to you all you "own authority" owners out there...

is there a billing service that you use to get your money...

for instance like getting your money by every week instead of a month or two...

if there is what service do you use as far as reliable and cheap???

 

You can try a non-recourse factoring company,..some charge 5%-10%.
They usually pay in 24 to 48 hrs.
Full recourse factoring is a little cheaper,....but you have to pay back the money if the factoring company fails to collect from your client.

 

Some brokers have quick pay programs. As doghouse stated, you can factor loads which would give your money within a couple of days. I don't factor all loads, but do some. It costs me 5% to use a non-recourse factor. When you use a factor, you send the bills and they do the billing and collections for you. Most of the time you will have money in your account within 24-48 hours.

 

pardon me but i don't quite get what you mean by "factor",
is there any of the agency on the net?

 

A factor is like a bank. They buy your receivables. The way a factor works is that once a load is delivered you send them the original bills and they either buy them outright for a fixed amount, such as 95% of the total of the bills. Or they will advance a percentage until the bills are paid by the shipper. If a factor is non-recourse then they buy the bills at a fixed rate less their fee. If a freight bill is $1,000 and the non-recourse factor charges 5%, then they would pay you $950 once they checked the bills. It usually only takes a day or so. If the factor offers recourse, then you are ultimately responsible for the bills if the shipper fails to pay. Most of this type of factor will only advance a percentage of the bills, such as 80% until they are paid. The longer the shipper takes to pay the higher the fees. Some charge 1% per week. If the shipper fails to pay in a specified time period, the receivable or bills are charged back to the carrier. That is where some people get into trouble.

 

is there a reliable factoring service that you would recommend.

i know wells fargo does it.

how easy is it to get into such a factoring service?




i'm leased to a carrier right now, and wanting to get my own authority. not for more money reasons but for more of freedom and choosing my own loads.
i know someone that just started hauling his own authority for about 3 weeks now, but hasn't received his pay check yet.
waiting for the billing. he's comfortable with it but i'm not...

 

You really need some working capital set aside before venturing out on your own. There are a number of factors. D & S Factors is good. They are non-recourse and charge 5%. The thing I like about them is that you don't have to factor all of your receivables. You only factor those that you want. Some factors have a minimum amount they will do each month or other fees. With D & S there are no hidden fees. I have a friend who has used Riviera. Flying J has a factoring company through their bank, Transportation Alliance Bank. I don't recall some of the others. You need to read any contract very carefully, some have hidden fees.

 

I would check on the cost of your liability and cargo insurance. Most will require you to pay the full amount right off the bat which could run from $7,000 to $12,000 and more for the year.

I started out with about $30,000 in cash. Between insurance, fuel, maintenance and your personal bills it was eaten up pretty quick before the checks started coming in.

 

You have just been given excellent advise, by 3 people whom have real world experience, on what it will take for you to be profitable, with your own authority. And it was free.

Heed their advise.