con. Missing or unreadable paperwork is the most common reason a payment runs late.

What is the difference between quick pay and factoring?

Quick pay is the broker paying your invoice early in exchange for a fee taken from the payment. Factoring is a separate company buying your invoice and paying you most of it upfront, then collecting from the broker. Quick pay is load by load; factoring usually covers all your invoices.

What paperwork do I need to get paid?

The signed rate confirmation, the bill of lading or proof of delivery signed at every stop, and receipts for any approved accessorial such as a lumper fee or scale ticket. Send clear, complete copies the same day you deliver, to the address the broker gives.

What if a broker does not pay me?

Send a written demand with your paperwork and the rate con. If that fails, you can file a claim against the broker's $75,000 bond or trust fund, which every licensed broker must keep with FMCSA. Look up the bond provider on the broker's FMCSA record.

What is a notice of assignment?

A notice of assignment, or NOA, is the letter from your factoring company telling a broker to pay the factor instead of you. Brokers need it on file before your first factored invoice, or they may pay the wrong party.