Freight factoring is a common concept in trucking: a carrier sells the invoice on a completed load to a factoring company. The factoring company pays the carrier 95-99% of the invoice amount immediately, and takes the responsibility for collecting on the invoice from the broker or shipper.

Just as some shippers and brokers are better or worse than others, not all factoring companies are the same. Not only do rates and services vary among companies, but the quality of those services also differs. Low cost is not always the best choice and high cost may not provide the best service. 

TrueNorth works with any factoring company: whenever you complete a load in the TrueNorth app by submitting a Rate Con and a POD, TrueNorth automatically packages the documents and sends them directly to your factoring company for payment. Based on our customers' feedback about their factoring companies, we've ranked the top six below.

1. BasicBlock

TrueNorth has partnered closely with BasicBlock as our preferred factoring partner, because they offer the best all-around combination of low fees, ease-of-use, and customer support.

Carriers who use BasicBlock pay a 2.5% factoring fee. There are no hidden fees, and the agreement is cancelable at any time.

2. OTR Solutions  

OTR is the largest factoring company, and has both recourse and non-recourse options. They offer credit checks, a mobile app, and no monthly minimums. They also offer a fuel card and will work with you to determine if a pre-funded card is right for you or if you may be eligible for a line of credit.

For those who use the DAT load board, all loads marked with a blue checkmark are pre-approved for OTR factoring. OTR requires a 12-month minimum contract.

3. Apex Capital

Speed of payment is something Apex Capital is known for: funding can be in minutes (with its proprietary Blynk payment service) as well as same day or next day. Apex provides both non-recourse and recourse factoring, free credit checks, and tech-savvy resources. 

There are no termination fees, but its contracts require all invoices to be factored with them. If you want to factor all your invoices, that is OK, but it does not work for those who only want to factor some of their invoices. 

Apex also offers a free TCS fuel card, but there may be transaction fees at out-of-network locations.

4. Thunder Funding

Started by truckers, Thunder Funding focuses on the freight industry, so it understands well the challenges of owner-operators.  It offers non-recourse factoring, same day funding, free credit checks, and short-term 90 day agreements.

They offer a free TCS Fuel Card that has discounts and low transaction fees on fuel and maintenance.

Customers of Thunder Funding also get free trials and membership discounts to 123loadboard.

One downside to using Thunder Funding is that they paperwork must be emailed to

5. RTS Financial 

This company is part of a family of brands that includes freight brokerage Ryan Transportation.  RTS Financial started factoring in the freight arena and has expanded into other fields but still understands freight well. It offers non-recourse factoring, same day payments, fuel cards with discounts averaging 25 cents per gallon, equipment leasing, and trucking-related software. RTS Financial also has an app that can scan and upload invoices. 

Basically, it offers a little bit of everything. 

The main drawback is that the application process cannot be done online. 

6. altLINE

This is a specialized solution for those looking for low fees.  altLINE is a bank factoring company under The Southern Bank Company. Unlike independent factoring companies, a bank factoring company offers a direct source of funds (no middlemen), which can mean lower factoring costs.  

altLine only offers recourse factoring, though. This reduces rates to you but also transfers the risk of non-payment by a shipper or broker onto you. If you have reliable customers that you are confident will pay, and you are looking for lower factoring costs, this is the right option for you.

Final Thoughts

Before you sign a contract with a factoring company, there are a few things you should look out for: 

• Good companies will be upfront and transparent on pricing. If the contract or rates are too complicated, they are likely so for reasons that do not benefit you. 
• Read the fine print for termination clauses. Some contracts only allow for termination with written notice during a small window, eg 60-90 days before renewal, or the contract will auto-renew.  Many contracts may also have high early termination fees.  
• Ask factoring companies what their process is for rejected paperwork. Many factoring companies won't work with you to immediately resolve paperwork issues. The result is often surprise balances and claw backs that carriers only learn of when they go to terminate.  

Helpful Links

Below are some links you may find useful:

• What to Know About Freight Factoring
• How and Why to Switch Factoring Companies
• What is a UCC Filing and Why is it Important to Freight Factoring?

Disclaimer: the information above is based on information publicly available on the factoring companies’ websites