So you own a business and always want to stay on top of your game. Yes, you run a successful company with products and services that consumers will love. Your bills are paid on time, and you pay your employees on time. But do you have any backup plans when you send large invoices out and your customers don’t pay immediately?
The business was great because there was cash flow, but if you have a huge amount of accounts receivable? Then perhaps you consider small business factoring. You now understand why you get an invoice advance loan that most businesses do. Small business factoring is a lifesaver for businesses like yours.
Reasons Why Companies opt for Small Business Factoring
To truly understand small business factoring or factoring financing, here are the reasons why:
1. Companies don’t have to wait from 30 to 60 days for their customers to pay
2. Business factoring services free up your time in managing your business
3. It gives the company a positive cash flow without needing to create debt and sell off ownership
How Does Small Business Factoring Work?
The invoice factoring service works a little differently. You probably heard about invoice factoring or discounting, but these would require you to access funds from the unpaid invoice. In invoice or business factoring, you somehow sell or assign the outstanding invoices to the factoring company. In turn, the company will collect the payment directly from the customers.
The business factoring companies will pay the invoice value, less the fee and the small percentage of the invoice that will be retained until the company settles the invoice.
The Process of Small Business Factoring
There are a lot of corporations that utilize factoring as a way to speed up the cash flow. This is to seize opportunities and increase market shares. This goes to the reason that small businesses, especially those that are less than five years rely on fast invoicing turnarounds.
They would benefit more from intimately working with managing accounts receivable and small business factoring. Here’s what you need to know about the process of small business factoring.
1. The client places an order with your business.
2. As a supplier, you provide their goods and services and invoice them.
3. You also provide accounts receivable and have the invoicing company work.
4. You will receive funds in just 24 hours.
5. The invoicing company will collect payment from the customer, and once payment is received, the company will release your reserve.
Why does Small Business Factoring Matter?
Invoice factoring matters because it becomes a financial tool that would help businesses get paid ahead of time for the products and services they have delivered. However, if you find that cash flow gaps restrict the operation or growth of the business, the solution would be to ask the clients to pay the invoices sooner.
Benefits of Business Factoring
Here are the benefits of why a business should consider business factoring.
1. Businesses would have faster access to cash since they are owed more than enough to meet the commitments. When businesses factor in their invoice, the time lag between raising the invoice and getting money would be eliminated. In most cases, you will receive the invoice’s value in 1-2 days.
2. Factoring companies also offer flexible terms to businesses. You can set up an invoice in a way that will suit you. You are not committed to a long-term contract, and you may also be able to choose the invoices that you wish to factor in.
3. Businesses also find that cash factoring would increase profits. You may also be able to pay vendors ahead of time and take advantage of the settlement discounts. The increase in cash may also let you invest in new development and boost your marketing efforts.
4. Though business factoring used to have a bad reputation because of the expensive form of financing, the cost of factoring has decreased significantly in recent years. The factoring cost varies on different factors, like the industry you operate in and the volume of invoices.