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Stories Tagged ‘Invoice Factoring Quotes’

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.

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Factoring Rates can differ dramatically from lender to lender. We will have a look at what variables impact on the pricing of a factoring facility and then we will look at why some factoring companies are more expensive than others.

What impacts on the service fee?

The service fee is what the lender charges for administering your facility and it is typically determined by workload. This is dictated by the number of debtors you have an also the number of invoices you issue. Turnover also has a huge impact on your service fee and typically the higher your turnover the lower the percentage service fee.

The discounting fee, what impacts on this?

This is the cost of borrowing and it should reflect the risk the company is taking. The total fee is made up of the base rate and the margin. Some lenders use the Bank of England base rate while others use LIBOR. Watch out also for the minimum  base rates which a lot of lenders put in place. The margin is often dictated by their credit policies and with negotiation can often be reduced.

These are the 2 main fees but it is important to be aware of additional fees and charges. Always consider total costs when looking at different offers. Please also consider what service is actually on offer and ensure it meets the needs of your business. Factoring rates are obviously important but so are service levels and facility structure.

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.

Temporary Recruitment companies will often use some form of factoring or invoice discounting. It is almost a necessity in terms of how their cash flow works. Typically they are invoicing clients on 30 day terms and yet they are having to pay wages on a weekly basis.

A factoring agreement can provide up to 90% of the invoice value the day after the invoice is raised. This means that wages are covered and you don’t have to worry about waiting for clients to pay.

As an alternative to temporary recruitment factoring there are also full back office solutions that will take care of almost everything except finding clients and temp staff!!

If you are looking for a funding solution for your temporary recruitment company it is worth speaking to Smart factoring Quotes to fully understand what your options are. Smart Factoring quotes have helped to source facilities for temporary recruitment companies who are new starts all the way through to companies with turnovers in excess of £50m.

We have recently been approach by several businesses in and around Birmingham who are looking for factoring facilities. Being based in Birmingham has some serious advantages as it means that virtually every factoring company in the UK can service businesses there as they are so central in terms of location.

The challenge for any business based in Birmingham is choosing the right lender. Not all factoring facilities are the same – far from it. As most require a contract to be signed it is important you choose the right factoring facility and lender.

Invoice finance companies each have their own target market and this will be based on business turnover, sector, geography, debtor profile, etc.

Fixed fee factoring is ideal for businesses looking for a single flat monthly fee when factoring.

Research has shown that small businesses find factoring charges confusing and unpredictable. Fixed fee factoring takes away this confusion by combining all the charges into an easy to understand single monthly factoring fee. It is easy to budget for and provides a valuable boost for the cash flow of a small business.

It is ideal for a business with a fairly smooth cash flow. However, if your turnover is more variable you could find yourself paying the flat monthly fee in a month where you have not had any turnover in which case you would be paying for nothing.

An alternative to fixed fee factoring could be a bundled fee deal. This is a single fee but is charged as a percentage of each invoice with no minimum fees. It is arguably as easy to understand as a fixed fee deal but is more flexible.

We are often approached by companies looking for factoring companies in Leeds.

This request usually comes from companies who are in and around Leeds and want a local provider. Fortunately there are a good choice of factoring companies in and around Leeds. The right one for you will depend on the size of your business, your sector and your financial performance.

There are also a large number of factoring companies outside Leeds who are happy to help Leeds based businesses with a factoring facility.

Smart factoring Quotes would be delighted to help you find a suitable provider.

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.