Steady Fleet Cash Flow Requires Strategy

While trucking is more in demand than ever, fleets still face challenges in keeping up with the financial side of things. Seamless payment and available fleet cash flow are always top of mind because they are always a struggle. The good news is that they don’t have to be if fleets are proactive and mindful of the bigger picture.

Efficiencies in trucking are an important part of keeping the business profitable. Understanding how money is being spent and how the company is getting paid seems like an obvious necessity, but it is not always that easy. Technology has been successful in streamlining operations and managing efficiencies, but it can be overwhelming. All of the choices and all of the trends can be confusing, which is why it is critical to look at the technology that is most relevant to fleet needs.

Partnerships Can Help Secure Cash flow

The core of any business is generally payment, and if the process is not efficient, the resulting delays affect partners and employees, and the business suffers operationally as well as a from a brand perception perspective. So it is important to maintain a steady and reliable payment platform, process, and strategy. Many fleet managers have turned to companies like EFS to help. EFS knows the trucking industry and has payment expertise. They are able to streamline processes for both the customer and the internal team. By enlisting the help of a partner like EFS, fleets will gain from insights and perspective that help inform a better strategy to maximize payment and maintain steady fleet cash flow.

Fleet partnerships with companies like EFS have become increasingly valuable in the effort to streamline the payment process so that resources including fleet cash flow are there and can be better directed. Fleet cards are no longer just a piece of plastic and can offer more than just payment. The right fleet card can deliver meaningful data and information to help make decisions faster and smarter, streamlining payment in ways that actually pay back. For example, EFS solutions help mid-size to large fleets to better manage and control fuel purchases. Real-time fuel purchasing data offers insights into volume performance, which not only save money at the pump but also provide a digital roadmap to even more efficiencies and savings in the long term. Using a fleet card for fuel also enables immediate access to fleet cash flow in other areas. A fleet card has become a vital aspect of the strategy addressing cash flow.

Fleet factoring has also become a reliable partner and paramount in immediate access to fleet cash flow. The right fleet factoring company can provide not only cash flow but also resources that help to mitigate redundancies and create efficiencies that lead to even more secure ways to generate and maintain fleet cash flow.

Fleet Cash Flow Through Factoring

1. Finance Receivables

Trucking companies most often partner with factoring companies to finance the money already coming in. Factoring is a much better solution than bank financing because it is not a loan. Although there is a fee, there is no interest because it is the money that the fleets are already generating, without the 30- to 90-day delay. Factoring offers an advance of the invoice balance minus a fee for the transaction. Factoring financing can provide immediate resources and the ability to build fleet cash flow over the 90 days that the customer would generally take for payment. 

2. Consolidate Expenses

Factoring partners can encourage a look at the bigger picture to see where time and money might be getting lost. Just as EFS can help to streamline the payment process, it may help with efficiencies in other areas as well. By reviewing operations overall, fleets are able to see where they need help. For example, fleets can benefit from factoring companies’ help with accounts receivable. Most factoring companies will handle collections and receivable responsibilities, allowing the fleet to focus on their over-the-road strengths.

3. Check Credit Information

An experienced factoring company will make sure that your customers are financially credible. Your factoring partner should consistently check your customer credit ratings to ensure that payment is consistent and steady. It is just as important to their business as it is to your fleet to make sure customer alliances are sound. Additionally, it is just as important for fleets to be financially sound, so regularly checking your own company’s credit rating should be part of your strategy to build fleet cash flow.

4. Fuel Cards and Fuel Card Discounts

As mentioned previously, a robust fuel card solution can streamline payment and boost fleet cash flow in areas where you may not expect it. Not all factoring companies offer a fuel card, so it is important to find one that does. Fleet One Factoring will provide recourse and non-recourse factoring solutions along with a fleet card and fleet card discounts. With a Fleet One EDGE card, you will have access to the largest fuel discount network available, with average savings of 12 cents per gallon*.

• Largest nationwide fuel discount network at more than 3,600 sites
• No fuel transaction fees in the Fleet One EDGE network**
• Universal acceptance at more than 8,000 truck stops nationwide
• Free fuel card funding with Fleet One Factoring

While many of us can navigate the week without a dollar in our wallet by relying on our digital payment apps or our credit cards, that is not always the case in the trucking industry. Cash flow is needed for everything from employee salaries to equipment maintenance and more. But with proactive planning and reliable partners, the cash can flow whenever it is needed.

RESOURCES:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2019/03/08/3-ways-blockchain-is-a-supply-chains-best-friend/#127e03851931

https://homebusinessmag.com/management/how-to-guides-management/fix-trucking-cash flow-issues/

https://www.trucker.com/business/short-cash