Factoring vs quick pay: which one costs less for your loads
Steve Woods · Lead Dispatcher, TruckSprint
Steve Woods leads the TruckSprint dispatch desk and reviews every guide we publish. How we research and update guides.
Updated October 2026
Quick answer
Quick pay is a broker's option to pay you in a few days for a fee, load by load. Factoring is selling your invoices to a factor, who advances most of the money within about a day for a fee and collects from the broker. Quick pay can cost less per load but only works with brokers that offer it. Factoring covers every approved customer and usually adds credit checks and collections.
Both options solve the same problem: brokers often pay in 30 days or more, and fuel, insurance and the truck payment don't wait. I'm Steve, lead dispatcher at TruckSprint. We dispatch carriers who factor, carriers who use quick pay, and carriers who use both. Here's how to work out which is cheaper for your loads.
How each one works
Quick pay. After delivery, you send the broker your invoice and paperwork and choose its quick pay option. The broker pays you early and keeps a fee from the invoice. Every broker sets its own fee and timing, and some don't offer it at all.
Factoring. You sign an agreement with a factoring company and a notice of assignment that tells your brokers to pay the factor. After delivery, you send the invoice to the factor, which advances most of it, often within a day, and collects from the broker. The factor keeps a fee and sends any reserve when the broker pays. Our partner RTS Financial describes advancing more than 90% of the invoice total within 24 hours, with the remaining balance, minus a fee, once the customer pays the invoice. We refer carriers to RTS Financial and may be paid for referrals; it doesn't change your rate. See our disclosure.
Source: RTS Financial, Freight Factoring page · checked 2026-10
Side by side
| Quick pay | Factoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays you early | Each broker | The factor |
| Coverage | Only brokers that offer it | All approved customers |
| Fee | Set by each broker | Set in your factoring agreement |
| Contract | None; choose per load | Factoring agreement, often with terms and minimums |
| Credit checks on brokers | You do them | Usually included |
| Collections | You chase late payers | The factor collects |
| Notice of assignment | Not needed | Required |
Transport Clearings East, a member-owned factoring cooperative, puts typical factoring fees at 1.5% to 5% per invoice, with non-recourse factoring costing 0.5% to 1.5% more per invoice than recourse.
Source: Transport Clearings East (member-owned freight factoring cooperative), Freight Factoring Costs page · checked 2026-10
Run your numbers
Enter the fees you've actually been quoted, and what share of your loads are with brokers that offer quick pay:
Quick pay or factoring? EXAMPLE values
Quick pay only
- Fee per load
- $75
- Per month (6.0 loads)
- $450
- Yearly rate on early days
- 39.1%
- Loads still on normal terms
- 6.0
Factoring every load
- Fee per load
- $75
- Per month (12 loads)
- $900
- Yearly rate on early days
- 37.8%
- Loads still on normal terms
- 0
The yearly rate shows what getting paid early costs, as if it were interest on the days you skip. It isn't a loan rate, but it's a fair way to compare. Factoring usually adds credit checks and collections; quick pay doesn't.
In the example, both options cost 3% per load, which works out to around 38% to 39% a year on the days you skip, but quick pay only covers half your loads. The other six still wait 30 days. That coverage gap is usually what decides it.
When quick pay wins
- Most of your loads are with a few brokers that offer quick pay at a fee you're happy with.
- You only need cash early sometimes, not on every load.
- You don't want a contract or minimums.
- You already check broker credit and don't need the factor to.
When factoring wins
- You need cash on every load, from many different brokers.
- You're a new authority without a cash cushion. See new authority factoring.
- You want credit checks and collections handled, especially with unfamiliar brokers.
- Your brokers don't offer quick pay, or charge more for it than your factoring rate.
Using both
Some carriers factor most loads and use quick pay with a few brokers. That only works if your factoring agreement lets you choose which customers to factor. Once a broker has your factor's notice of assignment, it has to pay the factor, so quick pay with that broker isn't yours to choose anymore. Read the agreement before you mix the two.
Questions to ask
For quick pay, ask each broker:
- What's the fee, as a percentage or flat amount?
- How many days after paperwork does it pay?
- Does the fee change by payment method?
For factoring, ask the factor:
- What's the rate, and does it change with volume or how long the broker takes to pay?
- Recourse or non-recourse, and what does recourse cost me if a broker doesn't pay?
- Any setup, monthly minimum, wire or termination fees?
- Can I choose which customers to factor?
Whichever you choose, the cheapest money is from brokers who pay on time. We look at broker payment history before we offer you a load. Learn more in how factoring works and factoring rates.