Picture this: your trucking business is humming along but you struggle to cover your expenses. You can’t find a bank that understands the industry or that gives you what your trucking business needs. You’re frustrated by paying a lot out each month in banking fees.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. What you may not know is that the bank you choose can have a major impact on your success in trucking. Partner with the wrong bank and you may not be able to pay your bills or ever grow your business.
In this blog, we explore how smart carrier banking strategies can help you build long-term financial stability, reduce the fees you pay, and optimize your cash flow. Read on to discover the competitive advantages of partnering with a smart carrier banking partner like LoadPay — and explore the financial steps that you can take today to set your company up for success.
First Stop: Understanding Your Banking Needs as a Carrier
Before making any big changes to your banking, it’s important to understand what your unique requirements are as a trucking business. As a carrier, you have to deal with:
- Irregular cash flow
- Multiple transactions on your accounts
- Needing quick access to cash
- Fuel card integration
- Financing equipment purchases
- Multi-state operations and tax implications
If you’re like most carriers, you may be dealing with these issues with your current, traditional bank:
- High monthly fees
- Per-transaction fees
- Poor customer service without expertise in trucking
- Complicated fee structures
When you use a traditional bank, you get stuck with generic solutions that aren’t custom-made for trucking companies. If your bank doesn’t understand the transportation business, it can negatively impact your operations.
Smart Banking Tip #1: Choose Industry-Specific Carrier Banking Solutions Like LoadPay
Transportation-specific banks like LoadPay offer you advantages that you just can’t get from a traditional bank. When you partner with a bank that specializes in working with trucking companies, you can choose from a menu of services designed for fleets like yours. Industry-specific banks offer:
- Custom-built services for transportation businesses
- Integration with industry tools and software
- Customer service teams trained on trucking operations
- Flexible terms to accommodate irregular cash flow
LoadPay, which is powered by Triumph, the freight transaction network, is a prime example of a powerful, trucking-specific type of banking that can have a major positive impact on your fleet. With no account opening fees and industry-specific account features, LoadPay functions as a bank built specifically for carriers.
Just how fast can LoadPay put invoice payments in your account?
- In most cases, LoadPay deposits approved invoice payments into your account within minutes of you uploading invoices to your broker or factoring portal, and them being approved.
- Once the invoice payment is deposited in your account, you can use it immediately to pay for fuel, repairs, and other operating expenses.
- With LoadPay, you’ll receive payments in minutes — not hours or days.
It’s worth noting that you won’t find LoadPay’s features at traditional banks and lenders. Instead, the best that a traditional bank can offer is a line of credit or loan, which can be difficult to qualify for, especially if you’re a new carrier or a smaller operation. As you evaluate potential banking partners, be sure to prioritize banks that offer specialized, trucking-specific solutions like LoadPay.
Smart Banking Tip #2: Optimize Your Carrier Banking Account Structure
You also want to think about your how your carrier banking accounts are structured. This includes separating your business accounts from your personal accounts. Segmenting your accounts in this way can help you better manage cash flow and your expenses.
Other types of accounts that may benefit carriers like you include:
- savings accounts for equipment reserves
- business checking accounts
- money market accounts to achieve short-term savings goals
- lines of credit to smooth out your cash flow
Consider automatically depositing a set percentage of your profits into savings regardless of your daily financial ups and downs. Doing so can ensure you have the funds available for repairs, equipment purchases, emergencies, taxes, and other operational essentials. You can do this with automated account transfers to help you establish consistent saving habits.
Smart Banking Tip #3: Minimize Fees and Maximize Value
Whether it’s a $25 wire transfer fee, a $30 overdraft fee, or five percent transaction fee, banking fees can add up quickly and disappear your hard-earned profits. Seek out carrier banking partners that charge minimal monthly and per-transaction fees. You’ll also want to partner with a bank that charges no or low ATM, wire transfer, and overdraft fees.
We recommend being proactive in your approach to reducing or eliminating the fees you pay on your accounts by:
- Understanding a bank’s fee structures before opening any accounts
- Setting up automated account alerts to avoid overdraft charges
In addition to reducing carrier banking fees, look for banks that offer value-added services that help your business. These value-added services may include:
- Free or discounted fuel cards
- QuickPay options
- Mobile deposit options
- Business credit cards with rewards
- 24/7 customer support and service
- Integration with the expense-tracking tools that you currently use.
Red Flags to Avoid in Banking Choices
While most banks are ethical and transparent, be on the lookout for carrier banking red flags such as:
- Too good to be true rates and offers
- Poor customer service responsiveness
- Lack of digital banking capabilities
- Inflexible terms and conditions
Do your research before entering into any agreement with a bank. Researching a bank ahead of time will save you money and heartache in the long run. Read fee schedules and all terms and conditions carefully so that you understand exactly what to expect. Also, check online reviews and references to see what current customers are saying about a bank before you sign on.
Smart Carrier Banking Strategies: Key Takeaways
It’s clear that who you choose for your bank has a major impact on your success as a carrier. Check out these key takeaways from this blog to use in your own smart banking strategy:
- Get the invoice payments you need when you need it with trucking-specific bank account like LoadPay
- Organize your accounts to meet your short- and long-term financial goals
- Minimize the fees you’re charged and look for value-added services
Learn more about LoadPay’s carrier-focused banking solutions: https://loadpay.com/.