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Stories Tagged ‘non recourse factoring’

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.

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.

Smart Factoring Quotes were approached by a residential care provider just outside Glasgow.

They were keen to source factoring Scotland. They were paying staff on a weekly basis but were having to wait a considerable amount of time to get paid by the local authorities.

We explored several options for them including full factoring, CHOCS and invoice discounting. As the credit control was not really an issue they decided that factoring was not good value as they were paying for a credit control service they just did not need.

We were able to source an invoice discounting facility that was much cheaper but still met all their requirements.

We have a lot of clients in Scotland and have an excellent network of lenders covering Scotland.

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.

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.

Cheap factoring for small businesses is now available. Typically the minimum fees levied by lenders made factoring particularly expensive for small businesses with a turnover less than £500,000. Some may argue that there is no such thing as cheap factoring no matter how big your business is but I believe that a cost effective solution now exists.

At Smart Factoring Quotes we have a bundled fee solution which means that you pay one simple fee as opposed to a seperate service fee and discounting fee. For a recourse factoring facility this fee is 1.95% of the each invoice. If you wish to include credit protection to protect you against bad debts this fee increases to 2.95%.

This has been well received by virtually all small businesses that I have spoken to. The benefits include:

  • up to 85% prepayment against your invoices providing valuable working capital for your business
  • no minimum fees which can prove expensive when turnover dips
  • easy to calculate fees which can easily be priced into your product or service price
  • optional credit protection to protect you from bad debts

Typically my advice also includes an explanation about hidden costs as detailed in other posts on this forum but with this facility it is easy to use, transparent and easy to understand.

Easy Invoice Finance are a small independent factoring company based in the North West.

My understanding is that they are part owned by Regency Factors and part owned by Rob Mercer who fronts the business.

They are commercial in terms of their underwriting and aim to be quick in their decision making.

If you would like to speak with Easy Invoice Finance or you are looking for a factoring facility it is worth speaking to Smart Factoring Quotes first for some independent and impartial advice.