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An Entrepreneur’s Quick Guide to Invoice Financing for Small Businesses. Pros and Cons.
Invoice financing is a way for businesses to get access to working capital by borrowing against the money they are owed by their customers. Here are the pros and cons of invoice financing.
Pros
- Ideal for business-to-business companies and seasonal operations. Invoice financing works best for businesses that primarily deal with other businesses or have seasonal fluctuations in revenue.
- Can help bridge the gap between expenses. When a business is waiting for customers to pay their invoices, they may experience a cash crunch. Invoice financing can provide the necessary funds to cover expenses during this time.
- Fast access to cash. Compared to traditional bank loans, invoice financing can provide quicker access to cash.
Cons
- High cost. Invoice financing is a relatively expensive way to raise capital, with processing fees and weekly interest rates that can result in APRs that are multiples of what a business would pay for a bank loan.
- Risk of customer disputes. If there are disputes with customers over the goods or services provided, the lender may not be willing to accept the invoice as collateral, leaving the borrower without a source of funding.
- Potential negative impact on customer relationships. In some cases, customers may view businesses that use invoice financing as having financial difficulties or being untrustworthy.
What is Invoice Financing?
Invoice financing is a type of business financing service in which a company sells its outstanding invoices or accounts receivable (A/R) to a financing company to increase cash flow immediately. Finance companies process invoices and sometimes collect payments from customers (such as invoice factoring).
Invoice financing is a popular financing option for businesses that need to wait 30, 60, or 90 days to receive payments from their customers. In most cases, these companies will encounter cash flow shortages, which may disrupt their daily business operations.
Industries such as manufacturing, wholesale, transportation and freight, and staffing companies often use invoice financing. When using invoice financing, key factors (such as credit history, credit score, financial history, and other relevant financial information related to your business) will not be the main consideration for approval. Instead, the lender will look at the risk profile of its customers and make an approval decision accordingly. Generally, a financial company can reward you with 80% to 95% of the invoice value in advance. With so much available funds, the company can use this money for any business needs. You may be looking for urgent business opportunities, expansion, refurbishment, daily expenses or inventory purchases.
Types of Invoice Financing
Invoice Factoring
Invoice factoring is the most common type of invoice financing applicable to enterprises. The company sold its invoices to the factoring company and received the payment in advance. The company will not only advance the cash you need, but will also process the payment on your behalf. It is worth noting that since this is the case, your customers are more likely to know that you are working with a factoring company. On the positive side, you don’t have to assume the responsibility of collecting and collecting money yourself, which is convenient, especially if you have no human or financial resources. Once the company’s customer (borrower) pays the invoice, the factoring company will deduct the borrowed amount plus expenses and then return the remaining money to the company. Invoice factoring is divided into two types: recourse factoring and non-recourse factoring.
Recourse Invoice Factoring
In terms of recourse factoring, if the customer fails to pay, the borrower will assume full responsibility for the invoice. In other words, they will have to use their spare cash to buy back invoices from the agency agency.
Non-recourse Invoice Factoring
In the non-recourse factoring business, the funder assumes all the risks involved. This means that if the customer does not pay the invoice, the agency’s sales company will fully bear the loss. Therefore, unless the borrower’s customer is highly credible, factoring companies generally do not provide non-recourse factoring services.
Invoice Discounting
For companies that prefer to maintain a secret relationship with the invoice finance company, invoice discount or confidential invoice financing may be a more appropriate financing method. In the invoice discount, the company will assume full responsibility for the collection. After the customer pays the unpaid invoice, the company will pay the financial company the amount it borrowed and the expenses related to financial services. Companies with a good credit history (that is, a reliable and consistent payment history) and financial status are usually the best candidates for invoice discounts. The invoice discount is most suitable for large enterprises that have the resources to collect payments on their own. Financial companies believe that they are less risky because they tend to have an established and solvent customer base.
Selective Invoice Financing
Selective invoice financing is a more flexible type of invoice financing. Although both factoring and invoice discounting may require you to sell all accounts receivable (A / R), selective factoring allows you to control which invoices you can sell and which invoices you have control over. Business owners can fund a single account receivable or multiple invoices in a single transaction. In most cases, companies tend to sell the largest bills to finance companies. This way, they don’t have to worry about the huge cash flow gap. By using selective invoice factoring, large invoices can go from high liabilities to valuable assets.
Spot Factoring
Similar to selective invoice financing, spot factoring allows you to sell one invoice instead of the entire accounts receivable ledger. This is a viable financing solution for businesses looking to bridge a huge but temporary cash flow gap or in need of a large increase in working capital.
In spot factoring, companies often sell their largest invoices, which are typically worth thousands of dollars. The factoring company will also be responsible for the collection. After the customer pays the invoice, the company will deduct the advance and expenses.
Compared to other types of invoice financing, business owners can expect the cost of spot factoring to be relatively high. Factoring companies often charge their clients for the control and convenience they provide.
Overall, invoice financing can be a useful tool for businesses in need of working capital, but it is important to carefully weigh the pros and cons before deciding whether to pursue this option. If you encounter cash flow problems due to unpaid bills, bill financing is definitely a practical financing option to consider. You have 4 options, so no matter what your business needs are, you will definitely find the invoice financing option that best suits your business or let us know how we can assist you.
