How long until you get paid? Net 30, quick pay, and factoring in plain words

Checked October 2026

The short answer: broker freight usually pays on net 30 terms, which means the money arrives about a month after the load — and the clock starts when the broker receives your complete paperwork, not when you deliver. A late or incomplete packet quietly adds a week or two to your own wait. Two tools shorten the wait for a price: the broker's quick pay, and factoring. Route and courier work is different — companies often pay weekly or per route, which is one quiet reason route drivers sleep better.

Net 30, in real life

Net 30 is a promise in the contract, not a law — some brokers pay in 15 days, some in 45 or 60, and the terms on your rate confirmation are the ones that bind you. The trap is the start line. Deliver on Monday, send a messy packet on Friday, and your thirty days begin Friday. Send a clean packet the same day — the signed delivery papers and your invoice together — and the clock starts while the load is still fresh.

Run three loads a week on net 30 and you are permanently carrying about a month of your own earnings as a loan to your brokers. Fuel, insurance, and the cargo van payment do not wait a month. That gap, not the rate, is what squeezes new owner operators hardest.

Quick pay: the broker's own fast lane

Many brokers will pay in one to seven days for a fee, typically about 1.5 to 3 percent of the load. On a $600 load that is roughly $9 to $18 to have the money this week instead of next month. Quick pay only exists where the broker offers it, and the terms change broker to broker, so it solves one load at a time.

Factoring: selling the invoice

A factoring company buys your invoice. You send the paperwork, the factor checks the broker's credit, and most of the invoice — usually about 95 to 98 percent — lands in your account within a day or so. The factor collects the full amount from the broker later and settles the small remainder, minus the fee. The fee lives in the same few-percent band as quick pay, but it covers every broker you run for under one arrangement, and the factor does the chasing when a broker pays late.

Is it a loan? No. You are selling a bill someone owes you, not borrowing. There is no debt to repay — but read any contract for the word "recourse," which means the factor can come back to you if the broker never pays. Non-recourse factoring costs more and covers that risk. Either way, the fee is a real cost of running, and it is a deductible business expense.

The route-work difference

Drivers on courier routes and company lists usually stand on a shorter clock — weekly pay cycles are common in the posting ads for this work, and some pay per route on a set day. Direct deposit every Friday beats a month of waiting, and it never charges a fee. It is one more reason the steady side of this business is the company side.