Avoid Deadbeat Hauls

Any company that has struggled to reconcile their accounts receivable for the month knows that sometimes even the nicest people stall on paying their bills. Trucking companies really feel the pain when they are waiting for that “check is in the mail” assurance to pan out because daily expenses can really add up. Especially these days, as small and medium-sized trucking businesses run lean and mean, operating on very thin margins.

Trucks must keep moving to stay profitable, so getting a load is obviously the priority. The assumption is that the agreed-upon payment will be delivered — ideally in a timely manner, but certainly in a reasonable timeframe. Sometimes, though, that doesn’t happen.

An unpaid load costs more than missed income — fuel, time and wear and tear on the truck all magnify the loss. Multiple unpaid bills can rattle the foundations of a company. The best way to avoid a deadbeat haul is through thorough credit checks. But trucking firms don’t have the personnel — or funds — to conduct thorough credit checks on every load, even though every load really does count.

So a fleet owner relies on past relationships or gut instinct. But trust is not the same as a credit check, even when dealing with an old friend or a previous customer. A company’s clean record from years past may not hold true today. Financial situations at companies change all the time, and even a big company may have trouble paying its bills.

Fleet One Factoring has one of the best true real-time pay histories because we see firsthand how all of these companies pay multiple other companies. That information spans time, geography and industry. Every day we are adding and deleting from the “bad credit” pool.

Hundreds of thousands of companies exist in the database and our customers have access to that information. They simply input the details of the potential job — whether it’s one run for $5,000 or a contract for $50,000 — and get an immediate response on whether it is approved for factoring.

In addition to pulling information from five or six major credit report firms, WEX Fleet One has its own database based on its clients and their debtors. The constant stream of information that comes in to the factoring program means that the credit rating reflects the shipper’s current status, not their payment record from six months ago.

Fleet One Factoring looks at their payment status for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days and overall — the speed of payment is less important than the ability to pay. The most recent information is the most relevant. If there is a question, representatives are willing to discuss it and work to resolve it.

We pull massive amounts of data on shippers into a simple scoring system. Some are consistently at the top, some are in the “you should never do business with these guys.” And most are in between. It’s not unusual for someone to be in the gray area, and if a customer calls and says they are looking at a really good contract and our data puts us on the fence, then we will be glad to have a conversation.

Maybe we aren’t seeing the whole picture. Maybe it won’t work out. But we always make the effort, and always have open communication because the goal is not to say no. It’s to make sure our customers get a load that pays.

Are you a Fleet Owner looking to grow your trucking business but limited with current financing options?

We can help you get paid faster for loads delivered and protect your fleet from lost revenue.

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