Payment terms (net 30, net 45)
"Net 30" means the broker pays 30 days after it receives what it considers complete paperwork. Net 45 or longer means you finance the broker's customer for a month and a half.
When the clock starts
Read the trigger, not just the number. Common versions:
- From delivery: the most favorable to the carrier, and the least common.
- From receipt of POD (proof of delivery) or BOL.
- From receipt of "clean" or "original" paperwork: the broker decides what's clean. A missing signature, a blurry scan or an unrecorded lumper receipt can reset the clock.
- From receipt of invoice: paperwork plus your invoice, in the broker's format or portal.
Some rate cons add a deadline for sending paperwork (for example within a set number of days of delivery), with a fine or a loss of payment if it's late. Find that line too.
What long terms cost
A carrier doing several loads a week on net 45 has six or seven weeks of revenue outstanding at any time, while fuel, insurance and truck payments are due on their own schedule. That's why quick pay and factoring exist, and both cost money. Shorter terms are worth real money even at the same rate.
A record you can ask for
Brokers must keep, for each shipment, the freight charges they collected and the date they paid the carrier, keep that record for three years, and allow each party to the transaction to review it (49 CFR 371.3).
What the Rate Con Checker flags
The checker reads "net 30", "net-45" and phrases like "payment within 30 days". Then:
- 45 days or more: red flag.
- More than your maximum (default 30 days; Pro users set their own): flag.
- Within your maximum: OK, unless a quick-pay fee over 3% is offered, which is a flag.
- No terms found: not found.
The checker reads the first matching number. If a rate con says "net 30 for factored carriers, net 45 otherwise", read the sentence yourself.
What to ask for
Please confirm payment within [N] days of receiving POD/BOL, with no quick-pay fee.
Then make the paperwork boring: scan the signed BOL and POD the day of delivery, include lumper and detention proof in the same email or upload, and keep the confirmation. Clean, same-day paperwork is the best defense against a clock that "hasn't started yet".
When payment is late
Track each invoice's due date. When one passes, send a short written reminder with the load number, the date the paperwork was received and the amount. If the broker says something is missing, ask exactly what, in writing. A late-paying broker on one load is worth noting before you book the next one.