Glossary · Factoring
Fuel advance
Also called: Fuel card advance, Load advance
Definition
A fuel advance is cash a factor releases to a carrier before a load delivers, typically against a rate confirmation, so the driver can buy fuel to run it.
A fuel advance is funded on a rate confirmation alone, before a bill of lading or proof of delivery exists. It is usually a portion of the line-haul rate, paid by ACH or loaded to a fuel card, and recovered when you buy the invoice for that load.
That timing makes it the riskiest dollar a factor sends. You are funding a load you can't yet prove happened, often for a carrier who needs cash today. If the rate con is fake, the load is double brokered, or the carrier's identity has been taken over, the advance is gone before any delivery paperwork could expose the problem.
Before advancing, confirm the load with the broker using contact details from your own records, not from the rate con. Cap advances for new clients until they have a payment history, and read the guide to fake rate confirmations, BOLs and PODs.