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Stories Tagged ‘Invoice Discounting’

22 Sep

Factoring Advice – Who to trust? »

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When looking for factoring advice I am always amazed at who people approach. I accept that my views may be tainted somewhat as I am a factoring broker but it is what I specialise in and I know and am 100% impartial.

Let’s have a look at who business owners will approach to obtain a recommendation for factoring:

Bank managers – your bank manager will only ever recommend their own bank’s factoring company. They are heavily targeted to sell this product so you will receive a single recommendation not taking into account what your requirement is or what the market can offer. In contrast a factoring broker can look at your requirement and recommend the lenders best placed to meet your needs.

Accountants – unfortunately a lot of accountants take commissions from invoice finance providers (as do invoice finance brokers) The problem is that accountants do not specialise in setting up invoice factoring facilities and often do not look at it as in depth as they should. They will also have a few localised relationships rather than using the whole market.

Brokers owned by factoring companies – some brokers are actually owned by factoring companies. As such guess who they are most likely to recommend? If you are using a broker at least ensure they are independent and impartial.

Brokers owned by insolvency practitioners – this may seem like a strange relationship but insolvency practitioners are keen to be appointed by factoring companies. If they can offer factoring companies new business they are likely to receive more appointments. As such you could find yourself placed with a factoring company they owe a favour to rather than the one best placed to meet your needs.

In my opinion you should be taking factoring advice from a specialist and someone who is 100% impartial and independent.

There are a lot of good brokers in the market who are specialists and totally impartial.

At Smart Factoring Quotes we are totally independent and impartial. We are also specialists as invoice finance is all we do.

05 Sep

Factoring No Minimum Contract »

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Factoring agreements are typically for 12 month periods with either a 3 month or 6 month notice period.

However, there are companies offering factoring with no minimum contract.

You could opt for a trial period, a rolling 28 contract or a rolling 3 month contract. Smart Factoring Quotes can help you access all these types of agreements.We will also explain in full the fee structure so you have a full understanding of what you will be paying.

We understand the invoice factoring market and all that it can offer. We also understand the frustrations that businesses face when looking to set up these agreements. We understand how to get you the invoice finance facility that you want.

02 Sep

Cash flow problems »

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Cash flow problems within your business can be solved by looking at several solutions.

Some of those solutions for cash flow problems are financial solutions and involve borrowing money or restructuring existing facilities. The others are operational changes in terms of how you operate your business. Let’s look at each of them briefly:

Working capital facilities

You could look at an overdraft, invoice discounting or factoring facility. If one of these is already in place you could look to restructure to ensure the maximum amount of cash is generated for the minimum cost.

Asset Refinance

If you have any assets within the business you can look at refinancing these assets. This will mean an injection of cash however it can prove costly in terms of interest costs and you should consider the cash flow implications of the monthly repayments. If you already have asset finance facilities in place it may be worth refinancing to reduce the monthly repayments.

Remortgage

If you have a mortgage or an unencumbered property you could look to refinance this to raise money or reduce the monthly repayments.

Collect in money owed

If you have a debtor book it is important to ensure that debts are collected in on a timely basis. Your credit control skills could vastly improve your cashflow. Can you offer a settlement discount to get paid quicker?

Supplier Terms

Can you negotiate better terms from your existing suppliers or can you approach alternative suppliers with a view to obtaining extended terms?

Cost Cutting

Can you cut costs within the business by cutting out unnecessary services, insurances, staff members? You may need to make some tough decisions but you have to protect your business.

20 Aug

Selective Factoring – Case Study »

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Selective factoring was recently set up by Smart Factoring Quotes for a security company based just outside Chester in the North West of England. They had landed a large contract worth over £400,000 over 3 months. They had to invoice monthly on 90 day terms and yet they were paying their security staff weekly.

They approached with a view to spot factoring the 3 individual invoices. We looked at their options and found that selective factoring was by far and away a cheaper option. Selective factoring means that you factor all the invoices of a particular debtor whereas spot factoring means you can pick and choose individual invoices. The difference in this instance is subtle but the difference in cost was dramatic.

Selective factoring worked out almost 10 times cheaper in this instance. The facility will allow our client to take on a lucrative contract and meet it’s weekly wage demands. Profits will be increased because of the selective factoring facility.

16 Aug

Smart Factoring Quotes – New Improved Website »

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Smart Factoring Quotes are proud to announce the launched of their new and improved website.

Our aim has always been to provide business owners with a balanced view on invoice finance. The new site is more informative and we want to be the preferred source of online information for business owners looking for an invoice finance facility. We want to empower business owners to make an informed decision. That informed decision can be about choosing whether or not to use a form of invoice finance, which facility to use or which lender has offered the most competitive terms for their business.

If you are a business owner who is considering entering into an invoice finance agreement or reviewing your existing arrangements make Smart Factoring Quotes your first port of call.

15 Aug

Factoring Companies in the North East »

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Factoring Companies in the North East include the invoice finance arms of the major banks but also there are a number of independent factoring companies with local offices.

Some actually have operational offices in the North East while others simply employ sales people who are based in the region. In all fairness if you have a business in the North East of England most factoring companies within the UK will be able to assist you. The geographic distance between yourself and you client manager is not a major issue in this day and age.

Smart Factoring Quotes have an office in Ryton in the Tyne Valley just outside Newcastle and offer free, impartial and independent advice about factoring in Newcastle and around the North East. We use a nationwide network of lenders from across the UK to ensure that your business ends up with the lender best placed to meet your needs.

We already have clients in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and the surrounding areas and would be delighted to hear from you.

10 Aug

Factoring Company Complaints »

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As an invoice finance broker I speak with a lot of businesses who are looking for cash flow solutions for their businesses.

It would be fair to say that their is a real mixed reaction towards invoice finance and especially factoring. A lot of this relates to the perception that factoring is a last resort and I would argue that this is certainly no longer the case.

However, having read various posts on several forums their seem to be some common complaints about factoring companies. These include hidden costs, actual prepayment not been as high as quoted headline rate, reserves and retentions, lengthy contract periods and poor service levels. Unfortunately in a lot of cases I feel that this business owners do have a valid case.

Another area that received a lot of publicity on the FSB forums is the hefty collect out fees and early termination fees that can be levied by lenders. These can often be totally out of sync with the work load required to collect in any outstanding debts and many view these charges as opportunistic.

If you have any valid complaints and you wish to air these experiences we will accept posts on this forum – please use the comment box below. However, we will not allow “witch hunts” so please do not name individuals and please try to stick to the facts.

04 Aug

Invoice Finance Edinburgh »

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If you are looking at an invoice finance facility in Edinburgh your first port of call should be Smart Factoring Quotes. Smart factoring Quotes specialise in arranging factoring and invoice discounting facilities and we understand which lenders are best placed to help businesses in Edinburgh.

Our approach is as follows:

  • we explain in full what your options are
  • We explain all hidden costs and other things that you should be aware of
  • our aim to allow you to make an informed decision
  • we aim to structure facilities to maximise cash generation and minimise costs

If you are a business based in or close to Edinburgh please give us a call. Our aim is to save you valuable time and money by taking the stress and uncertainty out of arranging an invoice finance facility.

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