Questions to Ask a Freight Factoring Company

Thinking of partnering with a freight factoring company? A positive cash flow can have a huge impact on your business. Not only will you be able to take on more clients and larger deals, but you will also be able to ensure that driver payments, payroll, fuel and all your other expenses are always paid on time.

If you’ve already decided you are going to partner with one of the freight factoring companies in your area, then you need to start researching the various companies to determine who will provide the best service to you. Here are a few questions to ask to make sure you get a value for money service:

What happens if my clients don’t pay?

This is an important question because it can put you in a difficult position if you have to pay for outstanding bills from clients. Find out if the factoring company handles debt disputes and what their normal procedures are when trying to claim back money from clients.

Do I get to choose which invoices I factor?

In some cases, you might have weekly loads which you bill and your clients pay each week. In this case, you might not necessarily need a factoring company to factor the invoices for you. You might only need factoring services for larger loads which only get paid after 30, 60 or 90 days. Find out if the factoring company will allow you to decide which invoices you want to factor or if you have to hand over your entire client book.

What kind of extra services do you offer (and what do I have to pay for?)

Factoring and bank loans are very different in a number of ways, but one of the most prominent differences is the fact that banks research businesses to determine whether they are creditworthy, while a factoring company will research your clients to determine whether they are creditworthy or not. Freight factoring companies will either do a credit check on your clients to ensure they are capable of paying the invoices, or they will give you a list of pre-approved clients which meet their credit requirements. Find out what process they use to determine whether clients are creditworthy and whether you will have to pay extra for this vetting process.

What percentage of the invoice will you advance?

Many times, a freight factoring company will advance a certain percentage of the invoice (such as 80%, 90% or even 100%) and the rest of the amount only gets paid once the client has paid the outstanding invoice in full and their service fee has been deducted. Make sure you know what percentage gets paid to you in advance.

Want to find out if our freight factoring company’s service will work for you? Get an instant factoring quote now.

Interstate Capital’s factoring programs include a long list of unique features including rates starting at just 0.49% per invoice, advance rates up to 100%, same-day funding, 24/7 automatic credit approvals, fuel advances (for motor carriers), professional collections, and much more.

Set-up is always fast and easy. There is no application fee and most companies will qualify for an instant online proposal in under 2 minutes just by completing the Instant Factoring form on this page. If you like what you see in your proposal, just click on the application link in your proposal and you’re on your way to fast funding.

Secrets of Bonding 96: Bullies, Banks and Bonding Companies

Growing up I was a tall kid, one of the tallest in my class. I was taught “not to fight,” so sometimes I became a target for (shorter) tough kids who wanted to push around the big guy.

Now that we’re all grown up, I’m glad to say that’s all behind us… or is it?

Let’s look at the case of construction companies. If you are a contractor, you may feel bullied sometimes, by VENDORS who purport to serve you. One of them could be your banker.

Banking Relations for Construction Companies

Working capital is an important financial resource for contractors, especially when starting up a new project. They may have to work for forty five days or more, paying out of pocket for labor and materials before they receive their first money under the contract. Bank credit can be a perfect solution for this.

The new contract is an asset for the company, and the bank can rely on this when lending money. But what happens when the contractor brings the bank a bonded project? They will refuse to lend against that job! Their position is that the rights of the surety conflict with their own.

Bonding Relations for Construction Companies

More bullies: Now let’s look at the surety side. When applying for bonding support, the underwriters ALWAYS ask about banking relations:

  • “Do you have a working capital line?”
  • “How much of it is currently available?”
  • “How is it secured?”
  • “If you do not have a bank line we want you to apply for one. It can help you get through a problem and prevent a bond claim.”
  • “The bank line can help you finance the start of additional projects without depleting your cash position.”
  • “If you are approved by the bank, it helps assure us that you also deserve bonding credit.”

Feel bullied? You should!

The reality is that construction companies may need both bank and surety support. In order to pursue public work (municipal, state, and federal contracts), surety bonds are mandatory.

The bonding company wants you to have a bank, but the bank doesn’t want to support bonded projects. You can’t win!

The Future of Digital Currency Adoption

Up to this date, the usability, function and exchange of Bitcoins and other digital currencies have been limited and circulating around small communities-group of individuals or large enterprises-who have ventured into the world of digital currency. Since the community is small, the ability to spend or trade it for various products is also limited and a lot of this currency owners hope that it can be widely accepted in the future. Although these are possible, this will take time and a lot of discussions as the concern for safety and security is at large. Besides that, the government and some large institutions are threatened with the possibility of using such a system.

The Reluctance

Not many people widely accept digital currency. If you haven’t heard of it or aren’t one of those who have spent much of your time understanding, mining and acquiring the said currencies, you will not feel safe trading in or acquiring such currencies in exchange of items that you wish to sell or have. It has not been accepted widely and the fear of the loss it may acquire in the future is great due to the fact that there is no governing body in it. People would need to feel safe using it but this would normally require the interference and approval of the government and general sectors of the financial market.

The Need for a Controlling body

The transfer to digital currency would allow people to make online trading without issuing actual and paper money which are prone to being stolen. However, it is not a hidden fact that some digital currencies have been stolen too. The government would want to control it as there is a significant amount of income from the exchanges and trade. Other sectors not open to the actual value of digital currencies may find it hard to liquidate their assets and make use of digital currency exchanges.

Although the future of digital currency adoption is greatly possible, the greatest risk everyone has to deal with would be the security. For example, PayPal is trying to impose this on their system (the news of which eventually made the value of Bitcoin rise in one day) but the problem is, delivery schedules may often not be met and it would be hard to recover the said currency-also includes defects on products upon delivery. The possible adoption could take time and effort from both the government and independent sectors to work out the glitches in connection with fraudulent acts over the internet and sectors wishing to sabotage the project.

Are You a Reluctant Wanderlust in Business?

Are you a multi-talented, multi-passionate person who finds it hard to “commit” to doing “just one thing”?

Sometimes I feel like a loser when I couldn’t just “stick with it” when something ceases to give me a deep sense of excitement and purpose. Some may call it ADD.

Do you identify with being a “wanderlust” in life – not only having a desire to travel physically but also (and more importantly) to embark on a personal journey that involves experiencing all parts of SELF and all aspects of LIFE?

In different stages of my life, and especially in my own business, sometimes the tension between the strong pull to EXPERIMENT, to DARE, to chase FREEDOM, and the fear that comes up when I untether from the “known” would tear me apart.

Do you know the wanderlust part of you and the primal part of you may be at odds with each other, resulting in conflicting/self-sabotaging behaviors that hold of you back from soaring in your business?

Sometimes the restlessness eats me up as it turns into a nervous energy. Sometimes I fall into the comparison trap when I see my college classmates climb up the corporate ladder and score impressive titles. Sometimes I just feel plain lost and doubt… why can’t I just be everyone else and “settle down?”

***

COMMITMENT. FREEDOM. ANCHORED. EXPERIMENT.

HOME. WANDERLUST.

What some consider to be a daring experiment may be judged by others as “hopping from one thing to another” or being a flake.

It’s hard enough when the judgment comes from outside of us. But it can be downright self-sabotaging when the conflict comes from within ourselves.

The tension created by Commitment vs. Abandonment, the longing to Trust vs. the need for Certainty sends mix messages – to our selves, to others, and to the universe.

The conflict turns us into Reluctant Wanderlusts.

I don’t know about you but I have heard enough of those “free calls” to encounter quite a few of them talking about “commitment”… and, ha, to commit you just pull out your credit card and pay the money… only if it’s that easy!

“Commitment” on a superficial level can feel binding to us who has a fierce streak of wanderlust. How do we discern being committed from “staying put” out of fears or past/outdated conditioning?

When are we going to stop beating ourselves up from not being able to “stick with it”… just because others manage to stay in the same job for 10 years?

What is being daring, adventurous and open to experimenting to uncover a deeper part of us, to challenge the status quo and to stretch ourselves; and what is just plain “avoidance” – running away from what we have to face in order to expand and grow (but feel hard and gut-wrenching)?

The lower chakras’ need for certainty and safety fighting the upper chakras’ desire for inspiration and expansion creates conflicts that muddle up our energy and make everything feels like we have one foot on the gas and one foot on the break.

How do we commit, without feeling being tethered? How do we make the wanderlust in us and our need for certainty play nice together so we can finally lift the foot from the break?

With the propensity toward “freedom” also comes the intense desire to find “home.” Without properly defining what each one means, we fall prey to internal conflict that keeps us from moving forward.

***

Can “wanderlust” and “home” co-exist?

1. Accept

Accept that we have that wanderlust part in us, and we have the “cave(wo)men” part in us. They are all parts of us being us and denial or avoidance will only create more tension that triggers self-sabotaging behaviors.

We need to have ALL of us on board for the actions we need to take, in order for the actions to be aligned, meaningful and impactful.

2. Commit

Commit to BEING someone, not to DOING something.

Make that commitment to yourself, not to someone else.

Commit to an identity and use it to guide actions. This can be exceptionally freeing because there is room for possibilities, adventure and experiment.

3. Anchor

Life is dynamic, not static. To soar upward, there needs to be a grounded-ness.

We need some kind of reference point, or else we can be just plain lost.

But you are free to choose your anchor. What can give you an unwavering reference point so you can feel SAFE in the world?

If the “primal” part of you doesn’t feel its need for “safety” acknowledged, the subconscious mind (which affects 95% of our thoughts!) can throw a thousand “blocks” at you.

Is this anchor something you can hold onto, something you have “control” over? If it depends on other people or external circumstances, you can get into a shaky situation when the rug gets pulled out under you.

4. Find your place in the world

This is “home” (which doesn’t mean a physical location); this is your CORE message. When you know what you are about, you develop a deep Trust to give you a sense of Inevitability that serves as rocket fuel behind all your intentions and actions.

“Niching”, in its truest and broadest sense, is about finding our role in the community, our place in the world.

When you can articulate your core message into how you fit into the larger ecosystem (aka, how you create value and why you are relevant to the community you want to serve), you have found home through your business endeavor – a “home” that allows you to be YOU anywhere in the world.

When you find the WORDS to talk about how your conviction is translated into your work, you turn the inkling in your Guts into something your “logical mind” can get on board with.

When you find the WORDS so you can step up to own what you do, you voice it and set the intention for it to materialize.

When you get your entire SELF on board, you find a renewed excitement and commitment for your business.

Ling is an Intuitive Brainiac. Through her unique blend of Business + Marketing coaching with a Mindset + Psychic Twist, Ling Wong helps Maverick Entrepreneurs nail their message, claim their superpowers and muster up the GUTS to monetize their Truth.

Ling helps her clients find their Message, nail the WORDS that sell and design a Plan to work it, through her intuitive yet rigorous iterative process born out of her Harvard Design School training and 10 years of experience in the online marketing industry.