Trucking Factoring Guide

Guides

Trucking Factoring Rates and Fees: What You Actually Pay (and How to Check a Quote)

By The Trucking Factoring Guide editorial team · How we check
Published October 26, 2026 · Fact-checked October 26, 2026

Disclosure: We don't currently earn money from any company mentioned on this page, and links to companies go to their official sites with no tracking. We may earn referral fees from some companies in the future; if we do, we'll label those links and update this notice. Payments will never change what we write, and when a fact comes from a company's own website, we say so.

When you ask a freight factoring company what it charges, the first number you hear is the factoring rate. That number matters, but on its own it doesn't tell you what you'll take home. What you pay depends on the rate, how the rate is structured, which fees sit around it, and what happens when a broker pays late or not at all.

This guide covers each of those pieces. It also gives you a short list of questions to put to any factor before you sign. It is written for owner-operators and small fleets who haul for brokers and wait 30 days or more to get paid.

What factoring is, in one paragraph

Factoring means selling an unpaid freight invoice to a factoring company. The factor advances you most of the invoice amount right away, collects the full amount from the broker or shipper, and keeps a fee. It is not a loan. Triumph describes it as "immediate (same-day) payment for your invoices" with "no debt to pay back," and RTS describes the end of the process the same way: "Once the invoice is paid, we will send the remaining balance minus a small fee." Factors mostly judge your brokers' credit, not yours, which is why new authorities can usually qualify.

Why there is no single "going rate"

Most of the large factors don't publish one rate card. Here is what their own pages say:

So the honest answer to "how much do factoring companies charge" is that it depends on your volume, your brokers, and the program you pick. You can still compare quotes on equal terms if you know which parts to ask about.

The five parts of what you pay

1. The factoring rate (also called the discount)

This is the percentage taken from each invoice. It comes in two common shapes:

A tiered quote can look cheaper in the first tier. If your brokers often pay in 45 to 60 days, a flat rate may cost less overall. Ask for the full tier table in writing.

2. The advance and the reserve

Some factors pay out the whole invoice minus the fee right away. Others advance part of it and hold the rest in a reserve until the broker pays. OTR says funding "can be anywhere between 90% and 99% of the invoice amount," depending on the factor and the program. RTS says it "advances more than 90 percent of the total within 24 hours."

A reserve isn't a fee by itself, but it is your money sitting in someone else's account. NASTC warns that hidden costs can sit in "reserve accounts" and "reserve release delays." Ask what percentage is held back, and how quickly it's released after the broker pays.

3. Fees that sit around the rate

NASTC (the National Association of Small Trucking Companies) lists the add-ons that eat into settlements. They include charges "buried in reserve accounts, reserve release delays, credit checks, minimum volume requirements, early payoff fees, and monthly maintenance fees." Other line items you may see:

4. Who eats a bad invoice: recourse vs. non-recourse

Under recourse factoring you have to buy back an invoice the factor can't collect. RTS notes that "after 90 days, the factor may 'recourse' the invoice back to you" and may take it out of future advances or your reserve. Non-recourse moves some of that risk to the factor and usually costs more. Each factor defines its own non-recourse coverage, so read the definition, not just the label. We cover this in detail in our recourse vs. non-recourse guide.

5. The contract: term, notice, and the way out

Leaving a factor can be the most expensive part of using one. NASTC says some contracts require "60 to 120 days" of written notice and charge "steep termination penalties." OTR's FAQ warns that some contracts include "minimum volume requirements, automatic renewals, early termination fees." Factors also file a UCC lien on your receivables. That's normal, but NASTC warns that some factors "delay releasing their UCC filing or use it as leverage." Find out before you sign how the lien gets released.

A worked example (illustrative numbers only)

The numbers below are made up to show the math. They are not a quote from any company.

Say you haul a load for a $3,000 invoice.

Item Quote A: flat 3% Quote B: tiered, 2.5% for the first 30 days, then +0.5% for each extra 15 days (or part of 15)
Broker pays in 25 days $90 $75
Broker pays in 50 days $90 $105 (2.5% + 0.5% + 0.5%: 20 days over is two steps)
Broker pays in 70 days $90 $120 (2.5% + three 0.5% steps: 40 days over)
Plus $20 per-transfer fee, 4 transfers a month + $80/month + $0 (included)

Quote B looks cheaper on paper. Whether it is cheaper depends on how fast your brokers really pay and on which fees each quote leaves out. Run your last 10 invoices through both quotes before you choose. Our free Factoring Cost Calculator does this math for you, flat or tiered, with ACH and wire fees, monthly minimums and fuel advance fees, and shows the result as a monthly cost, an effective rate and an equivalent APR.

What factoring costs in dollars (example numbers)

Percentages hide how much money leaves your account. These tables turn rates into dollars. They're examples to show the math, not quotes from any company, and they leave out fees, which you should add on top.

Cost per month and per year at three rates and two volumes

Factoring rate $20,000 a month: monthly $20,000 a month: yearly $40,000 a month: monthly $40,000 a month: yearly
2% $400 $4,800 $800 $9,600
3% $600 $7,200 $1,200 $14,400
4% $800 $9,600 $1,600 $19,200

Each point of rate on $40,000 a month is $4,800 a year. If your truck runs 10,000 miles a month, a 3% rate on $40,000 is $1,200, or 12 cents a mile, before fees.

Flat vs. tiered on a $40,000 month, by how fast brokers pay

Flat: 3% no matter when the broker pays. Tiered: 2.5% for the first 30 days, then +0.5% for each extra 15 days or part of 15.

Brokers pay in Flat 3% Tiered rate Tiered cost Cheaper
25 days $1,200 2.5% $1,000 Tiered by $200
45 days $1,200 3.0% (one step) $1,200 Same
50 days $1,200 3.5% (two steps) $1,400 Flat by $200
70 days $1,200 4.0% (three steps) $1,600 Flat by $400

In this example, the tiered quote wins only if your brokers usually pay within 30 days, ties from 31 to 45 days, and loses after that. Put your own quotes, fees and payment times into the Factoring Cost Calculator to compare two or three offers side by side.

How to check a factoring quote: 10 questions

Copy these into a note and ask every factor the same ones, in writing:

  1. Is the rate flat or tiered? If tiered, send me the full table.
  2. What percentage do you advance, and what is held in reserve?
  3. How many days after the broker pays is the reserve released?
  4. List every fee that could appear on my statement (ACH, wire, same-day, instant pay, credit checks, monthly, minimum volume, invoice processing).
  5. Is this recourse or non-recourse? If non-recourse, exactly which non-payment events are covered?
  6. After how many days can you charge an unpaid invoice back to me?
  7. What is the contract term, and does it renew automatically?
  8. How many days' written notice do I need to give to leave, and is there an early termination fee?
  9. Do I have to factor every invoice, or can I choose loads?
  10. Is a fuel card bundled in, and does my fuel access depend on my factoring account staying in good standing? NASTC flags this bundling as a risk.

Where to start comparing

If you want quotes to compare against the questions above, these are factors with public pages for owner-operators. We don't earn anything from these companies today (see the disclosure at the top). Always compare the written terms, not the ad.

See all six companies side by side, with a source and date for every fact, in our factoring company comparison.

The short version

FAQ

What percentage do factoring companies take? There's no single number. DAT Outgo publishes 3% for carriers invoicing under $18,000 a month and 2.5% from $18,000 to $80,000. Porter publishes 1.5% for the first 60 days for eligible carriers, but not the rate after that. Apex, OTR and Triumph say the rate depends on things like your volume and program, and RTS offers a rate estimator only after you enter an email (all checked Oct 26, 2026). Add the fees on top before you compare.

Is a tiered rate cheaper than a flat rate? Only if your brokers pay quickly. In our example table, a tiered quote that starts at 2.5% beats a flat 3% when brokers pay within 30 days, ties at 45 days, and costs $400 a month more at 70 days on $40,000 of invoices.

What's the difference between the advance and the reserve? The advance is what you're paid up front. The reserve is the part held back until the broker pays, and it comes back to you minus the fee. A reserve isn't a fee, but ask how fast it's released and what can be taken out of it.

Which fees should I ask about? ACH, wire and instant-pay fees, per-invoice fees, monthly minimums, credit check fees, fuel advance fees, and any termination fee. NASTC also flags reserve release delays, early payoff fees and monthly maintenance fees.

How do I compare two factoring quotes? Convert both to dollars per month for your real volume and broker payment times, add every fee, then add what each costs to leave. Our calculator does this for up to three quotes.

Is factoring a loan? No. You're selling the invoice. Triumph describes it as payment for your invoices with "no debt to pay back."

Related: Factoring for a new authority · Factoring contract red flags and how to leave a factor

This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. Terms change; confirm current terms with each company before signing.

Sources

All sources accessed October 26, 2026.