Truckers are sometimes stuck with unpaid freight bills, leaving them short in cash for fuel and other on-the-road expenses. If the problem is left unchecked, it can put a stressful burden on drivers. Fuel advances are the easiest and most accessible solution to the problem of unpaid freight bills, especially for small fleets.
Fuel advances create immediate cash flow to keep the trucks running and to maximize their output. Fuel advances provide up-front cash and solves the trucker’s problem of how to cover the cost of fuel during road trips.
How does it work?
When customers fail to pay their freight invoices on time, truckers need to find other sources of funding to keep their trucks running and hauling goods. Freight bill factoring companies provide truckers with the cash they need by purchasing their unpaid invoices. Basically, the factoring company buys a trucker’s invoices for freight that has been delivered. The factoring company advances to the trucker up to 95 percent of the face amount of the invoices submitted. The factoring company will collect payment from the customers. Once the factoring company is able to collect from the customers’ invoices, they will give the trucking company the reserved invoice amount, minus the financing fee for the cash advance.
The amount of the fee charged depends on the quality of the accounts to be collected, not on the credit strength of the trucking company. The fee will fluctuate based on the performance of the receivables and the credit-worthiness of the customers.
Benefits of fuel advances
The benefits include the following:
- High initial advance – Factoring companies give truckers as much as 95 percent of the value of the invoices.
- Quick approval – Fuel advances can be obtained typically in just one business day, giving the trucking company instant money to cover its fuel costs.
- Works with fuel cards – Factoring lines are often integrated with providers of fuel cards for additional convenience to trucking companies.
- Allows for financial growth – Fuel advances allows trucking companies to take more loads and make more trips to allow growth in its operations.
Fuel advances are convenient cash flow solutions that are available to trucking companies that are running low on cash for their fuel costs. Fuel advances can be accessed faster than traditional bank loans.