For Brokers who Do not pay timely…

If you're providing all correct paperwork in a timely fashion and a broker is consistently not paying you quickly, I'd probably stop hauling their loads. In my experience if payments aren't happening quickly it is either an internal staffing or process issue with the broker, or their end customer has strict requirements outside the norm when it comes to paperwork (e.g. every page of the BOL has to be signed and stamp, and there are 10 pages. If any are missing payment is delayed).

 

Or broker is just struggling with cash flow. When market is slow I see even usual good brokers starting to pay late

 

Yeah that's a good call out, especially for smaller brokerages.

 

What you really like is when you do have to haul a broker load and you use one you have for years, your check doesn’t arrive like it should. You call and now they’re using a factoring company… then it takes another 2 weeks to get the money from their factoring company

 

I don’t even worry about checks until about 45 days. Except for a few bad apples, they’ve always come in by 45 days. Why stress about it? 20 days 30 days 45 days it doesn’t matter. - Unless it never comes.

and if it does bother someone particularly. Just work with the brokers that you feel comfortable with and you have a good relationship. Or just not at all.

there’s room for everybody just to get along. Me personally, I’m taking about three months off. (medical)I asked two of my creditors what they thought about me pushing back two monthly payments. They both said it’s fine.

sometimes brokerages have to wait a long time for payments from their customers. Sometimes the carrier weights a ridiculously long time for payments from a customer. It’s all normal. For your living paycheck to paycheck, you’re probably just gonna go out of business. On the flipside some direct customers pay super quick. As in my main customer. They pay shortly after I complete a load instead of meet just invoicing once a month for all the hauls I have done for them. Honestly, whatever is best for my customer works for me. I strive to be the carrier that been sober backwards for them not the other way around. It’s also very understandable to have a conversation about payment intervals. You are doing the work and you do have to plan accordingly with your finances.

 

I’ve never done late fees. After 45 days if I don’t have any money, I send out an email or a phone call. A few times it was just an administrative error or I get the check the next day in the mail. One time, it was our fault. We sent the invoice,- or so thought.. but I guess the email didn’t go through. Things happen… If it doesn’t look good on payment, I will go after their bond. If I have a hard time with their bond company, I send it to collections and move on.

 

Were just a small hotshot company with less than 10 trucks, 1 ops manager (with over 5 years experience in the office and 30 years behind the wheel). With that being said, when a "Broker" sends out a rc (which was never received as it went to the wrong email address) I failed to call them back, (once I didn't receive a rc I say "Next" and move on, I don't wait I move forward and get another load for my drivers. How can this individual be ticked off at me and want to report me if he did his job incorrectly?

 

Have you seen carriers assessing late fees. Some can’t even pay within 40 days.
Are they holding checks hostage?[/QUOTE]

Op I haven't charged late fees. If you have it in your broker/customer contract, It should be a valid charge.

After delivery when i send my paperwork, i include this in email.

"Please verify the attached pdf has all the required paperwork to process my pay. Do I need to send it to anyone else?"

I call broker a week before payment is due to verify scheduled payment

If I don't receive payment on agreed date, I call broker to ask why. I also call bond company to get information to file a claim.

I've only filed on 4 companies in the past 10 years. 2 brokers paid, the other 2 the business closed.
Received virtually nothing after I filed a claim.
The paper check envelope and stamp had more value than the amount I received.

 

My question is, do the brokers really get paid that late from the shipper? I’d love to know.. the shippers I have asked, said they pay the broker when the load is picked up. If that’s the case. Why does it take 30-45 and even up to 90 days for the trucker to get paid? And if this isn’t the case then why are some of the broker net 14? Obviously they are getting paid a little sooner than we think… I mean If a company ships something with UPS or FedEx, they pay upfront.. I’m guessing these truckloads are similar..