How To Finance Your Trucking Company
By Marco Terry
There are few businesses that are as cash flow intensive as a
trucking company. The list of ongoing expenses can be endless and
can easily overwhelm small and medium size trucking companies.
There are fuel expenses, truck repairs, rentals and salaries.
Although most trucking companies are very profitable, few can
afford to wait the usual 30 to 60 days it takes to get paid for
their freight bills.
Unless the trucking company has a significant cash cushion in the
bank, waiting 30 to 60 days to get paid can cause serious problems.
It can jeopardize existing operations and furthermore, it can
prevent you from growing your business. The only way to get out of
the cash flow rut is to find a way to capitalize on your slow
paying invoices. The best tool to do this for a trucking company is
called freight bill factoring.
Freight bill factoring enables the trucking company to get paid for
their freight bills within a day of invoicing, eliminating the
usual 30 to 60 day wait.. With a factoring agreement in place, you
can stabilize your company’s cash flow and eliminate the
stress of not knowing when you’ll be paid. Since freight bill
factoring eliminates the worries of waiting for your payment, you
will be free to focus on what you do best: running your
business.
Who qualifies for freight bill factoring?
Most small and mid size trucking and transportation companies
should qualify for factoring. There are two main requirements to
qualify. First, your company must do business with reputable
clients or freight brokers. Second, your company must be free of
tax problems. If you meet these two criteria, more often than not
you will qualify. Most factoring companies are comfortable working
with new businesses, so you should be able to qualify even if your
company is a start up. Best of all, you can get a financing
agreement in place within a few days.
What services does a factoring company provide?
The main benefit of working with a freight bill factor is that this
will provide you with advanced funds on your freight bills. That
means you can get paid very quickly after invoicing. However, most
factors will also provide you with collections and credit
protection as part of their services. This enables you to focus
your energies and your staff on growing your company rather than on
expensive and time consuming back office work.
Factoring for growth
Although many truck operators initially obtain factoring financing
to avert the problems of dealing with slow payers, eventually most
owners realize that factoring can help them grow their business. It
eliminates their biggest worry by ensuring that invoices get paid
immediately, freeing up cash and enabling the owner to grow the
business.
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