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What is Factoring and Invoice Discounting?
Factoring and invoice discounting (known as debtor finance) can
dramatically improve your cash flow by releasing money as soon
as you have completed an order and raised an invoice rather than
having to wait for your customer to pay. This makes them ideal
for funding growth. Because it's linked to sales, factoring or
invoice discounting is ideal if your business does not have the
financial track record or security available to negotiate
sufficient overdraft facilities.
A key advantage is flexibility. The amount you can borrow grows
in line with sales and it is often possible for you to repay
bank facilities and release previously pledged security.
Typically, when factoring is set up you can borrow about 80% of
the value of your approved invoices less than 90-120 days old.
Thereafter, cash will be made available against invoices on a
daily basis with the remaining 20%, less charges, once the value
of the invoice has been collected. Once the system is
established, the level of advance you receive against invoices
depends on a number of issues, but can rise as high as 100%.
Once in place, there is no limit to the amount you can borrow as
the finance is linked directly to sales. This is in sharp
contrast to bank overdrafts, which require regular
re-negotiation and arrangement fees.
The cost of such a facility is normally up to 3% over base rate
for the money borrowed together with a service charge linked to
gross turnover of at least 0.5% depending upon the level of
annual sales, the number invoices raised and how many live
accounts are on the sales ledger. Small addition charges are
often made for extra services such as credit insurance.
About the author:
John Courtney AIMC, MABS, MInstDis, is the managing director of
Strategy Consulting Limited
(http://www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk). Having trained at
The Academy of Business Strategy, and is an associate of the
Institute of Management Consultancy and a member of the
Institute of Directors, he is also a visiting lecturer on the
MBA course at Cranfield University School of Management and a
Judge in The National Business Awards
For More Factoring and Business Finance Information
Utah Factoring Account Receivables
Factoring Canada Liquid Capital Services
Utah Accounts Receivable Factoring
Factoring Group