9 Tips for a Successful Trucking Company

July 19, 2016

Running a trucking company can be both rewarding and stressful. Making it as successful as possible is the goal of every trucking company owner. In the United States, there are an estimated 15.5 million trucks operating with total revenue of about $255.5 billion, according to statistics by truckinginfo.net. Trucking companies want to make sure they’re a part of the success. Here are a few tips to help you run a successful trucking company.

Successful Trucking Company Tips

1. Hire Good Employees

Having trustworthy and dependable employees is an invaluable asset to a company. Good drivers and good back-office support helps you run your trucking company more efficiently. The trust you have in your employees to make the right decision can relieve some stress and pressure from your job as the owner.

2. Good Customers

When you search for customers, you’ll want to make sure they’re credit-worthy customers. Make sure the customers agree to pay you a good rate to account for your time and expenses. But most importantly, make sure the customers you agree to work for will pay you.

Companies that use invoice factoring with Scale Funding have a free added-service of credit analysis and risk assessment. We check the credit-worthiness of your customers to help ensure you will get paid for the work you do.

3. Secure Contracts

Getting a job to haul one load is nice, but if you can secure a contract for a length of time with multiple loads, it’s guaranteed money for your trucking company. But of course, before you secure a contract, make sure you’re working for good customers who agree to pay you enough to cover your expenses in order to turn a profit.

4. Bid Jobs Effectively

When you bid on jobs, make sure you factor in all of your expenses, including your time. If the customer is requesting anything special or out of the ordinary that will take extra time, make sure you factor that into your cost.

Another thing to consider when bidding is where the load needs to be dropped off or picked up. Try to plan your loads so that your truck is empty as little as possible. As we all know, an empty truck doesn’t make any money, but fuel and labor costs still occur.

5. Preventative Maintenance Checks

Keep your trucks running on the road as long as possible by scheduling preventative maintenance checks. Scheduled checks keep trucks on the road as long and as often as possible. It also prevents unplanned truck troubles.

6. Manage Expenses

The budget for your expenses and plan for them by having some cash in reserve. Make sure to leave extra room for unplanned expenses such as truck repairs, new tires or even new equipment.

7. Keep a Positive Cash Flow

Keeping a steady and positive cash flow can be difficult for trucking companies because of slow-paying customers. Customers may take 30 to 60 days to pay, but you need to fuel your trucks daily and pay for your drivers weekly or bi-weekly.

If keeping a positive cash flow is a challenge for your trucking company, freight factoring can help relieve some of the cash-flow stress. Instead of waiting to get paid on your invoices, freight factoring provides you with same-day cash.

8. Fuel Cards

Fuel cards provide your trucking company with discounts on one of your biggest expenses – fuel. Scale Funding offers fuel cards to trucking companies that factor their receivables at no extra cost. The funds from their invoices are deposited directly into the fuel card account. The fuel cards are accepted at more than 10,000 truck stops in the United States and Canada.

9. Keep on Truckin’

Just like in any market, the demand for trucking services will rise and fall. Don’t get discouraged during the tough times. Keep truckin’ along by working hard and bidding on jobs to grow your business and increase your profits. Hard work and dedication set trucking companies up for success.

Invoice Financing With Scale Funding

Scale Funding is a leading invoice financing company. Since 1994, Scale Funding has provided cash to 1000’s of companies involved in trucking, oilfield services, staffing, and other industries. For a free, no-obligation invoice financing consultation and quote, call (800) 707-4845