Minor problems with broker pay add up. What if I charge a late fee?

I don't understand brokers paying net 30. They take a cut so let them wait. I have direct customers on net 30 but I make so much more without a middleman that it's worth waiting. These brokers want to pay $1.05 - $1.30 per mile and expect you to wait 30 days for it. Screw that.

 

30 business days puts that at roughly 45 calendar days.

A lot of loads I hauled had marked on the bills Prepaid. Someone got paid before the load was even picked up.

 

most payment terms are on calendar days not business days. as far as late fee's you can bill them whatever you want. unless late fee's are in the contract you signed with them don't expect to get paid for them. when you sign up for utility for your house in the contract it states there will be late fee's after x number of days.

 

I have often thought about getting a stamp made for contracts and ratecons that has standard items such as TONU, late payment fees, delay charges, etc. This fits right in to what the OP is questioning and I wonder if that would be a simple solution. Just stamp the ratecon before you send it back. I agree with the OP the brokers need to be held accountable. They charge us in a minute for any little thing they can think of. In this day of electronic payments, NET 30 is outdated and needs to go away. Thoughts?

 

Well the deal is all your creditors will give those late fee charges they charge up front to you in writing.So the question would be in the broker carrier agreement did you write it in there about what you charge for late fees or interest before you signed and sent back

 

Unless there is a late fee, what is the point of saying NET30 anyway? Without late fees you might as well say NET365. (Or pick any number from 1 to infinity, it's all the same)
Actually can you not file on their bond on day 31? Should get their attention anyway.

 

It's how they manage cash flow. Doesn't make it nice, but just how business is done. You can play the same game. I have a fuel account that pays out each week, so I don't have to pay at the pump before I fuel. I have a tire and shop account that gets paid the second week of the month. And so on.

If you pay everything out in cash on delivery, then wait 30 days on your receivables, you need to have an adequate buffer of cash in the bank to carry it, or factor your invoices.

If you take a look at major motor carrier bankruptcies, it isn't low rates or driver turnover that takes them out. It's usually a cash flow crisis, usually brought about when a line of credit gets pulled out from under them. Google "eleets logistics bankruptcy" - it's a case study on how that happens.

 

Good topic. I am getting itchy when they go past 21 days. I have not had to do any "nasty" collecting yet, but I have not been on my own for too long either. Well, I'd give them a polite hello call when it is 30 calendar days past due too.
I don't use factoring either, but i hear that it would not matter, the unpaid invoices would return + additional factoring fees. I avoid quick pays too, smells like factoring too much. In principle, I disagree with the quick pay idea. When a plumber comes to my house to unplug the toilet, I need to pay him as soon as the toilet flushes good. So why not the same here? The just can do it, I guess. If you don't like it, take your business somewhere else, you'll hear.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but If there is no mention in the contract about the late payment fees, there is no legal obligation for them to pay it. So the only (it seems) resolute and effective stick on them delinquent ######## is a threat to file against their bond.