How are you paying Lumpers? Cash, check, credit card?

NASTC / FleetOne is EFS. You order blank checks using the customer service link on their homepage (not the admin portal). Go to efsllc.com, click customer service, click "order EFS checks" and fill out the form. Blank checks are free and It takes about a week or two for the order to come in.

Fun EFS fact: if you need to void a payment, using a money code is superior. You can go in to the admin portal and cancel a money code immediately, as long as it has not been called in and verified. If you load funds on a check number using the app or the phone number, you have to fill out a paper void request, mail it in with the original voided check attached, and wait. Eventually it will be processed and put back on your balance in a week or three.

You either issue a money code using the admin portal, or phone in to the 800 number or use their app to load funds onto a paper check number. Then you give them the money code, or write it on a check. If you load the check number by phone or app, you just write any 10 digit number in the money code box, since it doesn't matter what's there if you fund it by check number. I use the last 10 digits of my card number.

The leading electronic / no check service in use is Relay Payments. That's who Capstone uses, and others. I've also seen some using RoadSync, a similar service that seems more geared toward repair shops than lumpers. I think both will take a credit card too, saving the fuel card vig that RC mentioned. I keep meaning to get set up on those and see what I get out of it, but keep suffering from oldtimers and forgetting. You still get an electronic receipt and an email upon payment, so not a big deal. They give you a virtual check number to put funds on, so works just like a paper check without the paper check.

Comdata is a different animal, and their cash (payment) services are geared toward larger operations. I have their small fleet card that has the Mastercard brand on it as a backup. It's not the same as the big fleet Comdata card. It works more like a credit card, with lesser fuel card discounts and benefits. In order to be able to issue express codes or checks, a separate cash account has to be added to your profile. I did this, and it (the cash line) got closed after a few months because I wasn't using it enough. It was more expensive to use, so I favored making payments with EFS instead, apparently to my peril.

That said, this card is more useful than EFS/FleetOne, since most places take MasterCard. This greatly simplifies paying unscheduled service/repair bills via the driver when needed, and handy for random reefer fuel top-offs and washouts in remote out-of-EFS-network places. Also links seamlessly with the Cat scale app.

Major downside: their blank Comcheks are not free. Last time I ordered, they were around $70 for 250, so about 35¢ a piece for the convenience of getting them in the mail instead of panhandling to get one when needed. That order was just over 2 years ago and I probably haven't used 50 of them, so not a Great big deal, but another reason not to use Comdata if I can help it. I have a couple customers that like to use express codes for various payments, so kind of a necessary evil to have a few on hand.

 

You’re fixing to get a distasteful view of the ugly side of trucking.