Factoring Company Guide
First Step: Filling Out the Application
Embark on improving your cash flow with an easy-to-complete application. Simply provide us with your business details – a straightforward process aimed at enhancing your financial management.
Required documentation, like an accounts receivable aging report, is crucial in evaluating your customers' financial reliability. This step is about understanding the entire financial landscape of your business relationships.
In this stage, you’ll discuss the specifics of your financial needs. How much do you plan to factor? What rates are you looking for? The terms depend on factors like your industry, business history, and customer credit risk.
The volume of invoices you factor is important. Generally, the higher the volume, the more favorable the terms you can negotiate.
Based on your application, we determine the suitability of factoring for your business. Post-
Factoring Company Benefits
Benefits of Invoice Factoring:
- Spend less time worrying about money and more time growing your business.
- Forget about the stress of regular loan repayments. You could have the money in just a few days.
- You keep complete control over your business operations.
- Reduce or even eliminate the costs and effort of chasing clients for payment.
- You decide which invoices to sell and when, giving you better control of your cash flow.
- Overcome the problem of clients who are slow to pay.
- Increase your production and sales volume.
- Benefit from professional help with collecting debts and checking credit.
- Meet your payroll commitments with ease.
- Pay your payroll taxes without any hassle.
- Get discounts for cash payments for your supplies.
- Boost your purchasing power, allowing you to take advantage of bulk purchase or early payment discounts.
- Improve your credit rating because you always have cash available to pay bills on time.
- Have ready cash to expand your business.
- Have funds available for your marketing campaigns.
- Improve the look of your financial statements.
- Get comprehensive and detailed reports on your accounts receivable.
Is Factoring For You
The Importance of Factoring
"Until you collect the money, a sale remains incomplete."
Do you find yourself acting as a part-time banker for your customers?
Take a moment to review your accounts receivable aging schedule and tally the number of accounts that are overdue by more than 30 days. Congratulations, you are effectively extending credit to those customers. By not receiving prompt payment for your products or services, you are essentially providing interest-free financing to your customers. This might not align with your original business intentions, does it?
Consider this:
If your customers approached a bank and borrowed the same amount of money, would they expect to pay a significant amount of interest for the privilege? Undoubtedly!
Furthermore:
Not only are you not earning any interest on that money, but more importantly, you are also losing the opportunity to utilize that capital while waiting for your customers to settle their debts. What is the cost of not having this money readily available? Essentially, your customers are requesting you to finance their business by granting extended payment terms, often exceeding 30 days.
However, have you pondered the expenses incurred due to "missed opportunities" when your funds are tied up in accounts receivable?
Factoring History
Factoring: Boosting Business Potential and Financial Success
Welcome to the world of factoring, where businesses uncover the secret to unlocking their full potential and achieving financial success. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur, a startup founder, or a business professional seeking new financing options, factoring is the tool that can propel your business forward.
Surprisingly, factoring often remains hidden in the shadows, with many business owners unaware of its incredible benefits. Yet, it holds the key to driving growth, ensuring cash flow stability, and opening doors to new opportunities.
So, what exactly is factoring? At its core, factoring involves selling your outstanding invoices at a discounted rate to a specialized financing company. In today's competitive landscape, offering credit terms to customers is a necessity for business growth. However, waiting for payments can strain cash flow, hampering your ability to invest, expand, and thrive.
Factoring has a rich and storied history that spans centuries. It originated from the realization that businesses shouldn't be held hostage by unpaid invoices. Over time, factoring evolved and adapted to meet the unique financial needs of businesses in different eras, becoming a reliable tool in the modern business landscape.
Today, factoring is a catalyst for unleashing business potential. By partnering with a reputable factor, businesses gain immediate access to the funds tied up in their invoices. This influx of cash empowers entrepreneurs to cover operating expenses, seize growth opportunities, and invest in crucial areas like marketing, technology, and talent acquisition.
Factoring knows no bounds when it comes to industries or business sizes. Whether you're a manufacturer, a service provider, or a B2B company, factoring can be customized to fit your specific needs. It offers flexibility, scalability, and the ability to adapt as your business evolves.
Beyond providing quick cash flow, factors bring additional expertise to the table. They evaluate the creditworthiness of your customers, manage collections, and take on the risk of non-payment. This frees up your time and resources to focus on core business activities, knowing that your factor is diligently working to secure payments on your behalf.
Factoring liberates businesses from the shackles of traditional financing options. It provides a fast, efficient, and accessible alternative that supports growth, innovation, and long-term success. With factoring, you can break through financial barriers, expand your operations, and seize new opportunities in your industry.
Join the ranks of businesses that have harnessed the power of factoring and experience the transformation it can bring. Embrace a future of financial stability, increased liquidity, and enhanced growth prospects. Factoring is the key that unlocks the doors to your business's ultimate potential.
Credit Risk
Quick Continuous Cash: Get Expert Credit Risk Assessment at No Extra Cost!
Accurately evaluating credit risk is a crucial aspect of our factoring business. Very few, if any, clients can perform this function as objectively as we can.
At no additional fee, we act as your dedicated credit department for both new and existing customers. This gives you a significant advantage over handling these functions in-house.
Imagine a scenario where a salesperson is pursuing a new account with the potential for substantial purchases. The salesperson may be so focused on winning the business that they overlook warning signs related to credit difficulties. They might even bypass your internal credit checks to expedite the process. While this may secure the sale, it won't guarantee payment, and without payment, there is no sale.
With us, this situation won't occur. We make credit decisions based on a comprehensive understanding of the new customer's credit situation. We won't purchase the invoices of customers with poor credit ratings, minimizing the risk of nonpayment. However, please don't view our involvement as a tightening of credit to the extent that it negatively impacts your business beyond your control.
If you have a new customer with questionable creditworthiness, the ultimate decision to do business with them remains yours. (Nevertheless, we reserve the right to say, ""I told you so!"")
While we may not purchase those invoices, you still retain the freedom to extend credit terms as you see fit. You remain in control. Regardless of the decisions you make, thanks to our participation, you can be confident that you'll have access to more comprehensive, objective, and high-quality information for informed credit decisions compared to your past practices.
We thoroughly research new clients and, equally importantly, regularly monitor the credit ratings of your existing customers. This is in stark contrast to most businesses where routine credit updates on the established customer base are rare. Such neglect can be a grave mistake.
Typically, businesses only conduct a credit check when it's too late and the problem has already spiraled out of control. On the other hand, we will promptly inform you if there are any changes in the credit status of your existing customers.
In addition to providing specific customer credit information, you'll also enjoy the benefits of comprehensive, detailed reports on your accounts receivables as a whole. As part of our process, you'll receive accounting details, transactional insights, aging reports, and financial management reports. This data empowers you to incorporate it into your sales tracking, account history, and in-depth analysis.
With over 70 years of successful cash flow and credit management experience, we are eager to leverage our expertise for your benefit. Let us put our knowledge to work for you and help you achieve your financial goals.
How To Change Factoring Companies
Changing Your Invoice Factoring Service Provider
Need-to-know info about switching invoice factoring firms.
Are you considering a different invoice factoring firm?
Are you dissatisfied with your current one?
Planning on ditching your current factoring firm?
What should I know before I switch factoring companies?
Here's a guide answering all these queries and more:
Understanding UCC and its role in switching factoring firms:
Usually, factoring companies file a general Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to secure their claim over the invoices they've funded.
The UCC helps factoring companies, banks, and lenders know who's lent money on which assets. As invoices change daily, factoring companies need to file a 'blanket' UCC that secures all your receivables, even if you're only factoring a part of your sales. This 'blanket' UCC acts as a signal to other lenders, showing a Security Agreement exists between you and the factoring company.
Your specific factoring details, like rates and which accounts are factored, are laid out in the Security Agreement, which is not publicly accessible. Essentially, a UCC works like a first mortgage on your business.
The Process of Switching Companies
The lender with the earliest UCC filing gets 'First Position' on the promised collateral. For instance, a factoring firm has first rights to collect payments on your invoices.
To switch factoring firms, the new factoring firm has to pay off the old one. At the same time, the old factoring company's claim is released, and the new company's claim is filed, similar to refinancing a house.
A 'buyout' is when the new factoring firm pays off the old one using funds from your first financing.
The Buyout Agreement details the transition process and is signed by the old factoring firm, new factoring firm, and your company. In this agreement, you agree to the 'buyout figure' provided by the old factoring company.
How is the Buyout Figure Determined:
The buyout figure is usually the total outstanding receivables minus any reserves and then plus any fees owed to the old factoring firm. It's a good idea to ask for a detailed breakdown of your figure to ensure you understand if there are any early termination fees or additional charges.
What does the buyout cost?
If you can provide new invoices to the new factoring company, which they can use to pay off the outstanding invoices at your old firm, then you wouldn't incur additional costs for the switch. However, most companies need to resubmit some of the invoices already factored with the old company to the new one. In this case, the 'overlap' invoices will incur fees from both factoring firms.
How long does a buyout take?
When you're switching factoring firms, plan for the first funding to take two to three more days than the normal setup process. The extra days will be used to verify the invoices and calculate buyout figures for your approval.
What if my situation is more complex?
Although it's not usual, the old and new factoring firms can collaborate via an Intercreditor or Subordination Agreement until the old firm is paid off. Depending on the situation, factoring firms have managed to 'draw a line in the sand,' where the old firm has rights to invoices up to a certain date, and the new firm has rights to all invoices after that date.
Questions you should have asked before signing up with your current factoring firm:
- Can I use multiple factoring firms at once? The universal answer is one, according to the Uniform Commercial Code/UCC.
- If I decide to switch factoring firms, how much notice do I need to give?
- What is the penalty for leaving without giving the required notice and can you provide an example of how the fees are calculated? Beware of 13-month contracts that require a certain monthly factoring volume.
For example, a 13-month contract where you've agreed to factor $100,000 per month at a rate of 3% means you promise to pay them $3,000 per month in factoring fees or $34,000 in total over the next year. If you want to leave after 6 months, they will charge you the fees for the remaining 6 months, which equals $13,000. This can be too expensive for most companies, especially those with low profit margins. You're stuck!
