0845 643 9485
Call now for expert advice

Free, instant quote

Free, instant quote

Stories Tagged ‘Invoice Discounting’

22 Aug

Confidential Invoice Discounting »

by

Confidential invoice discounting is the ideal invoice finance product for businesses that want to do their own credit control and do not want their customers to know that invoices are being funded. Confidential invoice discounting provides businesses with working capital and will prepay up to 90% of the gross invoice value.

Confidential invoice discounting can however be very hard to come by due to the criteria invoice finance companies put in place.

Lenders look beyond the basic invoice finance criteria of selling to other businesses on credit terms and invoicing in arrears of delivery. Lenders will look more carefully at a businesses financial performance and they expect a robust balance sheet. Equally important are the processes that a business employs to collect in outstanding invoices.

 

15 Aug

Invoice Discounting »

by

For many businesses invoices discounting provides the cash that is needed to ensure that their business can survive. Without the necessary cash they cannot pay employees or suppliers. Customer payment patterns can be erratic and can cause cash flow issues and headaches.

Invoice discounting is typically the cheaper of the invoice finance facilities available to businesses. It can also be confidential meaning your customers are unaware of any lenders involvement.

In terms of qualifying for invoice discounting it really rests on processes rather than financial performance. Don’t get me wrong financial performance is important but without the right processes in place you will not qualify for invoice discounting no matter how profitable you may be.

There are 2 main process that will be looked at. Your invoicing process will be interogated. It is important that a good audit trail exists and that invoices are raised in arrears of delivery.

Your credit control process or procedure is also important to demonstrate that debts are collected methodically and professionally rather than not at all or on an ad hoc basis when you have time.

If your invoicing process is not right it is unlikely any type of invoice finance facility will be made available. If your credit control procedures are not adequate it is likely a factoring facility would be offered rather than an invoice discounting facility.

10 Jul

Invoice Discounting – is it the Holy Grail of invoice finance facilities? »

by

I see a lot of clients who insist from the outset that they want an invoice discounting facility but most of them don’t actually know why.

Invoice discounting is available and importantly it is more readilily available than it used to be. However, factoring is the easier facility to obtain is it represents lower risk to the lender.

So what can invoice discounting offer?

Confidentiality – yes invoice discounting can be confidential but some companies insist on a disclosed facility. Factoring, however, can also be a confidential facility or a disclosed facility.

Control – some companies prefer to keep the credit control in-house rather than outsourcing to a factoring company. So invoice discounting allows a business to maintain control over the credit control function. However, so does a CHOCS facility which is a type of factoring facility.

Cost – many feel that invoice discounting is cheaper. Certainly for larger businesses I would agree. However, at lower levels of turnover there is probably not a lot in it.

Rather than deciding that invoice discounting is what you want I think it is important to consider the structure of your facility, the characteristics you want and then the costs of such a facility.

10 Jul

Construction Factoring »

by

Construction factoring is a topic that we have covered several times on this forum.

It is a sector that struggles to find suitable forms of working capital finance as banks are reluctant to offer overdraft facilities and invoice finance companies are uncomfortable with the risks associated with the construction industry.

Read Full Article
11 Apr

Invoice Discounting »

by

When speaking with clients we are often asked to source invoice discounting facilities on their behalf. When I press the prospect on why they want invoice discounting it is often because they feel the facility is confidential and they want to retain control of their credit control.

I think traditionally invoice discounting was confidential but I am seeing more and more lenders insisting upon disclosure and disclosed invoice discounting seems to be more common.

If you are looking to retain control of your credit control then invoice discounting whether confidential or disclosed will meet your needs. You may also consider a CHOCS facility which is essentially factoring but allows you to do your own credit control. CHOCS stands for Client Handles Own Collections and just to confuse matters it can also be disclosed or confidential. Typically a CHOCS facility will be more readily available than an invoice discounting facility because the criteria are less stringent.

If you are looking for a confidential facility then obviously a confidential invoice discounting facility will meet your requirements. However, you may also wish to consider confidential CHOCS which is more readily available and also confidential factoring where credit control is done by the factoring company but in the name of your business.

14 Feb

Recruitment Finance »

by

Recruitment finance can take various formats. Typically it depends on the type of recruitment and also the size of the company. We will look at the three main options available:

Recruitment factoring: this is suitable for recruitment companies of all sizes and for both temporary recruitment companies and permanent recruitment companies. It provides an advance against invoices raised of up to 90% allowing temps wages to be paid. It is also suitable for permanent recruitment companies but prepayments are typically around 70% for perms. Recruitment factoring is available to new start businesses aswell as larger well established companies. It includes a credit control service and can also include credit protection to reduce the risk of bad debts.

Recruitment invoice Discounting: suitable for companies that are better established and have a good credit control function within the business. This type of recruitment finance does not include a credit control service. It can be confidential or disclosed and can include credit protection to reduce the risk of bad debts. Again it can be used for either temporary recruitment or permanent recruitment.

Recruitment back office solutions: well suited to recruitment companies that want to outsource the full back office function. This service can provide finance in the same way as factoring but 100% prepayment levels can be achieved. It also includes payroll and admin services as well as optional credit protection and credit control.

If you have a requirement for recruitment finance it is worth contacting Smart Factoring Quotes to discuss your options in detail.

30 Nov

Invoice Finance Brokers Owned by Insolvency Practitioners – Why? »

by

There seem to be several invoice finance brokerages appearing that are linked to insolvency practitioners. Only today I was asked by a client of mine why this was so I thought a post may be due on the topic.

In short the insolvency practitioners see the invoice finance leads that give to lenders as a carrot to attract insolvency work from the lenders. In fact some of the IP owned brokers will only give leads to lenders if they give them insolvency work in return. I have seen some e-mail marketing from one such broker offering 2 new deals to a lender in return for a ‘fee generative appointment’.

Reciprocity is a buzz word in many industries these days and the invoice finance industry is no different.

However, in my opinion it does raise concerns for business owners who approach these brokerages looking for independent and impartial advice about factoring or invoice discounting. There is every chance that the business will simply be placed with the lender that they ‘owe’ a deal to. If this is the case it means that they are not really acting in the best interests of that client.

03 Nov

Confidential Invoice Finance »

by

I am quite often approached by clients who insist on using confidential facilities. The reasons for this can be varied and I always try to accomodate their requirement.

Traditionally confidential invoice finance has been hard to obtain as the only product available was confidential invoice discounting. The criteria for this were quite rigid and it was reserved for large, profitable business with a good finance and administration function.

The good news is that confidential facilities are now more readily available than ever. This makes the life of an invoice finance broker much easier as it means we have a wider range of products to offer clients based on their unique requirements.

Confidential facilities now include confidential factoring, confidential CHOCS there is a new confidential product due to be launched in January 2012 which we are quite excited about.

Recent Posts

Twitter Updates

    Our Network

    © 2023 Invoice Factoring Forum | Sitemap