Fuel has to be paid for before you collect payment for the transport. When costs rise or journeys are disrupted, that gap weighs even more heavily. For a small company, the first useful check is to understand which jobs are already finished, which can be invoiced, and which payments are held up by missing documents.
The October 2026 protests against high fuel prices have brought business resilience back into focus. RaiNews's report of 21 October describes pickets and disruption in several areas, with different developments between regions. Before organising a trip, check local updates: speaking broadly of a national strike can be misleading.
Start with deliveries already made
Take completed transports and check them one by one. The aim is to establish what is missing before requesting payment, without confusing an administrative delay with a dispute.
You can begin with this list:
- delivery completed and documents available;
- delivery completed, but proof or attachments still need to be collected;
- invoice issued and not yet due;
- overdue invoice to be chased;
- disputed amount, with the reason and contact person to clarify.
For each job, note the order reference, the customer who must pay, the amount, the due date and the next action. You can do this check with a spreadsheet too, as long as someone keeps it up to date.
Hypothetical example: you have completed six transports, but two are missing the document required by the contracting customer. Calling the accounts department to ask for the payment date does little while that step remains open. Retrieving the documents at least lets you deal with the request with a complete file.
Ask the customer what is really missing
Before sending another reminder, check that the invoice and attachments reached the right contact. Ask whether there are any disputes and have them identify any missing document.
If a delivery is postponed during the protests, keep communications about the change of plan and agree the new instructions. Waiting time, redeliveries and additional costs should be documented and discussed under the applicable agreements: recording them does not automatically mean they will be reimbursed.
If you need an advance, prepare your questions
You can ask the bank whether the invoices qualify for an available advance facility, or talk to a factor about assigning receivables. These are transactions with different terms and assessments. As Banca Ifis explains, an advance takes account, among other factors, of the company's creditworthiness and available credit line; factoring also gives weight to the assigned debtor.
Always ask how much you will receive after costs, when you will receive it, which documents are required and what happens if the customer pays late. An advance can cover a cash-flow gap, but its cost has to be compared with the transport margin.
Where TrucksOut can help
TrucksOut lets you link documents to the order and keep the POD, proof of delivery, associated with the completed delivery. This helps you find the job and the related evidence when you need to speak with the customer or prepare documentation for an intermediary.
TrucksOut does not currently offer invoice trading or provide advances. Its contribution is operational: keeping information in order before requesting payment or considering financing.
To learn more, also read Invoice advances in road haulage: what POD is for.
Updated 21 October 2026.