Quick pay

Small carriers need to be paid fast and will accept less for it. Factoring companies built a business on that; quick pay is the broker keeping the fee for itself. The broker pays in one to seven days, deducts the agreed percentage, and funds the gap until the shipper pays.

Why brokers offer it: capacity. On a tight lane, a carrier choosing between two loads at the same rate takes the one that pays this week. Quick pay also keeps carriers off factoring, which means fewer notices of assignment and fewer collection calls from factors.

Why brokers are careful with it: cash. A brokerage funding quick pay on a large share of its loads is financing its shippers’ payment terms out of its own working capital, and a shipper that pays in sixty days can turn a profitable book of freight into a liquidity problem.

The conditions are the same as for any payment: a clean invoice matching the rate confirmation, and a signed POD. Quick pay programs that promise two-day payment “on receipt of complete paperwork” are, in practice, promising two days from the day someone in the office confirms the paperwork is complete, which is why the audit step is where the speed is won or lost.