Freight factoring for fleets that can't wait 30 days for every truck's pay

Every Friday a five-truck fleet owes about the same things: driver pay, fuel, the truck notes and insurance. The brokers who owe you for last week's loads mostly pay on their terms, often 30 days or more. Freight factoring closes that gap. You sell a delivered load's invoice, get most of it in about a day, and the factor waits on the broker instead of you.

This page explains how it works for a fleet of 2 to 10 trucks, what it costs with sourced ranges, and how to get a quote from RTS Financial, the factoring company we refer carriers to.

Factoring or broker quick pay: which fixes your cash gap?

Two ways get you paid before a broker's normal terms. They work differently, and a fleet usually ends up comparing both.

Quick pay terms vary by broker and change, so read them in each broker's carrier packet. Quick pay suits a fleet that hauls for two or three brokers. Factoring suits a fleet with invoices out to a dozen brokers at once, where tracking each one's portal and due date becomes a part-time job.

One opinion from the desk: if most of your freight comes from a few brokers who pay in under two weeks, you may not need factoring at all. Run the numbers on the cash timeline first.

The cash timeline for one invoice

Move the numbers to match a real invoice. The default is an EXAMPLE load for unit 103 of a five-truck fleet: a $2,400 invoice to a broker that pays in 30 days.

On those EXAMPLE numbers, the advance lands the day after delivery and the reserve comes back after the broker pays. The fee is the price of 29 days. For a single invoice, that sounds expensive. For a fleet that invoices $45,000 a month and runs payroll every Friday, those days are the difference between paying drivers on time and calling the bank.

The published range for that fee in 2026 trade coverage is roughly 1.5% to 3.0% per invoice for recourse factoring and 2.5% to 5.0% for non-recourse FreightWaves (contributed), …Freight factoring rate and fee ranges (trade coverage)Recourse 1.5-3.0%, non-recourse 2.5-5.0% per invoice; ACH $2-15, wire $10-35FreightWaves contributed article, July 1, 2026: recourse 1.5% to 3.0% per invoice, non-recourse 2.5% to 5.0% (spot non-recourse 3% to 6%); ACH $2 to $15 and wire $10 to $35 per transfer; expedited funding 0.25% to 1.0%; credit checks $10 to $50 per customer; setup $100 to $500; minimum-volume penalties $250 to $1,000+ a month; early termination $500 to $5,000+. Ranges from industry sources, not a survey.FreightWaves (contributed), Jul 1, 2026, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close. Those figures come from industry sources, not a survey, so use them to sanity-check a quote, not to predict yours. The factoring rates and fees page breaks down every line a quote can carry.

How freight factoring works, step by step

1. Haul and collect your paperwork. The rate confirmation, the signed bill of lading or proof of delivery, and your invoice. A factor buys only what it can collect on.
2. Upload. Drivers or the office send the documents through the factor's app or portal. With RTS Financial, that's the RTS app on iOS, Android or web, which also shows purchase status and broker credit ratings RTS Financial, RTS appRTS appInvoice uploads, purchase status, broker and shipper credit ratings, load board, fuel map; iOS, Android and webRTS Financial app page: invoice uploads and purchase status for factoring, credit ratings on thousands of brokers and shippers, a load board with lane alerts, a fuel map, driver and truck profiles, on mobile (App Store, Google Play) and web.RTS Financial, RTS app, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.
3. Get the advance. The factor verifies the load and pays the advance. RTS Financial publishes an advance of more than 90% of the invoice within 24 hours, and the remaining balance minus its fee after the broker pays RTS Financial, FAQsRTS Financial advanceMore than 90% of the invoice within 24 hours; the rest, minus a fee, after the customer paysRTS Financial FAQ: RTS purchases the invoice at a factoring rate it does not publish and advances more than 90 percent of the total within 24 hours. Once the invoice is paid, RTS sends the remaining balance minus a fee. Final rates and approval depend on underwriting and required contracts.RTS Financial, FAQs, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.

Before the first invoice, expect a short setup: an application, your MC and W-9, a contract, and a notice of assignment sent to each broker you haul for. Our page on how factoring works follows one invoice from rate con to the reserve release.

Documents a factor will ask for on every load

• Rate confirmation from the broker, signed
• Bill of lading signed at pickup, and proof of delivery signed at the receiver (often the same document)
• Your invoice, with the load number and the factor's remit-to address
• Lumper receipts, scale tickets or detention approval, if you're billing those charges

Missing signatures and blurry photos are the most common reason a funding gets held up. Fix it at the dock, not at midnight.

How brokers see it: the notice of assignment

When you sign with a factor, it sends each of your brokers a notice of assignment. The notice says your invoices now belong to the factor and must be paid to the factor's address.

This isn't just a courtesy. Under UCC 9-406, after a broker receives a proper notice, it can only clear the debt by paying the factor UCC 9-406 (Cornell LII)Notice of assignment (UCC 9-406)After an authenticated notice, the account debtor can discharge the debt only by paying the assigneeUCC 9-406(a): before notice, an account debtor (the broker) may pay the assignor (the carrier). After receiving an authenticated notice that the account was assigned and payment is to go to the assignee (the factor), it can discharge the debt only by paying the assignee. 9-406(c): on request, the assignee must give reasonable proof of the assignment, or the debtor may keep paying the assignor. States adopt the UCC with their own changes.UCC 9-406 (Cornell LII)Checked Oct 2026Close. A broker that pays you by mistake can be asked to pay again. That's why brokers update their records quickly and why you shouldn't ask a broker to "just send it to me this once."

What it means for you day to day:

• Brokers don't think less of you. Factoring is routine in trucking, and most broker setup forms ask for your factoring company up front.
• Your remit-to changes. Every invoice shows the factor's payment address. Your dispatcher or office adds the NOA to each new carrier packet.
• You stay the carrier. The broker still calls you about the load, the rate con still comes to you, and you still run your trucks.
• Switching takes paperwork. Leaving a factor means a release letter and a new notice to every broker, so read the factoring contract terms before you sign.

What RTS Financial publishes

We refer carriers to RTS Financial. Here is what RTS states on its own pages, checked October 19, 2026:

• Advance: more than 90% of each invoice within 24 hours; the rest, minus a fee, after the broker pays RTS Financial, FAQsRTS Financial advanceMore than 90% of the invoice within 24 hours; the rest, minus a fee, after the customer paysRTS Financial FAQ: RTS purchases the invoice at a factoring rate it does not publish and advances more than 90 percent of the total within 24 hours. Once the invoice is paid, RTS sends the remaining balance minus a fee. Final rates and approval depend on underwriting and required contracts.RTS Financial, FAQs, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.
• Speed and who it serves: funding within 24 hours of upload, same-day funding, all fleet sizes including owner-operators RTS Financial, trucking fact…RTS Financial funding speed and who it servesFunding within 24 hours of upload, same-day available; all fleet sizes, including owner-operatorsRTS Financial trucking factoring page: once an invoice is uploaded, RTS works to fund it within 24 hours, offers same-day funding, and serves all fleet sizes and types, including owner-operators and OTR carriers. It states there are no hidden fees but publishes no rate.RTS Financial, trucking factoring, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.
• Credit risk: RTS says it provides non-recourse factoring and assumes the credit risk if a customer can't pay because of insolvency or bankruptcy RTS Financial, trucking fact…RTS Financial recourse termsNon-recourse: RTS assumes the credit risk if the customer can't pay because of insolvency or bankruptcyRTS Financial trucking factoring page: RTS provides non-recourse factoring, assuming the credit risk if your client doesn't pay, and defines non-recourse as covering a customer that can't pay because of issues like insolvency or bankruptcy. Disputes and paperwork problems are not described as covered.RTS Financial, trucking factoring, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.
• Approval: based on your customers' credit, not your balance sheet; funding limits depend on your brokers' creditworthiness RTS Financial, FAQsRTS Financial approval basisBased on your customers' credit, not your balance sheet; not a loan; limits depend on buyers' creditworthinessRTS Financial FAQ: freight factoring is not a loan; the capital is based on the credit of your customers, not your balance sheet, so there is no new debt. Funding limits vary with your business and your buyers' creditworthiness; with creditworthy buyers there may be no limit. RTS states 40+ years in financial services.RTS Financial, FAQs, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.
• Fuel: an RTS fuel card with an average savings figure it publishes, and bundling with factoring RTS Financial, fuel cardsRTS Financial fuel cardAverage savings of 45 cents per gallon at 4,000+ stations (RTS figure); bundling with factoring offeredRTS Financial fuel card page: an average savings of 45 cents per gallon at over 4,000 fuel stations nationwide (RTS's own average, not a guaranteed discount); a self-funded card regardless of credit; spending limits, card lock and fuel codes; bundling fuel and factoring promoted for better savings and lower rates. No fuel advance terms published on the page.RTS Financial, fuel cards, 2026Checked Oct 2026Close.

RTS doesn't publish its factoring rate. You see it in the quote, after underwriting. Compare it against the all-in monthly cost, not the headline percentage.

What fleets should check before signing

A five-truck fleet signs a different deal than a single owner-operator. Ask these before you commit:

• Volume pricing. Does the rate drop as monthly volume grows? At what levels?
• All-invoice clauses. Must you factor every load, or only the ones you choose?
• Term and notice. How long is the contract, does it renew on its own, and how many days notice to leave?
• Minimums. Is there a monthly minimum, and what does falling short cost?
• Multiple drivers. Can each driver upload from their own phone under your account?
• Recourse window. On a recourse deal, how many days before an unpaid invoice comes back to you?

The small fleet factoring page goes deeper on payroll timing, driver paperwork and negotiating volume pricing.

Factoring isn't the only funding tool

Factoring fixes a timing gap: money you've earned but haven't collected. It doesn't buy trucks. If you're funding the next unit, equipment financing or a bank loan usually costs less over the years the truck runs. Our guide to factoring vs a business loan walks through when each fits, and when using both makes sense.

Where dispatch fits

A factor pays fast on loads that already exist. Someone still has to find them for every truck. Our desk does that: we search the boards and our broker contacts, negotiate the rate, and bring each load to you. You approve it, the rate con goes straight to you, and we send paperwork the way your factor needs it. See dispatch for small fleets for how the desk runs several units at once.

We're not a lender or your accountant. This page explains how factoring generally works; the contract you sign decides your terms.