A company that provides invoice-factoring services, meaning they provide same- or next-day funds to trucking carriers equal to the amount of the carriers' outstanding receivable invoices while carriers wait on incoming payments. In exchange for providing immediate funds, effectively absorbing the typical 30- to 45-day payment terms, the carrier pays the factoring company a percentage of the invoiced amounts.
At its core, the carrier is selling the paperwork of completed loads to the factor. Load or payment issues might occasionally draw an invoice out closer to 90 days which can present a hardship to a small businesses. Factoring companies can help carriers bridge short term cash flow issues, but like a consumer payday loan, the fees are generally much higher than interest rates on traditional bank loans.
