If you are the owner of a trucking company, you need to make sure that every vehicle in your fleet is well-maintained, and that all of your drivers are paid. This is why cash flow is so critical to both truckers and trucking companies, as it not only keeps the business in operation, but it allows for growth opportunities as well.

This is why so many companies in the trucking industry rely on freight factoring to stay in the black month after month. Factoring continues to be one of the best options for truck drivers to collect money faster — because it generates the funds you need when you need them. Factoring freight invoices allows trucking companies of every size to receive immediate funding in the form of advances on unpaid invoices from a third-party factoring company.

The first step of the freight factoring process is quite simple, and as a trucking company owner you’re already doing it — you deliver your load normally. The second step is to submit a copy of the freight bill and other supporting documentation to your factoring company. This can be done digitally and instantaneously.

As a carrier, you will then be given an advance typically between 90% to 95% of the value of the invoice. A top-tier factoring company such as Accutrac Capital will advance carriers up to 97% of the value. The remaining 3% is kept in reserve and is remitted to the carrier once the customer pays on the original invoice.

You can see why this is such a popular financing option. Not only do trucking companies have access to a generous advance, but the actual job of collecting on the invoice now shifts to the factoring company, freeing up trucking company owners to do what they do best — track down leads and generate new contracts.

Freight factoring is so appealing because it offers a great deal of advantages that other financial solutions simply can’t. Factoring your freight bills is a great option because:

1. It’s easy to receive your funding when you need it. Traditional loans from banks and other lenders are often very difficult to secure. If you don’t have the best credit in the world, or you’re a startup without a considerable amount of collateral, factoring invoices is going to be easier than securing a loan.

2. Factoring speeds up your cash flow. Anyone in trucking knows that carriers need to be paid, and if they have to wait 30 to 90 days to receive their payment, it will detrimentally affect their bottom line — sometimes even to the point of bankruptcy.

Rather than waiting 90 days to receive payment for a service you’ve already rendered, freight factoring allows you to turn your accounts receivable — which would otherwise be sitting uselessly by — into the funding you need when you need it. With all the work you do as a trucking company owner, there is no reason why there should be a waiting period standing between you and the money you’ve already earned.

3. Factoring gives you money to spend on growing your trucking business. When you are routinely stuck waiting for payment, it can become more and more difficult to take on jobs because cash flow is tight and you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for your drivers or maintain your fleet. Freight factoring alleviates this issue because you can receive payment upfront for invoices often within a day, allowing you to move seamlessly onto the next job.

4. Factoring is not debt. Because you are essentially selling something you already own at a discount in the form of an unpaid invoice, factoring is not a loan and therefore there are no interest rates or hidden fees. Carriers simply pay a small one-time factoring fee when they receive their advance.

In order to stay afloat in the choppy waters of the trucking industry, consider freight factoring as an option for your business. Whether you have a fleet of four or four hundred, factoring can help you manage your cash flow, so you can keep your head above water.

Remote working is a growing trend within UK businesses, with more companies allowing employees the option to work away from the traditional office environment. This can bring many benefits to both the employer and employee, which can increase overall productivity within the business. To run a successful remote team, a lot of planning and skill is required, from hiring the right team, using the best tools available and creating good processes within your company.

Find the right candidates

When looking to hire an employee for your remote team, you are no longer restricted to finding someone local to the area and you can search globally for the right person for the job. The ideal candidate will need to be self-motivated and disciplined to ensure that work is completed and deadlines are met. Professional interview attire is an essential aspect when conducting an interview because this is where you see a candidate’s understanding of professionalism. Are they sharp? Do they understand the concept of the work we are looking for? Such questions arise from just looking at how a candidate presents themselves to you. Conduct a range of interviews by email, phone and Skype and set the candidate a small task that will reflect the work they would be doing if they were hired.

Use effective management processes

Remote workers need to know what exactly is required of them, for example, if they’re expected to be online at certain times of the day or if they have to reply to emails promptly. By establishing clear guidelines and giving your employees instructions, this will ensure the productivity levels are kept high. Access to training opportunities is vital and you can provide relevant eLearning courses through places like EssentialSkillz, in order to ensure employees are able to perform their roles in a safe and effective manner.

Provide workers with the best tools

Having the best tools available is vital to ensure your employees can be as productive as possible. Google Hangouts is a great way to communicate with colleagues and clients as you can message and video call anyone in your contact list who is online. A great tool for project planning is Pivotal Tracker as you can easily manage team projects and stick to deadlines. Another tool that is useful is Google Drive, as this allows colleagues to share and collaborate on documents and spreadsheets at the same time.

The benefits of remote working

Remote working is beneficial to the employer and employee. Without having to commute to an office every day, the employee has more free time meaning they can spend time with family and friends, go to the gym or take on a side project. This leads to improvement in their health, wellbeing and stress levels.

A company can save a significant amount in costs by operating from a smaller office, saving in heating, maintenance and electricity bills. Productivity would increase as remote workers are generally more productive than employees who work in an office and are less likely to take sick days. Remote workers are proven to be hard working and loyal to their employer.

There’s a reason big brands have attained success–they know how to keep their customers happy. Is your business losing customers to competitors? If yes, learn how to keep your customers loyal to you by taking advantage of how big brands build customer loyalty.

1.       Avoid Disappointing Customers

If you’ve set a bar on the quality of your service, never let it drop. This is because your customers will come to expect nothing short of quality. Inconsistency in quality or performance will lead to disappointment and your customers would rather patronise a business they trust.

2.       Be Transparent

Always tell your customers the truth. Customers are never more disappointed than when they find out from elsewhere that a brand they trust has made a mistake and tried to cover it up at the expense of its customers or other stakeholders.

3.       Be Responsible and Noble

The nobler your brand is, the more loyal your customers. This is because people want to be associated with a brand that stands for something “good”. So take advantage of the Noble Edge Effect, by running a more socially responsible business and engaging in philanthropy.

4.       Build Your Brand on Customer Service

Customers love a brand that not only listens but also acts on what they have to say. If a single customer says there’s something wrong with your product or service, don’t brush it aside. Communicate with the customer and remedy the issue. You can even capitalise on this by sharing with other customers how you improved the brand experience of the complainant. It shows that you care.

5.       Provide Value

Offer your customers products and service quality they can’t get elsewhere. This is a key aspect of building loyalty in the long term. If you offer a level of service to your customers that can’t be matched by your competitors, you can be sure to enjoy their custom over the course of a good many years, as you build a valuable level of loyalty.

6.       Incentives

You might have loyal customers but make them excited about patronising you by offering incentives such as discounts and promotional offers. The more incentives you have and the more frequently you offer them, the more buzz you will generate about your brand among your actual and potential customers.

7.       Personalise Your Marketing

Customers appreciate it when they are given the personal touch treatment when communicating with a brand they patronise. If you want your marketing campaigns to be successful, you have to personalise your marketing communication to each target customer. Addressing a recipient by name yields more results than a general address such as “Dear Recipient” or “Dear Shopper”. You can get the data you need to personalise communications through data that your customers have already shared with you and use it to create customised offers.

8.       Anticipate

The needs and wants of your customers will always evolve. To keep your loyal customers, it is important that you can expect what your customers require of you and offer it. This will make you a proactive brand that is in tune with its customers rather than a reactive one that acts too late.

Apply the above tips and you can expect the loyalty of your customers to grow.