How do I get paid from load boards?

November 21, 2022

As a trucker, it is so important that you value your time and that you take it seriously. With that in mind, you want to work with brokers and partners who pay you promptly and pay you well. Thanks to the use of load boards, you can easily find work and start building partnerships that last for years to come. One question you might have, though, is this: how do I get paid from load boards?

This is a common query, and one of the most frequently asked questions regarding the use of load boards. Load boards work by bringing together carriers, shippers, and brokers onto one platform. It saves brokers from having to phone around to find partners, instead building relationships through an easy online managed system. It is, for all intents and purposes, a win-win as you can find out a lot of information about the people you are hiring and dealing with. How, though, do you actually get paid when using these systems?

How do I get paid from load boards?

The way that you get paid really does depend on the team that you partner up with. Just about every partnership that you form will start on the basis that you negotiate a rate. If a rate was given for the job, you typically want to try and negotiate a higher price for yourself. Once terms are agreed upon and you do the job, though, how do you get paid?

The majority of load boards come with what is known as a D2P number – that means ‘days to pay’ so you can see how long, on average, a broker takes to pay out. Some will offer you full payment in 15-20 days, others will offer a quicker payment in installments. Be warned, though, that some brokers are keen to take as long as 90 days to pay out on a job well done!

The majority of the time, you will get paid using a bank transfer or by a check sent to you via US Mail. It depends on the broker, and what you are most comfortable with. Bank transfers are probably the quickest method. Once you have completed the delivery and have a signed-off BOL, you simply confirm the BOL with the broker, and then payment will be complete.

Another choice would be factoring, where a factoring company pays you in full and then gets the amount back from the broker. You should only accept factoring if you are using load boards that provide full details on the payment and credit history of a broker. Too often, you can find that you are accepting factoring deals from a broker that takes far too long to pay. Also, factoring companies will take a cut of the money, so you do not get the full amount in return for getting paid sooner.

Alternative payment options for load boards

There are other options, too. Some will look to pay you through things like Amazon payment cards or even fuel cards. That can be useful, but it obviously does not help to put food on the table. Others will look to use other means of payment such as Bitcoin and cryptocurrency; it is up to you if you feel comfortable with that as a payment method.

We recommend that anyone using load boards looks to get in the most standard methods possible – check, bank transfer, PayPal etc. – do not allow yourself to get messed around. If someone is not paying you, do not extend credit for too long – it is good to be generous and fair to your partners, but not too fair.

Unfortunately, not every partner will pay promptly and on time. As such, most recommend that if you are using load boards to make a living then you should always try and have at least 90 days of operating capital saved away – as well as some ‘rainy day’ funds for when people you partner with take longer to pay out than they should.

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