- 21 Jan
Invoice Auction Web Sites - The Advantages & Disadvantages
This is a link to a new article which explains the advantages and disadvantages of invoice auction web sites when compared with traditional invoice finance companies: Invoice Auction Web Sites Advantages And Disadvantages Explained.
Related articles
- 22 Jan
How To Make A Successful Factoring Application
How to make a successful factoring application is not just down to following a set process, there are other factors, such as the nature of your business that will play a part in the outcome. However, below we have put together a few pointers to help you maximise the chances of your factoring applications being approved.If you are looking to set up a factoring facility, there are a number of steps...
- 08 Oct
Single Fee Factoring For Small Companies Using Courier Exchange Or Haulage Exchange
One of our funding partners have been able to help provide factoring to a number of small courier companies recently. We are seeking further small couriers and hauliers to provide with invoice funding, if you are in that sector and looking for flexible funding support please get in contact.GET A FACTORING QUOTEThe facility that has been most popular is single fee factoring, providing funding...
- 30 Sep
Which Is The Best Factoring Company?
Which is the best factoring company?We get asked that question a lot - surely it's a simple answer?It sounds like a really simple question, but the answer is a lot more complicated than just stating a single factoring company name, that stands out as being a "head and shoulders" above all the others - and there are currently over a hundred different UK based providers to choose from.This short...
- 25 Sep
Online Invoice Factoring
Online invoice factoring can have a number of different meanings, each of which I have addressed below. In general terms, factoring normally refers to a facility that provides prepayments against outstanding sales invoices, together with a credit control service to collect those payments in.The modus operandi of factoring facilities will be very different depending upon the provider (called a...
- 27 Aug
Should I Stay If My Factoring Company Reduces It's Price?
We had a meeting today with one of our funding partners, and one of the topics that came up was clients that they quote for that decide to stay with their existing factoring provider.This normally happens when the existing provider decides to drop their fees in order to match a competitive offer received from a new funder. As brokers, we are regularly involved with sourcing quotes for existing...
- 25 Jul
An Example Of Factoring Pricing For A Temporary Staff Agency.
This is another example of a price that we recently found for a temporary staff agency that were looking for recourse factoring.Factoring will provide them with both advances against their sales invoices, when they raise them, and a credit control service from the factoring company. This is often popular with temporary recruitment companies, as it frees up their time - away from chasing invoices...
- 22 Jul
Scottish Company Factoring Arranged.
We have just been able to help a car body repairer find an alternative factoring facility, due to the fact that they advised us that their well known factoring company no longer wishes to provide facilities to carbody crash repairers. They are also a Scottish registered company, which not every factoring company can support.I have mentioned before how different factoring companies will take...
- 11 Jul
Single Fee Factoring Typical Pricing.
Single fee factoring is attractive to some customers because they like the idea of the predictability of charging. With a single fee arrangement, you know that there is just one charge that you have to pay, there are no complex discount margin calculations to be made – so you know what the costs are going to be at any time, an agreed percentage of your invoice value.As I explained in my...
- 08 Jul
Are Your Customers Using Factoring?
Factoring is a business finance product that is used by a wide number of UK businesses. It works by releasing cash against unpaid sales invoices, which is called a "prepayment". In addition to the pre-payments, with a factoring service, the customer receives credit control support from the factoring company - they chase up debtors for payment so you don't have too.If you want to know if your...
- 01 Jul
Why Is Factoring Used?
Factoring accounts for almost 52% of UK finance member’s domestic factoring and invoice discounting clients by number (according to the Q2 2019 statistics). Therefore, it is the more popular option for UK businesses.GET A FACTORING QUOTEHowever, whilst this popularity may be driven by choice, it could also be that some clients are failing to qualify for invoice discounting and are therefore...
- 03 May
Explaining The Factoring Product Decision Tree
Factoring is a simple service, but there are a number of product options that need to be understood in order to select the right service for you.We can guide you through this process over the phone, just call Sean in confidence on 03330 113622, or you can use our free Online Product Finder.There are a number of simple questions to answer, within the product decision tree, that will determine the...
- 02 Jan
Bringing Credit Control Back In House After Using Factoring
An interesting question was recently raised on our research group regarding bringing credit control (credit management) back in-house after having used factoring.Please read our general guidance about leaving factoring.You may be making this change for a number of reasons, including:Whatever the reasons, the process has some issues to be considered to ensure that all runs smoothly. Failing to get...
- 04 Sep
What Is Impacting The Factoring Industry
I recently received a kind invitation to moderate the SME Insights panel at the Alternatives & Receivables Finance Forum in London. I noticed that one of the organisers recently posted a question on social media, "What is impacting the factoring industry?". So I have set out my views on this question, below.The first clarification is to confirm that "factoring" is being used as a term to describe...
- 27 Jun
More Accident Repair Invoices Funded
One of our specialist funders has just completed the payout against another accident repair company's invoices to insurers.The accident repair company had been established for several years, and they had a few invoices to insurers such as Hastings Direct and AIA Group, that they wanted to get payment against immediately. The issue is that invoicing insurance companies often takes a while for...
- 04 Apr
Simple Explanation Of Factoring
This is a very simple explanation of factoring. For a detailed explanation of the full range of product variations please see our free guide to the different types of factoring.In very simple terms, factoring is a financial service for businesses. It provides two core services, and there are a number of additional optional extra services. The two core services are funding and credit control.For...
- 21 Mar
How Does Body Shop Factoring Work?
Car repairers, and car crash repair specialists, often use body shop factoring to release the money tied up in unpaid sales invoices.Although their invoices tend to be to insurance companies, which can be of good standing, there can often be a delay in receiving payment, which can mean waiting 60 days or even more in order to receive payment for a repair that has already been completed. This can...
- 20 Mar
BMF Awards Tomorrow Night
Tomorrow night is the awards ceremony for the Business Moneyfacts Awards 2018, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, in London.FundInvoice are pleased to have been confirmed as Finalists for "Best Invoice Finance Broker 2018". This will mark the fourth year running that we have been shortlisted for a BMF Award, an achievement for a company of our size, especially up against numerous larger competitors...
- 07 Mar
Is Debt Factoring A Type Of Outsourcing
The simple answer is that yes (to a point) debt factoring is a type of outsourcing. However, there is more to these types of factoring products than just the outsourcing element.Debt factoring delivers a number of key services.This is support from a factoring company's (or factor's) credit control team to assist or fully manage the process of collecting in payments from your customers. The...
- 28 Oct
Online Factoring Calculator To Work Out Cost Savings
We have an online factoring calculator, which is an Exel spreadsheet, that allows you to work out the cost savings of using factoring over handling your own functions, such as credit control.The online factoring calculator allows you to quantify cost savings in the following way. You enter the cost of your factoring facility. This will be the service charge and discount charge. The calculator...
- 04 Aug
Another 5 Star Review For FundInvoice
FundInvoice has just received another 5 star review from a customer that we helped find a factoring facility last year. Good news because it shows that they are still happy with what we found for them.This was the comment that was left about FundInvoice, in addition to rating our service with 5 stars, the maximum possible:"Sean was very helpful when we were looking to move our factoring...
- 27 Jul
Compare A Loan With Factoring
The number of finance businesses that just send out their email marketing to all and sundry, without any opt in is staggering. It is not just small businesses, we get inundated with multiple email communications, to every email address, from but high profile names that you will be very familiar with - and that should know better than to send unsolicited emails.I have just had another email from...
- 05 Jul
Engineering Consultants One-Off Spot Factoring
If you just need funding for a single order, or for a single batch of invoices, you can get spot factoring for just that, on a one-off basis.We recently helped an firm of engineering consultants get one off spot factoring. The company had been able to finance their own cash flow, but they had the opportunity to take on a large order from a customer. There would not have been able to fund this...
- 02 May
Help If A Factoring Funding Limit Is Removed
If you have had a factoring funding limit removed or reduced, it can dramatically affect your ability to borrow money against a customer's invoices. However, you should be reassured that not all factoring companies will take the same view on a particular debtor.GET IN TOUCH TO SEE IF WE CAN HELPA funding limit (or credit limit) is set by the factoring company against each debtor. With a recourse...
- 27 Apr
How Recourse Factoring Works
One of the concerns customers sometimes have about using factoring is the worry that they will have to repay the finance against a particular invoice, if the debtor doesn't pay them. This is because the most common form of invoice finance is what we call "recourse" or "with recourse". This means that if an invoice isn't paid after a set period, you have to repay the funding to the factoring...
- 11 Apr
Factoring Price Reduction For Haulage Company
This is a great example of a recourse factoring price reduction that we found for a haulage company. A circa 50% cost saving on their existing quote.Factoring services provide a business with both upfront money against unpaid invoices, and help collecting in their payments from customers. It can improve the cash flow of a business as the business no longer needs to wait to get paid by its...
- 04 Apr
Reduce Factoring Service Charge By Two Thirds
Would you like to reduce your factoring service charge by two thirds? That's the range of quotes that we received in a recent mystery shopper pricing comparison exercise.Whilst overall fees varied by a factor or 2.7 times, service charge quotations varied by a multiple of just over 3 times.That is the scale of difference that we found in the recourse factoring service charge quotes that we...
- 09 Jan
Finding An Invoice Factoring Broker
I saw an interesting example of how people try to find a factoring company recently, that only confirmed what a muddled process prospective clients can find themselves going through. It reminded me of this picture that I took recently, inside a shop in the south of France!I noticed a post on one of the social media sites, where a construction sector company were asking if anyone knew of a good...
- 21 Dec
Financing Factoring Companies
The source of financing factoring companies use can come from a variety of different avenues. You may want to take this into account, when you are choosing which factoring company to pick, as you may be worried about the effect on pricing and reliability of funding.We can advise you about factoring generally, including where funding is coming from, either contact us or call Sean on 03330...
- 13 Nov
Increased Funding Against De Poel For A Recruitment Company
We have helped numerous recruitment companies that have experienced funding restrictions against RPO debtors. This particular recruiter was turning over £600K pa and was using an invoice finance arrangement with a well known high street bank. They did business with De Poel (a well known RPO) and the bank had imposed a tight, 10% maximum prime debtor restriction on this customer. We were able...
- 23 Oct
UK Imports Growing
HMRC Overseas Trade statistics show imports to the UK growing again in August 2016, continuing to show growth since 2015 levels. Exports however have continued to show a decline over recent months.During August 2016 the value of exports (EU and Non-EU) decreased to £23.3 billion, and imports (EU and Non-EU) increased to £41.4 billion, compared with July 2016. Therefore, the UK is a net...
- 08 Oct
Funding A Seasonal Toy Manufacturer
We were recently able to help find funding for a toy manufacturer with a seasonal trading pattern (there is a good definition of a seasonal trading pattern here).  The manufacturers were a newly formed business but growing so fast that they needed more working capital in order to fund their growth. They needed cash in order to be able to pay their large suppliers to terms.Factoring can work...
- 31 May
Problems With Factoring Company Software Systems
We have just helped a client who had problems with the online factoring system that his existing factoring company were using and also wanted an improvement in the collections service. You might not think there would be much to choose between systems but they can differ and we are aware of there having been problems in some cases. Customers never realise how important it is to choose the right...
- 20 May
Finance With Limited Or No Personal Guarantees
Personal guarantees are essential with some sales financiers, however that is not the case for all of them. There are funders on our panel that will provide facilities without personal guarantees (in some cases) or with very limited PGs e.g. for 10-20% of the value of the funding. If you are looking for funding without PGs please speak to Sean on: 03330 113622....
- 16 May
Service Only Factoring - The Holy Grail?
When I started in factoring at Barclays, service only factoring deals were the holy grail in terms of new clients.A service only customer didn't need any funding, so there was no risk of loss to the factoring company. Hence, these were the most desirable of clients. This no longer seems to be the case!We have had several instances where customers have contacted us for credit control service only,...
- 03 May
Proper Help With Collecting Invoices
We thought it was funny! If you are looking for proper help with credit control have a look at our free credit control guide....
- 30 Apr
Single Debtor Invoice Finance
Sometimes a company will only have a single customer. Often new startups will find themselves in this situation, although there are established customers who undertake all their trade with one debtor. You can still get invoice finance against such situations.Single debtor invoice finance is the answer but there are two options. A selective facility is very much geared to you picking and choosing...
- 22 Apr
RBS Commercial Twitter Talks On Manufacturing, Automotive & Technology
#RBSmfgTalk #RBSTechTalk Really pleased to be asked by RBS Commercial to participate, once again, in their upcoming Twitter talks about manufacturing, automotive and technology. Last years #TalkIF discussions were very successful and I am looking forward to the debate regarding how we help these sectors.#ukmfg #manufacturing #ukmanufacturing...
- 21 Apr
Overpayments And How To Get Them
I have put up a new page about overpayments from factors and discounters: Overpayments...
- 11 Apr
Finance Product Innovation Continues To Accelerate Market Review 2016
Having been involved in business finance and funding since the late 80's I have been amazed at the amount of product innovation that has occurred over the last decade. For the first 2 decades of my working life the products on offer were fairly stable, recourse factoring, non recourse factoring, confidential and disclosed invoice discounting with trade finance thrown in for good measure.However,...
- 22 Mar
Where Can Factoring And Discounting Help?
This page sets out some of the situations where factoring and invoice discounting can help a business with its funding: Situation Examples.Many are obvious, such as funding growth, but some are less obvious e.g. financing an MBO....
- 21 Mar
Calculator Factoring Cost Benefits Against Bank Overdraft
This factoring calculator compares the cost benefits of using a full factoring service with those delivered through a bank overdraft. it demonstrates numerous benefits that are often overlooked: Calculator Comparing Factoring Benefits With Bank Overdraft.This is a case study showing how FundInvoice helped a web advertiser find factoring in order to deliver such benefits: Case study of factoring...
- 17 Mar
Factoring Against De Poel Invoices
We have a new case study on the FundInvoice site about a prospect who needed funding, via a factoring facility, against De Poel, the recruitment RPO: Funding De Poel...
- 17 Mar
Case Study Selective Factoring For Hospitality Sector
Another case study has been added showing how selective debtor factoring was used to fund a company selling to the hospitality sector: Selective Debtor Factoring.Selective Debtor Factoring allows the customer to choose certain debtors to include within the financing arrangement. In this was they can control the cost but avoid some of the hassles of selecting individual invoices, one at a time....
- 15 Mar
Healthcare Recruiter Gets Factoring
A new case study has been added regarding a healthcare recruitment company that FundInvoice were able to introduce to a well known factoring company: Healthcare Recruiter Gets Factoring...
- 19 Feb
Invoice Finance Clients Seem Generally Happy
In my new article I look at recent research about the number of existing invoice finance clients that are thinking of moving providers and why: Research Article...
- 17 Feb
Factorable Industry Sectors
It has taken an age to go through but we now have a full list of factorable industry sectors on the FundInvoice site. Furthermore, it also shows which sectors might be suitable for construction finance or retail finance as an alternative to factoring or invoice finance: Factorable Industry Sectors...
- 11 Feb
Lord Turner Predicts Losses From Peer-To-Peer Lending
In a piece published by the BBC, former city regulator, Lord Adair Turner was quoted as saying "The losses which will emerge from peer-to-peer lending over the next five to 10 years will make the worst bankers look like lending geniuses,". The quote was buried in a piece about interests rates staying low, maybe only 2% by 2020. However, the most interesting quote to me was the one about P2P...
- 10 Feb
Nearly 6 Times More Crowdfunding Awareness Than Factoring
Recent research suggests that businesses are nearly 6 times more aware of crowdfunding related advertisements than they are aware of advertisements for factoring and invoice discounting:Â Crowdfunding vs Factoring...
- 05 Feb
Finance You Can Keep Forever
You have to pay a loan back. Whether its a crowdfunding loan, or a bank loan, the principle is the same, you make a number of repayments over time which repay the capital that you borrowed and some form of margin, so that they lender makes a return. There are alternatives where you don't have to pay down the finance - you can effectively keep it.It is often overlooked that forms of funding such...
- 03 Feb
Invoice Finance On Pinterest
I have set up a new Pinterest board with pins relating to invoice finance and factoring. It includes many of our research infographics: Invoice Finance & Factoring Pinterest Board...
- 02 Feb
New Crowdfunding Vs Invoice Finance Research
I have published a new piece of research comparing some aspects of crowdfunding with invoice finance (advertising awareness). You can read my full article here: Crowdfunding Vs Invoice Finance...
- 31 Jan
FundingVoice December 2015 - 6 Ways To Cut Invoice Finance Costs
The current edition of FundingVoice magazine is now online: FundingVoice December 2015 - 6 Ways To Cut Invoice Finance Costs....
- 21 Jan
FundInvoice Proud To Be A Hastings Invoice Finance Business
 FundInvoice LLP has just joined "Hastings and Proud" - a group of businesses that are proud to be based in and around the Hastings area, and are proud to serve its community.We are always pleased to help any local businesses, from Hastings or the surrounding area, that wants to improve its cash flow position with a business loan, invoice finance or factoring. If you have unpaid sales invoices...
- 18 Jan
FundInvoice Means Factoring Finance
Interesting, over the weekend two people saw the FundInvoice logo on the wall and both said "is it factoring?". I was surprised that they immediately recognised that we arranged factoring finance from just seeing our logo. FundInvoice clearly means factoring. Secondly, I was surprised that two random people knew what factoring was. It transpired both of them had worked for businesses that had...
- 13 Jan
No Service Charge Until April
One of the invoice finance companies that we deal with are currently offering new customers a special deal whereby they will pay no service charge until April 2016. Call Sean on 03330 113622 for details....
- 12 Jan
Regulation Of The Invoice Finance Industry
There has been some ongoing discussion about the pros and cons of invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting becoming regulated products i.e. being regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). I wanted to put forward my thoughts about the subject, in the hope that they may be considered by anyone that is constructing an argument for, or against, regulation of the invoice finance...
- 08 Jan
Which Factoring Companies Confidential Factoring?
Who provides confidential factoring? The answer is very few factoring companies these days!Confidential factoring is a great little product whereby you get all the benefits of factoring i.e. funding against invoices and a full credit control service, but the credit control is carried out in the name of your company (hence its "confidential" so that your customers are unaware). The factoring...
- 04 Jan
New Research Infographic Re Late Payments, Invoice Finance And Growth
I have published a new infographic which highlights just two key points from our research regarding UK late payment culture and enabling business growth through invoice finance....
- 28 Dec
Factoring If You Have Just Moved To The UK
The question came up, can you get factoring if you have only just moved to the UK?The answer is "Yes".There are a few points that are relevant:...
- 24 Dec
Guide To Factoring From Factor21
I have added a new "Guide To Factoring" courtesy of Manus O'Donnell at Factor21:Â Guide To FactoringThe guide covers what can be factored, charges and frequently asked questions. It also has a response link at the bottom if you want to contact Manus at Factor21. Thanks for the guide - apologies for taking so long to get it published!...
- 14 Dec
More Invoice Finance RPO DePoel Restrictions
We have heard that there have been further RPO DePoel funding restrictions imposed by one of the major invoice finance companies. Fortunately there are still other invoice finance companies that are happy to fund DePoel and other RPOs. Contact Sean for help: 03330 113622....
- 25 Nov
Help With Slow Paying Customers
Do you need help with slow paying customers? There are a few options that you could consider:To discuss the help you need please call Sean on: 03330 113622....
- 24 Nov
New Article About Local Authority Debtors Credit Control
We have published a new article about undertaking credit control in respect of UK local authority debtors. The article includes some advice and tips about what to do to get paid: Local Authority Debtors Credit Control....
- 06 Nov
Factoring Companies Service Levels Are Different
We have just had an interesting conversation with a prospective client over service levels, factoring companies service levels differ enormously. The client wants to improve the level of factoring credit control service that they receive, and so are looking to move between providers. However, they have an impression, that is incorrect, that all factoring companies will be the same.We have seen...
- 27 Oct
Everything You Need To Know About Invoice Finance In One Place
FundInvoice have pulled together everything you need to know about invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting, in one place: Everything About Invoice Finance.The site includes:So if you are looking to use invoice finance or factoring for the first time, or you want to change to an alternative provider, everything you need to know about UK invoice finance companies can be found in one...
- 18 Oct
Invoice Finance Company Struggling To Pay You?
Is your invoice finance company struggling to pay you? Every now and again we hear rumours of an invoice finance company having financial problems and issues paying their clients. We recently spoke to a prospective client who told us that their existing invoice finance company had been struggling to pay them. We are currently helping them find alternative financiers. If your invoice finance...
- 14 Oct
UK Late Payment Culture - Invoice Finance Companies Lead By Example
On the subject of the endemic late payment culture within the UK, the factoring invoice finance companies are leading by example: UK Late Payment Culture - Invoice Finance Companies Lead By Example....
- 07 Oct
Proving The Link Between Fast Turnover Growth And Invoice Finance
I am currently looking at how to prove the link between the use of invoice finance and becoming a fast turnover growth company. I have already conducted research which has identified a higher than average concentration (12 times) of usage of invoice finance amongst businesses that are growing turnover by more than 20% each year. The next set of research results will canvas opinion about the use...
- 06 Oct
Invoice Finance Quote Search Available
If you just want to check the price of invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting for your company, please use our independent quote search services: FundInvoice | Invoice Finance Quote Search.If you don't already use invoice finance our search service can help you find the best prices, if you already use factoring or invoice discounting, and you want to change providers, we can help you...
- 15 Sep
List Of Export Factoring Territories & Countries
A list of export factoring countries and territories has been added to our site. It also shows those countries that you may be finding difficult but we may be able to help with, depending on the circumstances: List of Export Factoring Territories & Countries....
- 14 Sep
FundingVoice Magazine - September 2015 - Up To £10K
September 2015's FundingVoice magazine is now available online: FundingVoice Magazine - September 2015 - Up To £10K Golden Hello Offer.It includes:...
- 12 Sep
List Of UK Factoring Companies
FundInvoice has a list of UK factoring companies and we would be happy to put you in contact with them. There are more than 60 factoring companies within the UK and the products that they offer may vary considerably. For example, in some cases they may offer a full comprehensive credit control service was in other cases the service may only include chasing the large accounts on your sales ledger....
- 10 Sep
Sean Morrow's Comment On The
"Golden Hello" offer - up to £10,000 of invoice finance cost savings paid in advance. Sean Morrow, a Partner in FundInvoice said the following about the offer:"I believe the new 'Golden Hello' offer is a truly ground breaking offer for companies looking to save money by moving their Invoice Finance facility. No more having to wait a whole year to see if the sales persons promises of savings will...
- 04 Sep
Factoring: Is it still relevant in 2015? | Bdaily Business News
This was my comment posted on this article asking: Factoring: Is it still relevant in 2015? | Bdaily Business News.My comment: Our Study of Invoice Finance Users February 2015 asked existing invoice finance users about their attitudes to invoice finance, and what they thought stopped more businesses using these products. We found that only 8% of respondents made any reference to negative...
- 02 Sep
How To Overcome Late Payment Excuses
Help about how to handle late payment excuses from debtors that owe you money: How To Overcome Late Payment Excuses.Part of our archive of materials about running your own credit control function in-house....
- 01 Sep
Selective Invoice Finance And Invoice Auctions
New support service added to the FundInvoice site to help you get selective invoice finance and access to invoice auctions: Selective Invoice Finance And Invoice Auctions....
- 26 Aug
Exclusive
An new offer has been launched, exclusively through FundInvoice LLP, whereby one of our funding partners is offering existing factoring and invoice discounting users, that switch to them, up to £10,000 of annual cost savings paid up front as a "Golden Hello", on commencement of their new facility.Contact Sean Morrow on 03330 113622 to find out how much you could receive, or see the full details...
- 24 Aug
New Article On LinkedIn About Factoring And Invoice Discounting Users
New article on LinkedIn about what existing users say about factoring and invoice discounting: 98% Of Users Will Recommend Invoice Finance | Glenn Blackman | LinkedIn:Â https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/98-users-recommend-invoice-finance-glenn-blackman?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publishIt includes details of the number that have not checked their invoice finance pricing during the last year and...
- 20 Aug
Invoice Finance And Factoring Infographics
A new gallery of all our infographics is now online, including our market research summaries and general infographics about factoring and invoice discounting:Invoice Finance And Factoring Infographics...
- 19 Aug
What Invoice Finance Users Said About Factoring And Invoice Discounting
This infographic shows what existing users told us about factoring and invoice discounting. 98% would recommend it but few had checked the price during the last year:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ...
- 19 Aug
Fixed Base Rate For 12 Months After It Rises
We receive the latest offers and discounts available within the invoice finance arena. This is a new offer of a fixed bank base rate.If you are worried about the anticipated rise in the Bank of England base rate, currently expected early next year, one of the invoice finance companies has come up with a fixed base rate offer.They will fix the base rate element of your discount charge (similar to...
- 12 Aug
FundingVoice Magazine - August 2015 - Free Credit Control Guide
The latest FundingVoice magazine edition is now available online:FundingVoice Magazine - August 2015 - Free Credit Control Guide.It includes our free guide to running your own credit control and a guest article about selective invoice finance from GapCap....
- 10 Aug
Free Guide - How To Do Credit Control
Our free guide about how to undertake your own credit control.It included:Read more here: Free Guide - How To Do Credit Control....
- 03 Aug
Examples of Situations Where Factoring Or Invoice Discounting Can Help
Some examples of situations where factoring and invoice discounting can help such as being turned down for a bank overdraft, being in a CVA or having CCJs: Examples of Situations Where Factoring Or Invoice Discounting Can Help....
- 30 Jul
July 2015 Invoice Finance Market Research Findings Available
Our July 2015 market research report into the invoice finance sector is now online and can be downloaded in PDF format: July 2015 Invoice Finance Market Research Report (note this will open our news section which has a link to the actual PDF, if you want the PDF directly it is here: PDF Research Report).The report covers a number of areas that we have researched such as:Your feedback is welcomed...
- 28 Jul
Offsetting The Cost Of Factoring - Cost Savings Calculator
Our factoring cost savings calculator shows how you can offset the cost of factoring against the cost saving benefits, effectively achieving factoring for free: How to Get Factoring For Free - Cost Savings Calculator.You can adjust the values in the yellow boxes of the spreadsheet to see the potential cost benefits for your business from using factoring....
- 24 Jul
FundInvoice Updated Information Pack Now Available
A new version of the FundInvoice information pack (our brochure) is available to download in PDF form. You can find a link to the PDF here: FundInvoice Updated Information Pack Now Available.Feedback is always gratefully received!...
- 08 Jul
FundingVoice Magazine - July 2015 - 98% Would Recommend Invoice Finance
The latest edition of FundingVoice magazine is available online: FundingVoice Magazine - July 2015 - 98% Would Recommend Invoice Finance.This edition includes the following articles:...
- 01 Jul
Invoice Factoring Online Article
Article about accessing invoice factoring online: Invoice Factoring Online....
- 28 Jun
The Benefits of Non Recourse Factoring Bad Debt Protection
New article explaining how non recourse factoring works and the benefits of having bad debt protection: FundInvoice | The Benefits of Non Recourse Factoring Bad Debt Protection....
- 18 Jun
Article How Many Factoring Price Quotes Do You Need?
New article exploring how many factoring quotes you should get and the role of the factoring broker: How Many Factoring Price Quotes Do You Need?....
- 16 Jun
Case Study - Small Business Confidential Factoring - Credit Control Service
New case study from FundInvoice, about confidential factoring, provided to a small business turning over less than £100K per annum, that needed professional credit control support, under the banner of their own company branding: FundInvoice | Small Business Confidential Factoring - Credit Control Service....
- 15 Jun
Confidential Factoring
We have just successfully found a confidential factoring facility for a client.It is fairly rare that clients are looking for confidential factoring, which combines the benefits of a full credit control service with confidentiality, as it is not a well-known service. The credit control service is delivered in the name of the client, so that the client's debtors are completely unaware of the...
- 10 Jun
FundInvoice | 10 Free Ways to Improve Your Business Cash Flow
10 free ways to improve the cash flow of your business:FundInvoice | 10 Free Ways to Improve The Cash Flow of Your Business.The article sets out 10 ways to improve your cash flow and generate more income including speeding up collections, cutting costs and earning commissions....
- 09 Jun
Avoiding The Pitfalls Of Factoring
How to avoid the pitfalls of factoring agreements, our top tips are included within this new article: Avoiding The Pitfalls Of Factoring AgreementsThe article includes advice about avoiding high costs, hidden charges, choosing the right provider and avoiding a misuse of funds from factoring....
- 03 Jun
Research About Switching Invoice Finance Providers
I have published a new research article into switching invoice finance providers. The article looks at one of our studies of invoice finance users and determines whether they are currently using bank owned or independent invoice financiers. It also looks at who they used previously and the reasons for moving providers. There are some clear preferences within the results: Switching Invoice Finance...
- 02 Jun
Example Of Costs Of Credit Control Outsourcing
For an example of the costs of credit control outsourcing and the cost benefits over employing your own credit controller please see this page: Outsourced Credit Control.With an outsourced credit control service, the provider will normally undertake all the telephone chasing of debtors, production of statement and production of chasing letters, on behalf of their client. The differences between...
- 01 Jun
Cost Benefits Of Credit Control Outsourcing
I am just putting together some information on the benefits of credit control outsourcing, and the potential cost savings are huge.More details will follow, but using an example of a £750K + VAT turnover business, just the salary savings by not having your own credit controller, could be in the order of 65%! I will post up a full example tomorrow....
- 27 May
How To Check That FundInvoice Is Trustworthy
It is important to us that clients are able to check that FundInvoice is a trustworthy, bona fide organisation. Therefore, we have listed a number of ways that you can: Check FundInvoice's CredentialsIt is important that you confirm the identity, and reputation, of any financial intermediary. We have seen plenty of examples of websites where you cannot even clearly identify the business that you...
- 27 May
Thinking About Using Invoice Finance? Watch Our Video
New video if you are thinking about using invoice finance and would like a 2 minute summary of our market research findings:Thinking About Using Invoice Finance?It's essential viewing for anyone thinking about using factoring or invoice discounting and covers:Â ...
- 25 May
Factoring Quotes UK
If you want factoring quotes UK based factoring companies are keen to lend and have plenty of additional capital available. Qualification for factoring is straightforward, providing you raise credit invoices to other businesses, it is highly likely that you will qualify for factoring, even with previous poor credit history.Even new startups can raise money through this type of funding.For more...
- 23 May
Trades Using Factoring Or Invoice Discounting
To find out which suitable trades are currently using factoring or invoice discounting I had a look at our most recent survey of existing invoice finance users. The most common trades and industry sectors using these products were as follows:Now that is not an extensive list, and it does not necessarily represent the overall make up of the whole industry, however it does highlight some...
- 21 May
Some Recent Factoring & Invoice Discounting Research Findings
These are a few of the recent results from our factoring and invoice discounting research programme:We will be publishing new findings on a regular basis so watch this blog or subscribe to our newsletter....
- 20 May
Which Invoice Finance Companies Are Advertising?
Which invoice finance companies are advertising in the UK? We sought to answer that question and to check what percentage of businesses were actually seeing any factoring and invoice discounting related adverts at all. This article summarises the recent findings:47% Have Not Seen Any UK Invoice Finance Advertising...
- 16 May
98% Would Recommend Invoice Finance
The big question for anyone thinking of using invoice finance - what percentage of existing users would recommend it?The answer, from our recent survey, was: 98% said they would.Details of the article: What Percentage Of Invoice Finance Users Recommend It?....
- 03 May
Benefits Of Factoring
Comment about the benefits of factoring from a client we surveyed: "... works well, far better than overdraft as it grows with you and you have control over it".An overdraft is normally set for a particular amount and it does not necessarily grow as the turnover of the business grows. Factoring, is different as it is linked to the size of the invoices that you raise. Therefore, by its very...
- 30 Apr
Clients Using Factoring, Quotes About Credit Control
From my recent article about the reasons clients gave for choosing their invoice finance facility, these are quotes directly concerning credit control and invoice collections from clients that were already using factoring:...
- 29 Apr
Quotes About Why Invoice Finance Users Picked Their Facility
Latest research article: Users of invoice finance - quotes - why they picked their facility.There are many, very positive reasons stated in this extensive list that would be good for any considering invoice finance to read. Many of the benefits of factoring and invoice discounting are captured in these quotes from actual users of these services that responded to our survey....
- 28 Apr
New Case Study - Bodyshop Car Repairs Funded
A new case study detailing how FundInvoice were able to find factoring for a bodyshop car crash repair garage that were invoicing insurance companies:Â Factoring Bodyshop Car RepairsFor help call Sean on: 03330 113622...
- 26 Apr
Quotes About Alternatives To Overdraft When Turned Down
If you are turned down for an overdraft that can often be the catalyst to finding your way to invoice finance. Invoice finance is often not an obvious option as it is not well known or understood by people. These are quotes from invoice finance users about how they have now found their way to these products after being turned down for an overdraft:Â ...
- 23 Apr
Client's Ideas About Improving Their Factoring or Invoice Discounting Facility
These are the ideas that clients came up with to improve their existing factoring or invoice discounting facility: Factoring & Discounting Client IdeasYou will see that the main issue is cost with 16% saying nothing at all.Of all the suggestions given, there really aren't any that they couldn't solve with access to the full range of facilities that are freely available across the industry. We...
- 02 Apr
New Article With Quotes From Existing Factoring Or Invoice Discounting Clients
This article sets out 14 actual quotes from existing clients using factoring or invoice discounting: Quotes From Factoring Or Discounting ClientsThe article shows the overall positive perception that clients have of these products and the issues they see that are stopping more businesses from using invoice finance....
- 31 Mar
Recent Factoring and Invoice Finance Case Studies
FundInvoice have posted a number of recent factoring & invoice finance case studies, to illustrate the kinds of deals that they have found for clients.The 6 case studies include:...
- 10 Mar
Invoice Discounting Or Factoring Cash Within 24 Hours
We have just had a very successful meeting with a new factoring and invoice discounting company who have just completed a deal within 24 hours of having received the lead. That is just 24 hours between first contacting the customer and transferring funds to the customers account.So if you need to generate cash within a very short period of time this could be a very effective option....
- 01 Feb
Invoice Finance Research Community On Google+
I have set up a new "community" on Google+ to allow sharing or invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting related market research findings. Anyone can join....
- 20 Jan
Article About Who Uses Invoice Finance & Factoring
There is a new article on the FundInvoice site: Who Uses Invoice Finance & Factoring?The article sizes the UK market penetration of invoice finance and contrasts that with our research findings about the connection between fast growing businesses and the use of invoice finance as a funding source....
- 18 Nov
Research Hub Updated
I have updated the research hub with details of the mystery shopper exercise and a link to download a copy of the report. It shows the top 3 cheapest confidential invoice discounting, factoring and non recourse factoring quotes, received from our panel in respect of the client scenarios posed in the study....
- 11 Nov
Invoice Finance Mystery Shopper Full Free Report
The full report from the invoice finance mystery shopper exercise that FundInvoice completed in October 2014 is now available. You can download it free of charge:Invoice Finance Mystery Shopper ReportIt explains:...
- 21 Oct
35% Average Factoring & Invoice Discounting Cost Savings
Here are some details of the cost savings that FundInvoice LLP have been able to find for clients: Average Factoring & Invoice Discounting Cost Savings.Overall savings were found for 81% of businesses - that's over 4 out of 5, and on average clients were saved 35% of the total fees that were quoted elsewhere.Research updated October 2019 - Average 31% saving found over the last 12 months. ...
- 20 Oct
Another New Invoice Finance Company
We have been contacted today by someone we have worked with previously that has now started their own invoice finance company. Great news for clients, another option and it's always good to hear from a new funder that's eager to lend....
- 03 Oct
White Label Confidential Factoring
There is a new "white label" confidential factoring product that we can offer via one of our partners. It delivers a fully white labelled version of confidential factoring so that all contact and written correspondence reflects the branding of your business:White Label Confidential Factoring....
- 20 Sep
Mathematical Factoring Resources
We have had web views looking for maths help with mathematical factoring whereby you identify the components or a number i.e. its factors. Here is a link to a page with a list of relevant resources: Mathematical Factoring...
- 18 Sep
List Of UK Factoring Companies & Help
If you are looking for a list of the factoring companies in the UK please see this page: UK Factoring Companies List.Most of the companies on the list will offer both factoring and invoice discounting services but if you want some more specific guidance please call Sean on: 03330 113622 and he will be happy to give you some free advice or even to conduct a free factoring quotation search for you....
- 17 Sep
Confidential Factoring Credit Control
Factoring has benefits such as having your sales ledger chased by a professional credit controller, however some clients are worried that they don't want their customers to know that they are using a factoring service. Confidential factoring is the answer it. The client gets the benefit of using a factoring company's credit control team but all activities are carried out under the client's own...
- 05 Sep
Breached Your Factoring Facility - Don't Panic!
A "breach" of your factoring facility means that you have contravened one or more of the rules set out in you factoring agreement. This can result in your factor suspending further funding or even giving you notice of termination. "Breaches" can include: - Raising "fresh air invoices" that don't reflect and underlying sale. - Paying off sales invoices with your own cash. - Banking debtor...
- 27 Aug
An Example Of How Invoice Factoring Grows With Turnover
If we take an example of a business turning over say £250,000 per annum. If we assumed that invoice factoring or overdraft would both release say £50,000 of funding as turnover increases the overdraft will still be £50,000 unless it's renegotiated and more lending may need more security. However, with invoice factoring, if the turnover were to increase to say £500,000 per annum, the funding...
- 25 Aug
Funding That Grows With Your Turnover
The big difference between a traditional bank overdraft or bank loan and invoice finance such as invoice factoring or invoice discounting is that loans and overdrafts do not grow in line with growth in your turnover. An overdraft or loan will be for a fixed sum. As you raise more invoices so factoring and discounting will release additional funding and in that way the funding available grows in...
- 23 Aug
Invoice Factoring Mystery Shopping Results
The results of our invoice factoring mystery shopping exercise will be published shortly. The mystery shopping survey compared the invoice factoring prices between different providers to find who was quoting the cheapest prices and fees. Results to follow....
- 20 Aug
Factoring For Temporary Recruitment For The Construction Sector
The supply of temporary recruitment staff to the construction sector is eminently suitable for factoring although the construction sector is not something that all factoring companies are willing to get involved with, so it is worth shopping around to find the invoice finance companies that are most interested in this sector. FundInvoice have been able to help several clients within this sector...
- 16 Aug
Factoring For Non Home Owners
A number of factoring companies required the prime movers of a business to be homeowners. However, circumstances are often such that we deal with directors of businesses that do not own their own home. Many people now live in rented accommodation. There are factoring companies that are happy to deal with directors that are non-homeowners and we have just completed a factoring arrangement for a...
- 14 Aug
Factoring Despite Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
Factoring can be arranged for your business, releasing cash for any purpose, despite your prime movers being in individual voluntary arrangements. In fact, we have just helped a client, where the prime mover was in an IVA, arrange a factoring facility, with an independent factoring company who are sympathetic to people in such situations. An IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement is an...
- 01 Aug
Essential Free Information If You Use Factoring Or Invoice Discounting
This is a monthly free email update about invoice finance. It includes research about prices and products. This is essential information for anyone who already uses, or is thinking about using factoring or invoice discounting. Subscribe free to FundingVoice Magazine....
- 31 Jul
Finance Product Finder
Below is a link to our business finance product finder. 10 simple questions to help you select the best business finance product for you: Finance Product Finder...
- 28 Jul
Looking For Factoring?
If you are looking for a factoring company we have lots of useful information to help you find a factoring company that suits you.1) How factoring works 2) Factoring research 3) List of factoring companies 4) Factoring case study 5) Cost of Factoring. 6) Article about the benefits of factoring. If you would like to speak to an expert adviser, without charge, please call Sean from FundInvoice on:...
- 27 Jul
Last Minute Factoring
It is striking how many prospective clients leave arranging a factoring facility until the very last minute. Another common characteristic is that initially there is a lot of pressure from the client to arrange a factoring facility very quickly, then after us doing so, the client delays proceeding. The reason for this is often that a particular debtor payment has been received and the client...
- 23 Jul
Factoring Calculator
This post has a link to our factoring calculator that you should use if you are considering using factoring. The calculator takes into consideration all the benefits of factoring, such as the reduction in credit control costs from using an outsourced credit control service. You need to remember though that the service levels between different factors vary so you need to choose the right service...
- 21 Jul
Help With Slow Payments
Factoring can help with slow payments from customers and debtors in two ways. Firstly factoring will release cash against unpaid sales invoices, for example 85% of the gross invoice value could be released with the balance, less charges, passed to you when the customer pays. The second benefit of factoring, with regard to slow payments, can be from the credit control service provided by factoring...
- 18 Jul
Factoring For Seasonal Invoicing Peaks
Factoring can be used to smooth out the cash flow problems caused by seasonal peaks in invoicing and trading. A "seasonal peak" is when the trade, and hence invoicing, of a business is not even throughout the year. A classic example might be a fireworks manufacturer. Most of their annual turnover is likely to be concentrated around bone fire night. There are also many other, less dramatic...
- 17 Jul
Factoring Company Reviews And Ratings
If you are looking for reviews and ratings for factoring companies, FundInvoice can help. FundInvoice have carried out extensive research of the factoring market including canvassing existing clients for ratings and reviews of their existing factoring companies. These ratings and reviews can be used to assist you in deciding between different factoring companies....
- 16 Jul
Factoring Problems
Problems with your factoring facility? FundInvoice may be able to help you. Although the vast majority of factoring clients are happy with their facilities sometimes clients run into factoring problems. For example: insufficient funding, problems with the collections service, a desire to reduce costs or a breakdown in the relationship with the factoring company. In all theses cases FundInvoice...
- 15 Jul
What Does An Invoice Finance Take On Involve?
An invoice finance take on, also known as a switch on, normally involves a visit to your company premises by a surveyor from the invoice finance company. However, in some cases it can be conducted by the sales person, or it may be conducted over the phone/electronically. The purpose of the take on visit is to acquire the sales related records of your business in order to create a copy of your...
- 14 Jul
What Does An Invoice Finance Survey Involve?
An invoice finance survey is normally a visit to your business conducted by a surveyor. Typically, a survey can take from a few hours to several, days depending upon the size of your business and hence the amount of records that need to be examined. The surveyor will examine the records of your business in order to better understand the nature of your trade, how easily your sales invoices are...
- 13 Jul
What Is The Invoice Finance Sales Process?
The sales process involved with being approved for an invoice finance facility, such as factoring or invoice discounting, can vary between different providers. A generic overview of the process would be as follows: 1) Initial contact, normally by phone. 2) Meeting with a Sales representative. This will normally involve general discussion about your business and what you need. 3) Survey - this may...
- 12 Jul
Factoring Clients Survey
We conducted a factoring client survey where 46 users were asked to rate and review their factoring company. We also captured information about their life as invoice finance users over time.You can read some of the results here: Factoring Clients Survey...
- 11 Jul
What Is A Bank Waiver?
A bank waiver is a document, issued by a bank, that waives its rights to the book debts of a company so that the company can use these book debts to support an invoice finance facility, such as factoring or invoice discounting. Waivers are often required as the outstanding sales invoices, or book debts of a business, are encumbered by any existing charge over assets or debenture, held by the...
- 10 Jul
Can You Have Invoice Finance And An Overdraft?
Yes, you can have invoice finance and an overdraft from a bank. In fact, our recent research amongst a sample of invoice finance users found that 30% of them used some combination of invoice finance and overdraft or loan finance. So it is very common. We often come across situations where a small residual overdraft remains after the client starts using an invoice finance facility such as...
- 09 Jul
Factoring Company Review Ratings Vary Dramatically
Our factoring survey found huge differences between the rating reviews for overall satisfaction assigned by existing clients to their factoring company. The range of ratings assigned by clients, for overall satisfaction with their factoring company, went from 4/10 up to 9/10, A dramatic difference of 125% between the lowest and the highest ratings. These results demonstrate the enormous...
- 08 Jul
Factoring Clients Use Two Different Factors On Average
Our survey of 46 existing factoring clients from across a spectrum of different factoring companies, revealed that on average a factoring client will use 2.2 different providers during its life as an invoice finance user. In total we found that clients used factoring for 4.8 years on average and they had spent 2.2 years, on average, with their current factoring company. These findings suggest...
- 06 Jul
Crowdfunding Comments
I posted a while back about comments being posted on a Facebook advert for Crowdfunding, these have continued to appear, following exactly the same pattern - a belief that businesses turning over £100,000 per annum don't need to borrow anything! This is so far from the truth - looking at an example in detail:1) If a business has £100K pa turnover, it invoices £8,333 per month. On average...
- 05 Jul
Criteria To Qualify For Invoice Finance
The basic criteria to qualify for invoice finance are very simple: 1) You are a business that raises credit invoices to other businesses. It is really as simple as that. Certain specific products such as factoring or invoice discounting may have further particular criteria, but in general in order to access some form of invoice finance you only need to satisfy the criteria stated above. Even the...
- 04 Jul
Need Help Paying Suppliers?
If you need help paying your suppliers invoice finance can help. If you have unpaid sales invoices outstanding to your customers, invoice finance can release a large proportion of that unpaid debt to you in cash. You can use that cash for any purpose, including paying your creditors and suppliers. This can dramatically reduce creditor pressure. As you raise more sales invoices so the invoice...
- 02 Jul
Business Finance With Poor Credit Or CCJs
Factoring can provide business finance even where the directors, or the business, has previous poor or adverse credit history (even CCJs - County Court Judgements). Unlike most bank finance, with factoring the finance is based on the strength of your debtors and your invoices rather than the financial strength of your directors or your business. Even if you have a poor credit history you may...
- 30 Jun
Export Factoring
Export factoring can help you fund your exports abroad, collect outstanding, unpaid invoices to overseas buyers and protect against bad debts (if required). ...
- 28 Jun
How To Get Out Of A Factoring Contract
This article describes 10 steps to get out of a factoring contract: Get Out Of Factoring Article. I put the link up as I have noticed a few people searching for help on this, despite most factoring users being happy....
- 27 Jun
Invoice Finance Against RPO Pay As Paid Contracts
Invoice finance against recruitment invoices to RPOs, with "pay as paid" clauses in the contract, may be available from our funding partners, in some cases. I came across the following article in the Recruiter: http://www.recruiter.co.uk/archive/part-28/-Pay-when-paid--hits-invoice-discounting/ which describes the issue of "pay as paid" contracts with RPOs. The article highlights the problem that...
- 18 Jun
Factoring For Bodyshop Car Crash Repairs
FundInvoice have just put up some info about factoring for bodyshops that deal with car crash repairs. If these are paid for by car insurance companies the invoices can be factored in order to release money against outstanding sales invoices - up to 100% funded (less charges):Factoring Bodyshop Car Crash Repairs...
- 16 Jun
Confidential Factoring Launched
Another of our funding partners have just announces the launch of a Confidential Factoring service. Confidential factoring gives the client the benefits of an outsourced credit control service but all the unpaid invoices collection activity is carried out by the factor, in the name of their client. That way the client's customers are unaware of the factoring companies involvement. Good news as it...
- 13 Jun
Funny Late Payment Excuses Image
Here's an image showing the funny late payment excuses that I posted a link to yesterday:Funny late payment excuses...
- 12 Jun
Funniest Late Payment Excuses
Looking for something funny? A little light relief with a selection of the funniest late payment excuses that we have come across:List of the funniest late payment excusesThere is a link on the page for you to send us your own and if they are funny enough we will add them to the list of funny late payment excuses!...
- 27 May
Fast Growing Businesses Have More Trouble With Funding Than New Startups
You would think that if a business is fast growing that would improve its chances of getting the funding it needs but our recent survey found that fast growing businesses had more trouble getting enough funding than new startups!We conducted surveys of 100 fast growth companies (20%+ turnover growth pa) and 100 new startups that had commenced within the last 12 months. Our survey found that...
- 26 May
Invoice Finance Users Generally Only Have Cost Issues
Following on from my previous post, it is interesting to note that the invoice finance users that we surveys generally only had issues with the costing of the facility.It has been suggested by some parties that other issues such as flexibility of funding may have been major points that existing clients would want to address however the actual research results support the hypothesis that the key...
- 25 May
Cost Savings To Move Invoice Finance Companies
Invoice finance "cost savings" were the key requirement that existing invoice finance clients said they needed in order to move invoice finance companies. These results came from FundInvoice's market research survey of 100 existing invoice finance clients across a variety of different invoice finance companies.We asked them "would anything make you move to an alternative invoice finance...
- 23 May
Factoring With An Independent Company To Improve Service Levels
An example of a factoring client we were able to help who had issues with the bank backed factoring company that they were using. Their concern was that they were spending a lot of time answering queries from the bank owned factoring company. With the growth of their business they were expecting an increase in the number of invoices and hence an increase in the workload involved with dealing with...
- 09 May
6 Months Bad Debt Protection For Free
One of FundInvoice's funding partners is currently offering 6 months bad debt protection free of charge.Bad debt protection (also known as "non recourse") can provide a business with up to 100% protection against bad debts. It works in a similar way to a credit insurance policy but it can be a cheaper option. The bad debt protection provider will research the credit position of your customers...
- 08 May
Avoid CVA (Creditors Voluntary Arrangement) With Factoring
If you haven't used your outstanding sales invoices to raise finance you could consider factoring and avoid having to go into a CVA (Creditors Voluntary Arrangement).A CVA is an insolvency procedure whereby a company with debt problems enters into an arrangement with its creditors to pay all or some of its debts over a period of time. If you are considering such an arrangement and are considering...
- 06 May
Case Study About Selective Spot Factoring Without Tie Ins
Here is a case study about selective spot factoring without any tie ins so the client can choose which invoices to factor:Â Selective Spot Factoring Case StudyThe benefits of spot factoring are that the business can choose which invoices they want to get funding against and they are under no obligation to factor all of their invoices. This keeps the cost down and you can choose to finance just a...
- 23 Apr
Definitions: What Is Debt Factoring?
Looking on the web there are some pretty poor definitions of what debt factoring is on some very well known sites.See my definition:Â What Is Debt Factoring?...
- 17 Apr
Factoring Cost Savings Calculator
New calculator to workout (illustration only) the factoring cost savings that a business may derive from using factoring. It takes into account all the additional savings e.g. not needing credit controllers, supplier discounts etc. which are often overlooked when considering factoring as an option.Factoring Cost Savings Calculator...
- 16 Apr
Factoring For Small Businesses And New Startups
Funding is difficult for a new startups or a small business to find - 31% of new startups in our survey said that they couldn't find enough finance initially and of those with restrictions nearly three quarters were relying on just a bank overdraft.This article is about alternative funding - factoring for small or new startup businesses:Â Factoring For Small & New Startup Businesses....
- 09 Apr
Invoice Finance Research Summaries
We have added a research area to the FundInvoice site with links to each of the three invoice finance related market research summaries:Â Invoice Finance Market ResearchAnyone involved with the invoice finance market, or considering using invoice finance should take a look at our research findings and you can always talk to Sean confidentially for some free, independent advice - or even a quote...
- 07 Apr
Spot Factoring
Just added some information to the FundInvoice site about Spot Factoring: Spot Factoring....
- 25 Mar
Invoice Discounting Client Life 73% Longer Than Factoring
Continuing to analyse the results of our market research survey of 100 existing invoice finance clients and I looked at the split between factoring and invoice discounting users.Of the respondents 54% used invoice discounting and 46% used factoring - a relatively even split with a slight bias towards ID. I went on to analyse the time that each respondent had used the service with their existing...
- 15 Mar
You Can Now Get Personal Guarantee Insurance For Invoice Finance Related PGs
Great news, there is now a UK personal guarantee insurance product which can be taken out to insure against the risks associated with giving a personal guarantee to an invoice finance company.Giving a personal guarantee can be an issue for some invoice finance users so this is definitely a positive step that will alleviate some people's concerns over giving a personal guarantee to a factoring or...
- 12 Mar
10 Steps To Get Out Of Factoring
If you want to get out of factoring here are 10 steps to follow: 10 Steps To Get Out Of FactoringThe article explains the various ways that you can address your issues with using factoring and get out of factoring altogether if required....
- 05 Mar
Good Credit Management Article - Tips & Advice About Collecting Unpaid Invoices
Here is a link to my latest article about good credit management & credit control. It contains tips and advice about how to credit check new customers and how to undertake credit control in order to collect in unpaid sales invoices: Good Credit Management & Credit Control ...
- 04 Mar
Improving Your Cash Flow Forecast With Factoring - Blank Example Spreadsheet
Below is a link to a new article about improving the cash flow forecast of your business through factoring to bridge the credit gap between invoicing and getting paid. The article includes a blank example spreadsheet cash flow forecast for a small business: Improving Your Business Cash Flow With Factoring...
- 27 Feb
Martin Morrin of Royal Bank Of Scotland Invoice Finance New Chairman of ABFA
Martin Morrin of the Royal Bank Of Scotland Invoice Finance has been appointed as the new chairman of the ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association) replacing John Onslow of Centric Commercial Finance: ABFA Press Release...
- 27 Feb
Government Green Deal Invoice Finance
Invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting is now available against Government Green Deals: Government Green Deal Invoice Finance#invoicefinance...
- 26 Feb
Supply Chain Finance, Supplier Finance & Reverse Factoring Article
All of these terms: supply chain finance, supplier finance and reverse factoring all describe an invoice finance product set whereby the charges and funding of the suppliers of a large organisation are predicated upon their customer i.e. the large organisation. In such cases small businesses can access preferential funding rates and levels but there is then a level of dependency upon the...
- 25 Feb
FundingVoice Magazine Full
Well the first edition of FundingVoice magazine which shares expert opinions on how to fund your business cash flow, is now fully subscribed in terms of articles for the first edition. We have had a variety of articles contributed by expert authors covering subjects such as cash flow forecasting, credit control and invoice finance.I am now putting it all together ready for our first email out...
- 13 Feb
FundingVoice Free Magazine First Edition Is Taking Shape
FundInvoice LLP plan to publish the first edition of their FundingVoice magazine on the 26th February with a copy deadline of the 21st. The magazine is sent out by email to our subscriber list and is all about improving the funding within your business. Each month various expert authors contribute articles that support the key theme - expert opinion about business funding. It isn't just about...
- 02 Feb
How Many Factoring Quotes Is Enough?
It's a difficult question to answer but here are my thoughts as a factoring broker.If you are going to use a factoring company you want to ensure that you are quoted a competitive, reasonable if not low price but at the same time you need to consider the quality of what you will be receiving in service terms. All factoring services are not equal and in some cases you may benefit from paying...
- 09 Jan
Case Study - Factoring For Care Home Staff Recruitment Agency
Just added a new factoring case study about providing funding to a care home staff recruitment agency:Â Case Study - Factoring For A Care Home Staff Recruitment Agency...
- 09 Jan
Earn Commission
If you introduce a new invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting client company to FundInvoice LLP, that we are not already dealing with, we will happily share any commission that we receive with you. All you have to do is give us the contact details of a company that is interested in receiving quotations for invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting and we will do the rest. If we...
- 07 Jan
Case Study - Too Small For Your Factoring Company?
This new case study explains how FundInvoice helped a small company using #factoring that suddenly fell below the size criteria for their existing factoring company: Too Small For Your Factoring Company?....
- 06 Jan
Factoring Industry Client Number Growth Projections For 2014
The group that I manage on LinkedIn the UK Invoice Finance Research Group were asked at the beginning of 2013 how they expected invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting client numbers growth amongst the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association) members to compare in 2013 with the 3.1% growth in 2012. Of the few that voted, 71% though it would exceed that figure. Although we only have the...
- 19 Dec
#Factoring Market Slows Down For Christmas
The #factoring new business flow has started to slow down for the Christmas break, as it always does around this time of year. We are in contact with large numbers of businesses so we notice when the holiday slow down is beginning to come into effect. It becomes harder to speak to our contacts at prospective client companies and more and more are "out of office" or on holiday.The irony is that in...
- 05 Dec
Lists Of Global International Factoring Companies Worldwide
If you are looking for lists of factoring companies around the world, I have put together a page with some helpful links to lists of global international factoring companies worldwide provided by Factors Chain International and the International Factoring Group here: Lists Of International Factoring Companies Worldwide....
- 02 Dec
Factoring Case Study Buying Out A Company Director
We have a new case study available showing the use of factoring for buying out a company co-director in a construction business.For details please see the link: Case Study -Â Factoring Buying Out A Company Director....
- 26 Nov
Single Invoice Finance Article
I have just put together a new article "Single Invoice Finance - All The Options" that discusses the various types of facility that clients often lump under this one category:The article also compares the advantages of whole turnover facilities against single invoice facilities.You can read my article here:Â Single Invoice Finance - All The Options...
- 25 Nov
Invoice Finance Against Government Green Deal Scheme Installer Invoices
I have just put up a new article about the enquiries we have received recently seeking invoice finance against installer invoices relating to the government's Green Deal scheme. The Green Deal scheme helps fund energy saving work to houses and businesses and the invoices can often be funded via invoice finance, even where there is only one single debtor that is a government body. You can read the...
- 21 Nov
Invoice Factoring Online
I am just putting together an article about invoice factoring online and to what extent you can complete the whole transaction of signing up for invoice factoring and then running your factoring facility online. When you broaden the term to also include invoice discounting & invoice finance the extent to which you can completed the whole thing end to end online is greater. It highlighted to me...
- 20 Nov
Factoring Calculator Available Online
On the FundInvoice site we have a factoring calculator that can be used online to calculate the amount of funding that factoring could raise for your business by releasing cash from your unpaid sales invoices:Factoring Calculator....
- 19 Nov
Invoice Finance Can Help New Starts & High Growth But Most Can't Access Funding
Looking back over two recent surveys one of 100 new start businesses and our most recent survey of 100 high growth businesses (20%+ pa) and there are a number of interesting similarities. Both segments, new starts and high growth companies are ideal for invoice finance funding such as factoring & invoice discounting but in both cases the vast majority of companies don't find their way to invoice...
- 05 Nov
List Of Invoice Finance Companies In The UK
We have just put up a list of invoice finance companies in the UKÂ on the FundInvoice site. There are probably about 60 invoice finance companies on the list after taking out a few names which form part of the same overall groups - still plenty of choice for anyone seeking invoice finance. The selection includes bank backed and independent invoice financiers, spot factoring & invoice discounting...
- 21 Aug
Deal Completed - Improved Service Switched From Bank Owned Factoring Company
We have recently been able to find an invoice finance deal for a client that were using a bank owned factoring company but were not happy with the service that they were receiving. The company was turning over circa £1.2 million per annum and we were able to put them in touch with a reputable independent factoring company that were able to improve on the service offering that they were receiving...
- 01 Aug
Deal Completed - Factoring For A Printing Company
We were recently able to help a printing company that were struggling with their business cash flow. Their bank overdraft was no longer sufficient to meet their need for working capital and their debtor days (the time their customers take to pay) were increasing, in fact they had more than doubled placing additional strain on their cash flow.We were able to find them a factoring facility with a...
- 16 Jul
How Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Discounting Companies Calculate Their Charges & Pricing
Following yesterday's post: How Invoice Finance Companies Calculate Intial Payment Percentages, I have been asked to clarify how invoice finance companies, factoring companies and invoice discounting companies calculate and set their charges and pricing.Firstly you should be aware that different invoice finance companies charge differently. Traditionally the charging structure for invoice finance...
- 15 Jul
How Factoring & Invoice Discounting Companies Calculate The Initial Payment Percentage (Discount Percentage)
A question was posted on the UK Invoice Finance Research Group (LinkedIn) site asking how invoice finance companies calculate the discount percentage or the initial payment percentage (early payment percentage means the same thing) that they are prepared to fund against invoices. I though I would put my thoughts on this up on the blog in case others have similar questions.Just to clarify the...
- 14 Jul
Cheap Factoring And Cheap Invoice Discounting
Cheap factoring and cheap invoice discounting are often what prospective clients think they want.We often initially speak to clients that say they are seeking selective factoring or spot factoring, and we can find that for them, but once you get into the details it often emerges that they asked for that as they believed it was is going to be the cheapest option, rather than because they really...
- 13 Jul
ABFA Reports 2.4% Increase In ABL/Invoice Finance Client Numbers
ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association), the #invoicefinance industry body, have published the statistics for their members for the year to the end of March 2013.These show UK ABL/invoice finance client numbers increasing from 41,498 to 42,497, an increase of 999 or 2.4% over the year. Positive growth but the number of businesses finding their way to these cash flow funding products is still way...
- 08 Jul
Deal Completed - Factoring Replaces Reduced Bank Overdraft
We have seen more and more examples of restrictions in bank overdrafts recently and this particular client experienced that same issue. The client was involved with plant and staff hire and they were looking for more working capital. Rather than increasing their overdraft their bank actually reduced their overdraft and after several weeks of considering them for a factoring facility (factoring is...
- 04 Jul
Latest Free Invoice Finance Newsletter Available
The free June 2013 invoice finance newsletter is available for you to download free of charge from our website.You can also subscribe to receive future copies of the Invoice Finance newsletter direct to your email inbox, free of charge.This latest newsletter includes the following articles:...
- 28 Jun
Spot Factoring Is Often Perceived As The Cheapest Option
We have just had an interesting case which highlights a number of cases that we have seen and heard about from other parties within the industry. Spot factoring has risen in popularity recently and there have been a number of entrants to the market offering spot factoring which allows the client to determine which invoices to receive funding against in a transactional, selective way. Often these...
- 16 Jun
Deal Completed - Factoring For A New Start Up
Following our recently published market research regarding funding for start ups we have just completed a recourse #factoring deal for a new start up business.The start up factoring facility will fund the growth of this new business that is already projecting multi-million pound turnover in its first year....
- 15 Jun
Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Discounting - All The Market Research Conclusions So Far
Below is a summary list of the key invoice finance market research findings and conclusions following publication of our latest comprehensive invoice finance market research report which includes factoring, invoice finance & invoice discounting related market research findings.These are the additional findings from just this latest research report:...
- 14 Jun
New Invoice Finance Market Research Findings Summary Part 3 Published
We have just published the third summary in the series of summaries from our Invoice Finance Market Research Programme which has continued over the last 3 years.This summary includes:...
- 04 Jun
Avoiding The Consequences Of Bank Overdraft Restrictions For Start Ups
This is a further analysis of the consequences of bank overdraft restrictions on start up businesses.My previous article identified a group of 23 start ups within our sample of 100 start ups that had used bank overdraft to fund their new start business and had experienced restrictions.In all cases they said that the restrictions were because the "bank would not lend enough".The consequences of...
- 03 Jun
New Fast Growth & Trade Finance Market Research Surveys Planned
I have just completed the questionnaires for two more finance related market research surveys, fast growing companies and importers. The first is a survey of fast growing businesses, focusing in how they fund their businesses, the use of invoice finance and any funding issues they have encountered. The second is a survey of importers with questions around their funding arrangements, trade finance...
- 28 May
Glossary of Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Discounting Terms, Words & Phrases
The technical terms and language associated with invoice finance can be complicated and difficult to follow. Therefore we have put together a glossary of the common terms, words and phrases used within invoice finance, factoring & invoice discounting so you can look up what each word or phrase means.Each term has an explanation of the meaning next to it and where appropriate links to relevant...
- 20 May
Difficulty Finding The Funding To Start An Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Finance Company?
There have been numerous new entrants into the invoice finance market recently with more new start invoice finance companies rumoured to be planned. All positive for us as it gives our clients more choice. The big problem for new entrants seems to be finding the backing and funding line in order to start a factoring and invoice discounting company.Those that want to set up an invoice finance...
- 20 May
Difficulty Finding The Finance To Start An Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Finance Company?
Post moved here: http://www.fundinvoice.co.uk/blog/factoring/post/difficulty-finding-the-funding-to-start-an-invoice-finance-factoring-invoice-finance-company-2.html ...
- 01 May
How Does An Invoice Finance Recourse Period Work And How Do You Calculate The Recourse Date?
The principle behind the recourse period is that it normally gives the customer more than enough time to pay the outstanding sales invoice, if its not paid then it is assumed that there is a reason for that and hence the funding against that invoice is withdrawn.The exact recourse period that an invoice finance company offers varies between providers and may be tailored to your specific business....
- 29 Apr
How To Calculate Funding Released With Invoice Finance
Calculating the level of funding that will be released by invoice finance is not always as simple as multiplying the value if your sales ledger by the initial payment percentage or early payment percentage.There are other restrictions that you may encounter including:If you are being restricted by any of the above our advisers may be able to find you an invoice finance company that offers a...
- 26 Apr
All My Factoring Tips, Invoice Discounting Tips & Invoice Finance Tips Now In One Place
I have created a new page with a complete list of all the factoring tips, invoice discounting tips and invoice finance tips that I have been publishing via Twitter:Â Invoice Finance TipsThey are just little helpful hints and tips for people using or considering using invoice finance.See the link below to follow us on Twitter....
- 16 Apr
Deal Completed - Factoring For A Training Company Helps With Credit Control
In this case study, we were able to assist a London based training company who were using overdraft rather than invoice finance. They needed working capital, some of which was being provided by an overdraft, but they also had issues handling their own invoice collections. Therefore, they also needed credit control support as well.We found them a recourse factoring facility that will provide both...
- 15 Apr
Do You Have A Complaint About Your Invoice Finance, Factoring Or Invoice Discounting Company?
If you have a complaint about your invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting facility we would like to hear from you as we can help you find alternative sources of funding. The majority of invoice finance customers are satisfied with their facilities - we know this as we survey invoice finance clients of numerous different invoice finance companies to check that they are satisifed....
- 12 Apr
Confidential Factoring - Credit Control, Funding & Confidentiality
Confidential Factoring could be the right product for a business that wants the funding that factoring can provide and the credit control service but doesn't want their customers to know that they are using such a service. Confidential factoring is different from Confidential Invoice Discounting in that factoring also provides that additional credit control, invoice collection service whereas...
- 11 Apr
Shorter Invoice Finance Termination Periods Becoming More Common
Termination periods, the period of notice that an invoice finance client needs to give to their funder in order to terminate their factoring or invoice discounting agreement, vary widely between different invoice finance companies. Sometimes a client will be acceptant of a longer termination period in order to secure a good deal but in other cases the client wants the flexibilty of knowing that...
- 10 Apr
The History of Factoring & Its Growth In The 21st Century - Infographics
It is easy to forget how old factoring is. I came across this useful little history infographic published by an american invoice finance exchange. Their page includes an interesting summary of the history of factoring and its growth in the 21st century with infographics on the history and also how factoring works.The article suggests that they history of factoring goes back some 4,000 years to...
- 09 Apr
Deal Completed - Supplier of Mats Non Recourse Factoring Improved Credit Control
This client seldom borrowed money from their bank owned factoring company but they were looking for an improved deal in terms of the service charge that they paid for their factoring and the quality of the collections service (credit control service) that they received.Where a company isn't borrowing significant amounts or even any funds, the collections service is absolutely key as it can enable...
- 06 Apr
How To Get Approved For Factoring
Below are 5 tips about how to get approved for a factoring facility. These are simple things that you can do to improve you chances of being approved for factoring:1) Invoice in arrears - factoring companies are all about the quality of your sales invoices. They will often overlook poor financials if your debtor book is strong. One of the key issues for a factor is ensuring an invoice is...
- 05 Apr
Invoice Discounting Clients Only 5.1% More Satisfied Than Factoring Clients
We have recently completed a large survey of 1,000 factoring and invoice discounting existing clients across a broad list of different factoring and invoice discounting companies. This list was drawn from the numerous invoice finance clients that have either contacted us or we have identified over the years.One of the questions we asked them was how satisifed are you with your existing invoice...
- 02 Apr
ABFA Launches New Code Of Conduct & Ombudsman Service
The Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) has launched a new code of conduct for its members (which include many of the key factoring companies and invoice discounting companies within the UK) backed up with an Ombudsman service.Good news for clients that are using the services of ABFA members - they now have a defined code of conduct and access to the Ombudsman if they are unable to resolve...
- 01 Apr
Examples Of The Cost And Price Of Factoring & Invoice Discounting
Following my post on the average cost of finance via one of the invoice auction sites, I thought comparative examples of the cost and price of factoring and invoice discounting might be helpful.As you will see on our site the cost of a whole turnover style invoice discounting or factoring service reflects a pricing discount due to factoring or discounting a larger volume of turnover - some...
- 30 Mar
How To Avoid Long Factoring & Invoice Discounting Notice Of Termination Periods
One of the things that sometimes deters businesses from using invoice finance is the fear of long periods of notice of termination required in order to terminate the factoring or invoice discounting facility. These are not universal across the industry though, in fact there are dramatic difference between invoice finance companies.There are several options for businesses that want to know how to...
- 29 Mar
How To Avoid Factoring & Invoice Discounting Disbursements & Additional Charges
There are ways of avoiding paying many additional disbursements, fees or additional charges for your factoring or invoice discounting facility - read on.Traditionally the charging structure within the invoice finance industry has been divided into three categories. The service charge (or administration charge) - typically a percentage of the value of the invoices discounted, discount charge -...
- 17 Mar
New Free Factoring Newsletter Published
We have just published a copy of our February 2013 newsletter to the website.This latest free factoring newsletter includes three case studies: Confidential Invoice Discounting where an overdraft was insufficient, Recourse Factoring for a recruiter and factoring for a supplier of alcohol. As always the newsletter is completely free of charge....
- 10 Mar
The Pros And Cons Of Factoring
I just saw a question posted on twitter asking about the pros and cons of factoring and I wanted to answer it really simply for any businesses that are considering factoring their invoices.PROS OF FACTORING...
- 07 Mar
Everything You Need To Know To Develop Your Invoice Finance Company's Strategy
After a recent conversation with an #invoicefinance company about what customers are looking for in terms of factoring and invoice discounting product offerings, I re-read our two previous invoice finance market research summaries (you can just scan read the highlights in red to get the key points). They are a little out of date now but I think the key points are still completely valid and they...
- 04 Mar
Invoice Finance For A One Man Band Start-Up Business
We were recently able to help a start-up business that was effectively a one man band.The business had a very low turnover and because of its start-up nature was looking to raise finance to improve its cash flow.The business had already been rejected by 5 different factoring companies but we were able to find them a cost effective facility within in a few days despite them having been turned down...
- 27 Feb
Deal Completed - 10% Factoring Cost Saving - 100% Relationship Improvement
Its not all about cost savings but in this case we were able to combine cost savings with an improvement in the client's relationship with their funder.The client was a printer who was unhappy with their existing bank owned invoice finance company as they felt they received no personal service and the recourse factoring facility was too expensive.We were able to help them switch to an alternative...
- 19 Feb
Recourse Factoring For An Alcohol Supplier Based In Yorkshire
Many businesses use recourse factoring in order to generate finance for their business. However, in some cases recourse factoring is also sought in order to provide support with credit control and debt collection activities.This was the case recently with a supplier of alcohol, based in Yorkshire, who were seeking a recourse factoring facility to provide them with credit control support in...
- 18 Feb
Recourse Factoring For A Recruitment Company Turning Over £650,000 Per Annum
Often we are able to assist businesses whose existing overdraft facilities are not sufficient to support the level of working capital that they require to run their business.This was the case recently with a recruitment company turning over £650,000 per annum.We were able to find them an invoice finance company that could provide a recourse factoring facility. The level of funding from the...
- 16 Jan
Deal Completed - Working Capital For A New Start Consultancy
It can often be difficult for a new start business to raise working capital. Banks tend to require some form of security in order to offer substantial overdrafts of loans and with a new start up business that is often not available.We were recently able to help a new start up IT consultancy business meet their funding requirements by introducing them to a factoring company that were prepared to...
- 15 Jan
Deal Completed - Switch From Overdraft To Recourse Factoring
We were recently able to help a designer of ladies clothing that was turning over £200,000 finance their working capital requirements. When we spoke to them they had an overdraft from a bank but it was insufficient to fund the growth that they planned for their business.We were able to find the business a recourse factoring deal that would enable the level of funding to grow in line with their...
- 06 Dec
Recourse Factoring for a Derbyshire Based Printer - Lower Rates, Better Service
This deal combined finding improved recourse factoring rates with improving on the service provided by the factoring company.We spoke to this small Derbyshire based printer in order to understand the issues with their existing factoring company and they used our free, independent quotation search to find an alternative recourse factoring quotation from an alternative factoring company that were...
- 29 Nov
November 2012 Free Factoring Newsletter Available
Our latest free factoring newsletter is now available....
- 17 Nov
Deal Completed - Jewellery Supplier New To Factoring
We are regularly able to help businesses that are new to factoring such as a #factoring deal that we completed recently for a Glasgow based jewellery supplier.They were new to factoring but needed funding to support a new product offering. We completed a free, independent quotation search for factoring on their behalf and introduced them to a factoring company that will be able to meet their...
- 15 Nov
Latest Factoring & Invoice Discounting Newsletter Published
To read a copy of our latest free factoring and invoice discounting #newsletter please see: October 2012 Invoice Finance NewsletterThe newsletter contains details of new product offers, case studies and survey results that we have published....
- 14 Nov
Deal Completed - Factoring For Recruitment Company Growth
I publish details of a selection of the #factoring deals that we complete through our invoice finance brokerage and a recent example was this recruitment company with a turnover of £1,700,000 per annum who were looking for factoring in order to fund the growth of their recruitment business.The recruitment sector are classic users of factoring as they need to pay their staff before they get paid...
- 13 Nov
Deal Completed - Factoring Steel Stockholder
Our surveys repeatedly suggest that most #factoring clients are happy with their factoring arrangements but for the minority that is not the case.We were recently able to assist a steel stockholding business turning over circa £2 million per annum that were not happy with their existing factoring company. They felt that the credit controllers at their existing factoring company were being overly...
- 27 Oct
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For Archaeologists
A very strange #factoring deal that we completed recently! Recourse factoring for a firm of archaeologists!They were looking for working capital to fund the growth of their business and we found them a recourse factoring facility that would do that. Recourse factoring will give the client the benefit of a credit control service to help them collect their outstanding sales invoices together with a...
- 22 Oct
Most Popular Invoice Finance Products
I have just analysed the last 20 deals that we completed to see which invoice finance products were most popular.Eleven were recourse factoring, four were non recourse factoring (with bad debt protection). Just two were confidential invoice discounting, one was export factoring, one was export CID and one was a debt collection facility.Interesting that recourse factoring (funding with a credit...
- 17 Oct
Deal Completed - Factoring For A Recruitment Company
Some deals are straightforward! Like this recruitment business, turning over £1.7 million a year, thar we just found a non recourse factoring service.They wanted factoring to finance growth and the non recourse option to protect against bad debts.More factoring deals to follow . . ....
- 05 Oct
Factoring Deal Completed - Change Factoring Companies Due To Poor Service
It is not always a case of clients wanting to save costs or raise more finance. Once recent deal wanted to move between factoring companies as they were unhappy with the service they were receiving from their existing factoring company. Most clients that use factoring are happy with the service that they receive but there are always exceptions in any industry.This steel stockholding business...
- 02 Oct
Sizes Of Factoring & Invoice Discounting Deals Completed
I have just been looking back over just the last 20 or so factoring and invoice discounting deals that we have completed, to see what size the businesses were.The smallest was a business turning over just £40,000 per annum that wanted recourse factoring. The largest had an annual turnover of £4,000,000 and was seeking confidential invoice discounting (CID). The average client size, across that...
- 01 Oct
Deal Completed - Export Factoring To Spain For Expansion
Another export factoring deal recently completed for a food producer exporting to Spain, turning over c. £750K pa.They were looking for funding for growth in order to expand their buisness. We were able to find them an export factoring facility in order to fund their business expansion.Export factoring provides the client with both funding against their export sales invoices and a credit...
- 26 Sep
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For Property Maintenance
Another one recently completed - recourse factoring for a property maintenance company based in Derbyshire. They were looking for finance in order to fund their growth. Recourse factoring provides both funding against the property maintenance invoices that they raise but also a collections and credit control service to assist them with the chasing of overdue sales invoices, this in turn can also...
- 25 Sep
87% Don't Know Its Easier To Get Factoring Than Invoice Discounting
Anyone that works within the invoice finance industry will consider it common knowledge that qualification for invoice discounting is harder than qualification for factoring. With a factoring facility the factoring company has more control over the client's sales ledger (their security) as the factoring company undertakes the credit control function for the client, hence the qualificaiton...
- 19 Sep
ABFA New Code Of Conduct & Complaints Procedure By January
Good news for invoice finance users - according to the Telegraph, the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association) has announced that it is to launch a new code of conduct for its members and a complaints procedure by January. This is positive for invoice finance users as it gives them an avenue to escalate complaints beyond their factoring or invoice discounting company.Kate Sharp of the ABFA was...
- 15 Sep
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For An Accountancy Practice
Accountants were not historically prime customers for factoring companies but that has changed in recent times. Accountancy practices are now able to access recourse factoring as the list of eligible industry sectors has expanded in recent years.We have recently completed a recourse factoring facility, with one of our factoring company partners, for a Leicestershire based accountancy practice...
- 13 Sep
Recourse Factoring Deal Completed - 30% Saving On Recourse Factoring Fees
We were recently able to assist a printers that were turning over £300,000 per annum. Printing companies are highly suitable for invoice finance so they already had recourse factoring but were interested in saving money of the factoring fees that they were paying.We found them a recourse factoring facility with an alternative factoring company and they were able to achieve a cost saving of...
- 10 Sep
Deal Completed - Additional Funding For Gift Importer & Wholesaler
Sometimes we are able to help businesses that already have factoring but want to release additional working capital beyond what their current factoring company is able to release.In the case of this particular deal, we were able to do exactly that for a London based gift importer and wholesaler who already had recourse factoring from a factoring company that was restricting their funding due to...
- 09 Sep
Close Invoice Finance Launch Guide - How To Grow Your Business
Close Invoice Finance, one of our funding partners, has published a new guide titled "How To Grow Your Business". The free guide covers:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â If you would like a quotation from Close Invoice Finance and/or any other invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting companies please contact us.NOTE: THE GUIDE IS PRODUCED BY CLOSE INVOICE FINANCE AND AS SUCH GLENN BLACKMAN CAN'T TAKE ANY...
- 07 Sep
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring With Poor Credit Rating
We were recently able to assist a London based clothing manufacturer, who was turning over £250,000 per annum, find a recourse factoring deal to support their growth plans.The prime mover of the clothing manufacturing business had a poor credit rating and so had not been able to find a finance facility elsewhere. Credit ratings are often important when applying for overdrafts and loans but with...
- 06 Sep
Mistake - 73% Think Invoice Finance Is As Hard To Qualify For As Overdraft
When we spoke to a sample of 100 SME businesses about their financing we asked them to comment on how difficult they thought it would be to qualify for invoice finance (factoring & invoice discounting) as against overdraft.73% of respondents thought that it would be just as hard to qualify for invoice finance as to qualify for an overdraft. This indicates a huge misunderstanding about how easy it...
- 04 Sep
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For A Design & Marketing Studio
Another recourse factoring case study of a recently completed deal:This time we found a recourse factoring facility for a small design and marketing studio that wanted to improve their cash flow in order to fund business growth.Recourse factoring will release funds against their sales invoices as they raise them allowing them to immediately use those funds for any purpose. In many small...
- 31 Aug
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For Plant Hire Growth
Another deal just completed for a plant hire company turning over £400K per annum. We were able to find them a recourse factoring facility to support and fund their future growth.Recourse factoring combines an intial payment against invoices as they are raised with a collection and credit control service whereby the factoring company collects in your outstanding sales invoices for you reducing...
- 30 Aug
Businesses Prefer Tariff Invoice Finance Charges Over Fixed Fee
Another question from our recent invoice finance research survey where we questioned 100 randomly selected SME businesses (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises).We wanted to find out the view on fixed fee deals which are being offered by several factors at the moment. Indeed we have completed such deals ourselves with various factors but we wanted to gauge opinion regarding the option of a tariff...
- 29 Aug
Deal Completed - CVA Business Non Recourse Factoring
Here is the latest of our series of deals recently completed. A recruitment company with a turnover in excess of £2,500,000 per annum entered a CVA (Creditors Voluntary Arrangement) and their bank backed factoring company was not prepared to support the company whilst it was in a CVA.A CVA is a legal procedure, administered by a qualified insolvency practitioner, whereby a company that is...
- 24 Aug
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring For A Greetings Cards Supplier
Another deal completed - this time we managed to find a recourse factoring facility for a greetings cards supplier, with annual turnover of just under £400,000 who were looking for some cost savings and a more flexible funding level than they received from their previous factoring company.More recourse factoring deals to follow . . ....
- 23 Aug
Fixed Fee Factoring & Fixed Fee Invoice Discounting
Several of our funding partners now have fixed fee factoring and fixed fee invoice discounting products but we have just received word of another fixed fee invoice finance product launched by another of our funding partners.The fixed annual fee is divided into manageable monthly payments, for example, a fixed fee of £3,600 per annum would be charged at £300 per month (plus VAT where...
- 22 Aug
Businesses Don't Understand How Easy It Is To Get Invoice Finance
The invoice finance brokerage is continually being approached by factoring and invoice discounting companies with money to lend and it is very rare that we are unable to help a client get invoice finance (providing they raise credit invoices), regardless of circumstances. Overdrafts on the other hand have become harder and harder to get and we have spoken to numerous clients that have had their...
- 21 Aug
Deal Completed - Recourse Factoring Executive Car Service
Often we are able to help a small business improve their cash flow in order to grow their business. This recent case of a completed recourse factoring deal was an example of that.A small Executive Car Service business needed recourse factoring for growth and we completed a free factoring quote search for them and arranged a recourse factoring facility that will support them as they grow.More to...
- 20 Aug
Deal Completed - Substantial Fee Reduction Non Recourse Factoring
Another recent factoring deal completed - non recourse factoring for a health and beauty products importer.We found them a non recourse factoring deal that allowed them to move from their existing bank owned factoring company to an independent factoring company that were able to offer them a substantial cost saving.More factoring deals to follow . . ....
- 19 Aug
Deal Completed - Non Recourse Invoice Finance For A Haulage Business
We thought it might be useful to put up details of a selection of the invoice finance deals that we complete to demonstrate the wide range of businesses that we are able to assist with their cash flow issues through our brokerage service .We have recently completed a non recourse invoice finance deal for a haulage business that was turning over just under £2 million per annum. We helped the...
- 31 Jul
July 2012 Free Factoring Newsletter Published
We have just published our July 2012 factoring newsletter which this month has information about spot factoring, construction finance and a new funding facility for retailers....
- 13 Jul
Spot Factoring Increasing
Spot Factoring has become increasingly common over recent years with various new spot factoring companies that have entered the UK invoice finance market using the term to describe their invoice finance products. Essentially spot factoring tends to be used to describe "selective factoring" or "single invoice factoring" where the client selects particular invoices or batches of invoices to factor...
- 12 Jul
Construction Finance Choices For Clients Have Grown
Going back a few years the invoice finance companies that would fund construction based businesses were few and far between but in recent times the number of funding choices available to the construction sector has grown. Both factoring and invoice discounting are available as construction finance - so the clients can choose whether or not they want to chase their own sales invoices and there are...
- 05 Jul
Factoring Newsletter June 2012 Now Available
Our factoring and invoice discounting newsletter for June 2012 is now available for your to view.This latest newsletter contains some of the latest offers and discounts that are available around the invoice finance industry, support for businesses suffering cash flow issues due to the NatWest problems and details of our partnership with a broker that is able to find you leasing and hire purchase...
- 03 Jul
Bibby Financial Services Vision 2020
We have just returned from an excellent breakfast presentation, hosted by Bibby Financial Services where Jon Charsley, the Head of Sales from their Hastings office, outlined the Bibby Vision for 2020 and shared some of their market research.The presentation was preceeded by an overview of the UK business environment and insolvency in the UK by Brian Johnson, Business Recovery and Insolvency...
- 28 Jun
Client's Sales Grow With Factoring & Invoice Discounting
Looking further into the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association) statistics to March 2012 for factoring and invoice discounting in the UK (amongst their members) there was an increase in client's sales turnover of 6.5% on the previous year. Even accounting for the 1.1% growth in just UK based factoring and invoice discounting clients amongst the ABFA's membership that still leaves volume growth of...
- 27 Jun
ABFA Invoice Finance Client Numbers Grow
At last! the latest figures (March 2012) from the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association), the invoice finance industry body, show an increase in the number of invoice finance (factoring & invoice discounting) clients by 1.8% (excluding Import Factoring, Stock and ABL) over the course of the previous year. Futhermore, the number of clients (all clients) gained in the quarter was 493 higher than...
- 13 Jun
Beat Any Quote By 10%
There are still invoice finance companies in the market that are prepared to be bold and have said to us that they will look to beat any quote that our clients have by 10% for quality deals! So if you are cost concious and looking to save some money that could be the deal that you are looking for - if so just contact us and the team will do the rest....
- 12 Apr
Single Fee Factoring, No Minimums, Short Termination Period
The following link is to a new case study that we have just added to the site.It conerns a client, a small manufacturing business, that were recently able to assist by finding them a factoring facility with a single fee, no minimum fees and a short termination period....
- 03 Apr
UK Invoice Finance Research Group Passes 400+ Members
Yet again the UK Invoice Finance Research Group on Linkedin.com has passed another milestone and added another hundred plus members to its ranks. We have broken the 400 member mark, currently having 401 members.The members are all from within the factoring and invoice discounting industry or other professions closely associated with it.If you would like to join the group there is a link in the...
- 21 Mar
Government Report
The UK Government have just published a March 2012 report - Boosting Finance Options for Business, which strongly supports the role of invoice finance (factoring and invoice discounting) as part of the funding solution for UK businesses. Tim Breedon, CEO of Legal and General and Chairman of the Association of British Insurers, was asked by Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation...
- 19 Mar
54% of Businesses Would Prefer Factoring Over Invoice Discounting
Do businesses prefer factoring or invoice discounting? Common consensus of opinion around the industry would seem to be that businesses generally want invoice discounting and that factoring is not their preference. We put this to the test in a recent market research study. We spoke to 100 randomly selected SME businesses (only 3 used some form of invoice finance already) and we asked them:"If you...
- 16 Mar
Annual Growth In ABFA Client Numbers Masks Quarterly Reduction
The latest statistics and figures from the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association) for the quarter ending December 2011 show total advances against pure invoice finance against debt growing by some 7% over the year. Over the year domestic and export factoring and invoice discounting client numbers across the ABFA have also ticked up by 270 clients equivalent to c. 0.7% growth. Unfortunately, the...
- 15 Mar
Earn Money By Linking To Our Site
We have launched an Affiliate Web Marketing Scheme whereby anyone with a web site can earn money by having a link to our site....
- 07 Mar
How To Get Out Of Factoring In 10 Steps
Factoring helps thousands of businesses and we have many clients that are very happy using factoring facilities. However, we were recently contacted by a business that wanted to know how to get our of factoring as they were not happy with the facility they had from their factoring company. Therefore, to service this small niche we devised the following guidance notes for businesses that want to...
- 28 Feb
Venture Finance Rebrands As ABN AMRO Commercial Finance
Venture Finance, a long established and highly reputable factoring and invoice discounting company, has rebranded their business as ABN AMRO Commercial Finance. Its sad to see such a well known and respected brand as Venture Finance disappear from the invoice finance market but the rebranding exercise clearly aligns the factoring and invoice discounting arm of their business with the overall...
- 20 Feb
54% of Factoring & Invoice Discounting Users Think Businesses Use Overdraft Because They Don't Know About Invoice Finance
We surveyed a sample of businesses (84) that use various forms of invoice finance such as factoring and invoice discounting and we asked them why they thought more businesses use overdraft than invoice finance. These were the answers that they gave:This is a very positive reflection on invoice finance as the majority of existing users surveyed implied that if businesses were more aware of invoice...
- 07 Dec
54% Of Businesses Think Factoring Improves Speed Of Debtor Payments
Around this time of year payment delays can occur and many businesses are experiencing a slow down in their cash flow. Factoring can help improve cash flow by making available immediate payments against invoices and by providing a credit control service.In some cases clients are cautious about using an outsourced credit control service as they are worried about whether it will affect their...
- 24 Oct
37% of Businesses Prefer Selective Invoice Finance
With the emergence of a number of selective invoice finance facilities over recent years we wanted to find out what the market demand was for these types of facilities. Therefore we asked 100 randomly selected SMEs (very few were invoice finance users) the following question:"Would you expect businesses using invoice finance to prefer to receive funding against all their invoices or only invoices...
- 12 Sep
Single Debtor Funding With Adverse & Negative Credit History
Often it can be difficult to access funding and finance where there is a history of adverse or negative credit history surrounding a business or its directors. We have funding partners who are able to overcome that issue by focusing on the quality of the underlying invoices rather than the credit standing of the directors and the client company.In some cases a business in this position may only...
- 15 Aug
Competition Amongst Factoring & Invoice Discounting Companies On Prices Increases
We have noticed an increase in the level of competition regarding quoting for factoring and invoice discounting between factoring & invoice discounting companies over recent months.Over the last couple of years, following some of the fallout from the credit crunch, there was a marked decrease in the appetite of invoice finance companies to quote more competitive rates. However, this seems to be...
- 12 Aug
Updated UK Invoice Finance Research Summary Paper Part 2
Please feel free to download a copy of our latest invoice finance related research summary paper. This is the second in a series of summaries and it follows on from the previous one that we published:Invoice Finance Research Summary Part 2It summarises the results of our research findings over the last few months regarding invoice finance, factoring & invoice discounting. Please feel free to...
- 10 Aug
FSB Support for Business Growth - But Where Is Invoice Finance?
Members of the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) receive the East Sussex Voice of Business publication. In the May/June 2011 publication on page 8 it mentions "Products to Support Business Growth". Invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting would seem key to this. The article provides a link to a PDF:...
- 13 Jul
200+ Members Join UK Invoice Finance Research Group
The membership of the UK Invoice Finance Group on Linkedin.com has broken through the 200+ barrier. Not bad when you consider that is equivalent to the entire staff of a mid-sized factoring company, and there are probably no more than a maximum of c. 90 factoring companies in the UK in total.To join our free invoice finance discussion group go to:...
- 11 Jul
25% Of SMEs Think Accountants Are The Key To Invoice Finance Growth
I have been continuing to dissect the results of our survey question to SMEs when we asked what they thought the invoice finance industry should do to better promote itself as a cash flow solution.The top answer (27% of respondents) as previously reported was that "Banks advertising" the products was the most popular methodology however a very close second answer was "Promotion by Accountants"...
- 16 Jun
Invoice Finance Should Be The Natural Choice For Problems Raising Business Finance
Invoice finance, such as factoring & invoice discounting, should be the natural choice for businesses that are anticipating problems raising business finance for their businesses. However, our research suggests that many businesses still anticipate problems raising business finance despite invoice finance being freely available.Of the 59% of businesses that said they were anticipating problems...
- 15 Jun
Funding At 1% Over Base Rate For First 3 Months
We have a new factoring offer which is currently available from one of our funding partners that is available to any qualifying buisnesses that contact us. It is funding at 1% over base rate for the first 3 months of a factoring facility with our partner, on a contract that runs for 3 months. Contact us for the full terms, conditions and qualifying criteria.This is good news for factoring users...
- 27 May
SMEs Anticipate Fewer Problems Raising Business Finance in 2011
One of our research questions to a sample of 100 SMEs was: "Do you anticipate any problems raising business finance in 2011?". Their responses were as follows:We asked the same question last year when 71% of respondents said "Yes", a 12 point percentage swing.This suggests that SMEs are expecting fewer problems raising finance in 2011 than in the previous year although it also highlights a...
- 23 May
List of
We interviewed a sample of 100 SMEs and asked them to set aside any issues about cost and tell us what they disliked about invoice finance (factoring & invoice discounting) - their "pet hates". The purpose was to set out a list of issues that the individual providers might like to consider addressing. Whilst the list reflects their opinions and issues, it is clear that there are facilities on the...
- 12 May
Factoring Overcomes Bank Overdraft & Loan Restrictions
This is a recent deal that we have just completed for a printing business that went to a bank for an overdraft/loan but found it to be restrictive and were given factoring which they found expensive. We were able to find them an alternative factoring deal that provided the funding flexiblity they needed but also saved them 50% on the service charge cost that they had been been paying.This is an...
- 12 May
6 Months Free Bad Debt Protection Now Available
One of our funding partners has just announced that they are offering clients that commence with them prior to 31st July 2011 free bad debt protection for the first 6 months of a factoring or invoice discounting facility.The only conditions are that no one debtor must exceed 40%, exports must be 25% or less and the minimum contract period must be 18 months with 6 months notice of...
- 10 May
Audits Not Liked By Invoice Finance Prospects
Putting aside costs, "funding limits" were the biggest pet hate amongst invoice finance prospects within the SME. The second most common response was "audit". The audit is a visit by the factoring or more commonly the invoice discounting company in order to go through the records of the invoice finance using company. The purpose of the audit visit is to better control the risk of the invoice...
- 06 May
Funding Limits The Biggest Invoice Finance Pet Hate
We asked a sample of 100 SMEs businesses to put aside cost as an issue with invoice finance (such as factoring & invoice discounting) and asked them what else they hated about the existing invoice finance offerings on the market.The top answer was "funding limits" which was stated by 20% of the respondents.Not all factors work in the same way regarding funding limits....
- 03 May
Commercial Finance People Were Kind Enough To Say . . .
Prue Heron of Commercial Finance People, the publishers of the ENewsletter Commercial Finance Today was kind enough to give the following testimonial in respect of the articles that I have written for Commercial Finance Today:'Glenn has been submitting articles for our monthly ENewsletter ?Commercial Finance Today? for some time now and we are delighted to report that our statistics show that his...
- 06 Apr
31% of SMEs Think "Flexibility" of Funding Is Missing From the Invoice Finance Market
We surveyed 100 SMEs and asked them:"What is missing from the invoice finance market?"The top answer from 31% of the repondents "flexibility". They went on to explain that this related to flexibility of funding from factoring and invoice discounting facilities. An interesting result as many invoice finance companies pride themselves on being flexible regarding funding - especially when compared...
- 05 Apr
150 Members Join UK Invoice Finance Research Group
We are up to 150 members! The UK Invoice Finance Group on Linkedin.com has continued to grow and we have now reached 150 members.The UK Invoice Finance Research Group is intended to enable the sharing of research relevant to invoice finance, factoring, invoice discounting and related subjects to aid in the expansion of the UK invoice finance market....
- 21 Mar
68% Of SMEs Think Invoice Finance Is Overpriced
We surveyed 100 SMEs regarding their thoughts about invoice finance pricing. We asked them:Do you think that invoice finance is overpriced, underpriced or priced about right?The results were as follows:68% thought invoice finance was overpriced32% thought invoice finance was priced about right. . . and none of the respondents thought that invoice finance was underpriced.Clearly this indicates...
- 17 Mar
Invoice Finance Factoring & Invoice Discounting Market Research Summary Published
I have produced an summary of all the invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting market research results that we have conducted so that all the results, that have been published on this blog and via the UK Invoice Finance Research group (on Linkedin.com).Please feel free to reuse the content providing you credit me as the source - and a link back to this site is always appreciated! :o)...
- 15 Mar
UK Invoice Finance Research Group on Linkedin Is Now Open On Linkedin.com
The UK Invoice Finance Research Group that I run on Linkedin.com is now an open group so all newly posted content will be searchable on the web and shareable via the social networking sites e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc.You can find it at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/UK-Invoice-Finance-Research-3323843?mostPopular=&gid=3323843The UK Invoice Finance Research Group is intended to enable the sharing...
- 22 Feb
6 Ways to Reduce Your Factoring or Invoice Discounting Costs
I have published a new article on the site - 6 Ways to Reduce Your Factoring or Invoice Discounting Costs which describes a number of ways of reducing your invoice finance costs through changing products or renegotiating terms....
- 21 Feb
Detailed Breakdown Of Cost Of Invoice Discounting Estimate Expectations
Following on from my previous post about factoring costs, below are the details of our research results into what percentage of turnover customers expect to pay for invoice discounting (their estimates of the costs) are as follows:The most noticable thing that jumps out from these numbers is that every respondent estimate the cost of invoice discounting to be half the cost of factoring. This may...
- 16 Feb
Detailed Breakdown Of Cost Of Factoring Estimate Expectations
The details of our research results into what percentage of turnover customers expect to pay for factoring (their estimates of the costs) are as follows:The actual cost will vary between businesses but the majority of respondents have estimated the cost of factoring to be 5% or more, which may be an over estimate in many cases. The only way to know for sure is to get some factoring quotations...
- 15 Feb
Factoring & Invoice Discounting ABFA Market Expands
For some time the market as reported in the ABFA quarterly statistics has reduced in client numbers but the last quarters figures to September 2010 show growth once again (albeit small) as the market starts to expand.Although the gain was small, 43 clients net increase over the quarter across the ABFA membership, in the last year there has been a 10.8% increase in the value of sales transacted by...
- 14 Jan
SMEs Often Over Estimate And Expect To Pay 4% Of Turnover For Factoring
In order to better understand client's expectations regarding the price of factoring we questioned a random sample of 100 SMEs about the cost of factoring. We asked them what percentage of their turnover they would expect to pay for factoring. The average value they gave was 3.93% i.e. a fraction under 4%.In some cases though the price of factoring can be way below this estimate, maybe between 1...
- 10 Jan
New Factoring, Invoice Discounting & Invoice Finance Articles
There are a number of new articles about factoring, invoice discounting and invoice finance that have now been added to our main site:...
- 06 Jan
Why 56% Of SMEs Prefer An Independent Invoice Finance Company
When we spoke to a sample of SMEs we were told that 56% of them would prefer to use an independent invoice finance company rather than a bank owned company for their factoring or invoice discounting facilities. These are the reasons they gave for that choice:...
- 16 Nov
82% Of Suitable Invoice Finance Prospects Not Contacted By Invoice Finance Companies
We selected a sample of target invoice finance prospects and asked them which invoice finance (factoring & invoice discounting) companies had contacted them over the last year in order to promote their invoice finance services.82% of businesses said they hadn't been contacted by any invoice finance companies! It is further evidence that there is a need for more promotional activity within the...
- 05 Nov
No Minimum Base Rate For Invoice Finance & 28 Days Notice Of Termination
Please see the news article below for details of a recent offer available exclusively from one of it's invoice finance providers. The offer gives our clients no minimum base rate or LIBOR rate and short notice of termination periods with the chance to terminate with just 28 days notice of termination during the first 6 months of using the facility....
- 04 Nov
HMRC Time To Pay Arrangements Value Halves & Refusals Double
Research results published by Business Money suggest that the value of HMRC Time To Pay arrangements for outstanding tax payment has halved in value over the last year whilst the number of refusals to join the scheme has doubled.If you have been refused a Time To Pay arrangement the funding to pay your outstanding tax can often be raised through invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting....
- 03 Nov
7% Of SME Businesses Have Business Loans
In our recent survey we asked a group of 100 SME businesses if they had a business loan. 7% said that they did so 93% don't have a business loan. An interesting contrast to the 88% that said they had an overdraft. This places overdraft as a more widely used form of finance than business loans.This is much higher than the percentage that use invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting (less...
- 22 Oct
Comparing Overdraft Funding Levels to Invoice Finance, Invoice Discounting & Factoring
For some time we have been seeking figures that will demonstrate statistically the increased levels of funding that invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting release over and above that which is available through traditional bank overdraft lending facilities.We conducted some research amongst SME (Small and Medium Sized Businesses) and we asked them firstly if they had an overdraft and...
- 15 Oct
How To Get Out Of A Factoring Arrangement
In many of the cases that we deal with factoring is seen by our client as an excellent solution for their business, the provision of cash flow through early payments against outstanding invoices and the included credit control debt collection support that is part of the factoring arrangement can be huge benefits.However, in some cases we deal with clients that are using factoring but want to know...
- 12 Oct
Ultimate Finance Acquire Ashley Commercial Finance
Numerous reports today that Ultimate Finance have completed their acquisition of Ashley Commercial Finance apparently for 4.75m initially with a further payment of £2.7m if certain financial targets are met.Both are invoice finance companies but Ashely Commercial Finance target smaller businesses.Reports are that the two brands will continue to co-exist so it will be interesting to see how this...
- 14 Sep
100% of Clients Surveyed Would Recommend Us
In a survey that was conducted amongst our clients 100% of those asked said that they would recommend our search service for invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting quotations.I was just reading a piece of research on behalf of the ABFA in conjunction with YouGov that found that 82% of existing users of factoring and invoice discounting would recommend it to other businesses as a form...
- 09 Sep
Supply Chain Finance & Reverse Factoring Article
I have just written a new article for the main site "Supply Chain Finance & Reverse Factoring" that explains how it works, the benefits to suppliers and buyers and the types of businesses that might be eligible.Supply Chain Finance or Reverse Factoring are very attractive, cost effective concepts for businesses that are involved in the supply chains to huge businesses e.g. retailers, supermarkets...
- 08 Sep
Factoring Finance Launched for IT Industry (Information Technology)
One of our funding partners has launched an innovative specialist factoring finance facility for IT (Information Technology) related businesses.This gives businesses in the IT sector access to funding that might not have been otherwise available. Funding can be provided against staged invoices, servicing, maintenance contracts, software development & integration and complex contractual IT...
- 03 Sep
The Funding Alternative If Refused An Overdraft
We are talking to a business that has been turned down and refused an overdraft by one of the high street banks as the business does not have any assets the bank will consider as security for an overdraft.This is a typical example of a small business that is not yet asset rich but still needs working capital to bridge the gap between the time that they invoice and the time that they get...
- 25 Aug
Research Results Posted to Linkedin UK Invoice Finance Research Group
The UK Invoice Finance Research group on Linkedin now has 46 members and I have already posted up some of the research that we have conducted into the UK market. More research results will follow together with new studies that we are undertaking at present.Please visit www.linkedin.com sign up to Linkedin and then join the UK Invoice Finance Research group which is open to anyone with an interest...
- 16 Aug
VAT Arrears Repayment Pressure Rises Amongst Prospects
We have noticed a number of new prospects recently mentioning pressure from the HMRC for the repayment of outstanding VAT arrears as the reason for seeking factoring or invoice discounting. In addition, half of those that mentioned VAT arrears also said that they had received a letter from HMRC advising them of their intention to visit and verify their VAT returns....
- 11 Aug
Factoring Service Charges From Just £2,000 Per Annum
We are always on the lookout for the best factoring deals for our clients. The "best deal" doesn't always mean the cheapest rates but in some cases that is the primary criteria by which a prospective client wants to compare factoring companies and offers.We have just established a relationship with a new factoring partner that is able to offer a small business a factoring facility with a...
- 28 Jul
Cash Flow Is The Second Biggest Issue Facing SME Businesses
In my previous post I mentioned that 49% of SMEs said that the biggest issue facing their business over the course of the next year was having insufficient cash.A further 22% of respondents, the joint second largest category, said that "cash flow" was the biggest issue facing their business over the next year.This means that when combined, 71% of SME businesses see the biggest issue for their...
- 13 Jul
Updating the List of Factoring Companies in the UK
I was just in the process of updating the list of factoring companies in the UK on the site and was struck by the number of acquisitions that have taken place over the last few years and the number of new entrants to the market.You can see our List of UK Factoring Companies on the main site....
- 12 Jul
List Of The Best Known Factoring Companies
As part of our recent research into the factoring market, we asked 100 SME businesses to name the first invoice finance company that they could name. From their responses we compiled the following list of the best known factoring companies:...
- 06 Jul
Factoring Options For Small Businesses At Last
It has been several years since there have been many factoring facilities available to the smallest businesses, for example turning over less than £100,000 per annum, after several factors pulled out of the sector. Many factors have said that they will still support small businesses but they impose such high minimum fees that it prohibits them in practice.The market seems to be changing at last....
- 05 Jul
0% Over Base Rate Funding Gets Most Interest
When we send out the monthly factoring newsletter we track the number of people that click through on each article. Last month's email newsletter ran 3 different articles and it was the article about funding at 0% over base rate that got the most interest and hence click throughs from interested customers - not unsurprising that people are interested in a cheap deal!...
- 03 Jul
Aston Rothbury & Davenhams
There has been comment in various media over the last few days regarding a couple of factoring companies namely Aston Rothbury and Davenhams.Firstly it has been reported that Aston Rothbury have entered administration and now there are also reports that Davenham's have ceased to write new business and started to collect in their outstanding loan book.Both these companies previously occupied...
- 02 Jul
Factoring Newsletter - 0% Over Base Funding Offer
We have just sent out our latest invoice finance newsletter which includes details of a funding offer at 0% over base rate, trade finance for small transactions and figures that support the fact that businesses using invoice finance tend to outperform non users in terms of business growth....
- 29 Jun
80% Of Businesses Have Not Seen Invoice Finance Advertising
As part of our continued investigation into the low numbers of businesses using invoice finance we asked a sample of 100 SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Businesses) if they had seen any advertising for invoice finance over the course of the last year.A staggering 80% of businesses had seen absolutely no invoice finance advertising whatsoever!...
- 17 Jun
SMEs Unanimously Think Invoice Finance Improves Customer's Cash Flow
Our invoice finance research results are now available and I will post them to the blog over the next few days.This time the researchers spoke to 100 SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) and asked them a variety of questions around their views, attitudes, perceptions and expectations regarding invoice finance. This has yielded some fascinating results.One question we asked was "If a customer...
- 16 Jun
Factoring Research Results Available Tomorrow
The next set of factoring and invoice discounting related research is going to be available tomorrow so I will start posting some more results.This time the research questions were focused around attitudes and expectations regarding factoring, invoice discounting and invoice finance....
- 09 Jun
Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) Q1 2010 Figures Published
The latest set of invoice finance industry statistics from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) for Q1 2010 have been published on their website.They show growth of 8% in client's sales volumes in the year to date against the previous year but they also show a decrease of just over 7% in the number of actual clients using invoice finance (now 41,275) as the number of clients lost has...
- 08 Jun
Newsletter - 3K Saving, Construction Finance & Selective Invoice Discounting
The latest invoice finance newsletter is now available.It includes details of the 3K factoring facility that we have been promoting, finance for businesses within the construction sector and selective invoice discounting without any minimum charges....
- 07 Jun
Factoring or Invoice Discounting Funding At 0% Over Base Rate
We have just been given first notification of a funding offer from one of our partners. They are offering new customers funding at 0% over base rate for the first 3 months of their factoring or invoice discounting facility.The offer is available for funding lines of up to £1,000,000 so a business using the full £1,000,000 that was currently paying, for example, 3% over base would save £7,500...
- 27 May
ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association) Annual Dinner Tonight
Tonight it's the annual dinner organised by the ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association), the key industry organisation for factoring and invoice discounting companies. So I will see anyone that is going there!...
- 24 May
Trade Finance For Small Transactions
I spent my initial working years in trade finance dealing with large volume imports of just about any product you can imagine from outside the UK. The trade finance company provided the funding to the importer via services such as setting up letters of credit for payment of their overseas suppliers which could be based all over the world including europe, africa, north america, south america,...
- 19 May
Tough Measures Ahead To Balance The UKs Budget
Now the the UK has the stability of a Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition government in place the role of the new government has turned to taking action to sort out the disasterous state of the UK's finances. This will undoubtedly mean tough measures to balance the public finance. There has already been talk of a hike in VAT from 17.5% up to 20%. This will boost revenue to the exchequer but...
- 17 May
May 2010 Invoice Finance Newsletter Brief Written
The brief for our May 2010 invoice finance newsletter has been written. This months newsletter includes a case study of a quotation for £3K per annum factoring, an article about construction finance and details of selective invoice discounting for small businesses....
- 13 May
Invoice Discounting Masquerading As Factoring
Recently, we have spoken to several businesses who have had lukewarm opinions of factoring generally due to the existing service that they are using failing to assist them in collecting their outstanding sales invoices - credit control. What appears to be happening is that some invoice finance companies are offering an invoice discounting facility under the banner of a factoring offering.In order...
- 11 May
3K Factoring Case Study Published
We have just published a case study showing how we found a quotation for a client for a factoring facility at a £3,000 per annum service charge during April 2010 that will deliver them a substantial factoring cost saving....
- 06 May
Construction Factoring Finance
Construction Factoring Finance can enable businesses in the construction sector to raise up to 70% funding against their outstanding sales invoices, with the balance paid (less charges) when the customer pays.Businesses with a CIS UTR number, those that make uncertified applications for payment and businesses that are involved with stage payments can all be eligible for funding using this unique...
- 04 May
A List Of My Articles Published By Ezine Articles
Below is a link to a list of cash flow and invoice finance related articles that I have written and have been published by ezinearticles.com :They include the following articles:- Why Do So Few UK Businesses use Invoice Finance?- 7 Ways to Increase Business Cash Flow Over Holiday Periods- Benefits of Factoring Over an Overdraft- How to Get Factoring For Free- Avoiding the Pitfalls of Entering...
- 27 Apr
Selective Invoice Discounting - Select The Invoices You Want Cash Against
Selective invoice discounting has been available in some industry sectors for a long time but one of our invoice finance partners has recently launched a selective invoice discounting service which is available to small businesses within a wide range of different industry sectors.Selective invoice discounting allows the business using the facility to pick and choose which invoices they want to...
- 21 Apr
Latest Invoice Factoring Newsletter Brief Written - Cheap Factoring, Selective Invoice Discounting & Export Factoring
Our latest factoring newsletter brief is complete! The April issue of our factoring newsletter includes a number of product updates including: factoring for just £3,000 service charge per annum, selective invoice discounting and an export invoice discounting product that can support worldwide exporters on a global scale....
- 20 Apr
A Big Misconception About Some Business Finance Brokers
In our recent survey of 100 SMEs we asked them what they thought was the biggest reason for not using a business finance broker.100% of respondents said due to "cost".The irony is that many finance brokerage services, such as ours, cost our clients nothing to use! We make no charges to our client and only receive a small commission from the finance provider if the deal is successful. In most...
- 06 Apr
Cheap Factoring for Small Businesses
In our recent survey of 100 SMEs we asked them what they thought was the biggest reason for not using a business finance broker.100% of respondents said due to "cost".The irony is that many finance brokerage services, such as ours, cost our clients nothing to use! We make no charges to our client and only receive a small commission from the finance provider if the deal is successful. In most...
- 01 Apr
Recourse Factoring For Less Than £3,000 Annual Service Charge
Good news for small businesses, there are still recourse factoring deals on the market, offered by our partners, with minimum annual service charges of £3,000 or less. This includes a release of cash from outstanding invoices and a comprehensive collections (credit control) service. If you want to reduce your recourse factoring service charge this might help....
- 24 Mar
How Many Factoring Price Quotes Do You Need?
Prospective clients are often unsure about how many factoring price quotes they should get before they have enought to make a decision. I have put together an article that takes a logical approach to how many quotations you should seek in order to make an informed choice and decision....
- 19 Mar
Factoring Newsletter Brief Completed!
I have just finished writing the brief for the latest factoring newsletter.This issue will include details of the factoring quote where we were able to offer the prospect a cost saving of 50% of the total cost, information about avoiding minimum discount charge base rates and some more findings from our invoice finance research.The factoring newsletter is free and you can subscribe using the link...
- 18 Mar
ABFA Launch Invoice Finance Presentation
The ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association), the industry body for invoice finance companies has just launched a presentation format explanation of invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting.The presentation addresses how different invoice finance products work, the amount of finance you could raise that how the costs work.You can view the presentation at:...
- 17 Mar
More Details Of That 50% Invoice Finance Cost Saving
Yesterday I mentioned that we had managed to find one prospect an invoice finance deal that would save them 50% of their current costs, today I have more details of that cost saving case study.The prospect was a small wine supplier that had a recourse factoring deal from a bank owned factoring company.They were paying a combined service charge and discount charge of over £12,000 per annum in...
- 16 Mar
50% Cost Saving For Invoice Finance Client
We have just completed a quotation search for invoice finance for one client and found them a 50% cost saving on their existing fees! Not bad for a free service!A regular issue that we are finding with prospective clients at the moment is that they are paying discount charge over a minimum bank base rate rather than at actual base rate. Whilst base rate is currently only 0.5% some prospects are...
- 10 Mar
An Insider's Guide to Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Discounting
I am currently writing a free ebook called "An Insider's Guide to Invoice Finance, Factoring & Invoice Discounting" to be published soon.It will contain full explanations of all the different invoice financing products and tips and advice about avoiding the pitfalls and common issues that arise when using invoice finance.I am also including detailed information about how different factors work,...
- 04 Mar
Cost of Business Finance Rises
86% of SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Businesses) that we spoke to said that they thought that the cost of business finance had increased over the last year.The remaining 14% thought that costs had stayed the same - interestingly noone thought that the cost of business finance had decreased.Despite this our free search service for invoice finance quotations has continued to be able to cut the cost...
- 01 Mar
February 2010 Invoice Finance Newsletter Published
Our February 2010 free invoice finance newsletter is now available.It details some of the results from our recent survey of SMEs about their views on the outlook for the UK economy and their attitudes towards invoice finance. It also contains reference to one of the Dragons from Dragon's Den using receivables financing to support the acquisition of a buisness....
- 01 Mar
February Invoice Finance Newsletter Published
Our latest invoice finance newsletter for February 2010 has now been published.It contains some of the results of our recent survey of UK SMEs that shows businesses are optimistic about the future and it has information about a receivables financing deal put in place to support a business being purchased by one of the Dragons from the TV show Dragon's Den....
- 26 Feb
The Reasons Why So Few UK Businesses Use Invoice Finance
I have just published an article on our site that explains the results of our research into the reasons why so few UK businesses use invoice finance.It explains that there are 4 main reasons, cost, not being aware of the products, prefering overdraft and loans and a fear that using invoice finance will somehow affect their reputation.My article takes each one of those concerns in turn and...
- 25 Feb
Reasons Not To Use Invoice Finance
I am currently putting together an article that analyses the feedback given to us by SMEs about why they think so few businesses use invoice finance in the UK.The article and my analysis of the reasons not to use invoice finance will be published shortly....
- 24 Feb
Underselling Invoice Discounting Benefits
I have just had a meeting with an invoice discounting company who wanted to give us a demonstration of how their product and supporting system works. Fantastic system, plenty of benefits for the client such as minimal administrative workload, no month-end reconciliation, no retentions for recourse being held until the end of the month, but the discounter just isn't promoting the benefits in a...
- 23 Feb
Invoice Finance - A Well Kept Secret
In our survey, we asked the SMEs that we interviewed why they thought that so few UK businesses used invoice finance. The Asset Based Finance Association?s figure for the total number of businesses currently using factoring and invoice discounting, via their membership (*see below for a list of contributors to these ABFA figures), in the UK as at September 2009, was just 42,983.31% of respondents...
- 22 Feb
Has Factoring Been Mis-sold?
It is curious how many businesses we speak to are focused on going down the invoice discounting route (no credit control service) rather than using factoring (which includes a credit control service) as they don't believe that outsourcing their credit control function can be translated into a financial benefit.In many cases these businesses have already used a factoring service from certain...
- 18 Feb
Average SME Spends 80 Hours Chasing Invoices Each Month
We asked 100 SMEs how much time they spent on credit control each month (assuming 7 working hours each day and 22 working days in the average month) and on average they said that they spent 80 hours each month chasing debtors for unpaid invoices.That's equivalent to almost 11.5 working days each month and equates to 52% of one employees time.I just looked up the average salary of a credit control...
- 17 Feb
Cost of Business Finance Increases?
More from our recent market survey of 100 SME's regarding Business Climate in the UK and Invoice Finance. We asked them if they thought that the cost of business finance generally has changed over the last year.86% of SMEs thought that business finance was more expensive and 14% thought it had stayed the same. Not one out of 100 businesses thought it had decreased!Fortunately some of our clients...
- 15 Feb
Availability of Finance Decreases
In our recent market survey of 100 SME's we asked them how they thought the availability of finance had changed over the last year.100% of respondents thought that the availability of finance has decreased.It is striking that all 100 respondents shared the same view.Despite this, there are finance companies out there that are hungry for business. We were speaking to one company just last week...
- 12 Feb
More Market Research Results
In our market survey of 100 SME's we asked them how the time taken by customers to pay sales invoices had changed over the last year.66% of respondents thought the time taken to get sales invoices paid had increased.Of these respondents only 1 had ever used an invoice finance facility. Factoring companies can often achieve a much improved debt turn for their clients i.e. chasing in payments...
- 10 Feb
Business Climate & Invoice Finance Market Survey Completed
Our recent piece of research the Business Climate & Invoice Finance Market Survey has now been completed and the results are ready to be published from tomorrow onwards. The research involved a telephone interview with 100 diverse SME's (small and medium sized enterprises) - some of which used invoice finance and some of which didn't. The questions that we asked related to the current Business...
- 09 Feb
If Receivables Financing is Good Enough for a Dragon from the Den . . .
Just came across a link to an article in Trade Finance which mentioned that James Caan's private equity firm apparently used a receivables financing package as part of the funding to fund a recent acquisition. It's good news for our industry that James Caan, one of the dragons from Dragon's Den is prepared to use receivables finance - perhaps it will encourage others to take up these lesser known...
- 05 Feb
Business Climate & Invoice Finance Market Survey Nearly Finished
Our Business Climate & Invoice Finance Market Survey is nearly finished. We should have it finished by the end of today and be in a position to start publishing the results of the research from next week....
- 04 Feb
Invoice Finance Predictions for 2010 Continued . . .
Yesterday I posted my first 3 predictions for 2010. Below are 2 more predictions for the invoice finance market during 2010:...
- 03 Feb
Debt Factoring Predictions for 2010
As we enter 2010 it seems a good time to think about what is likely to change in the debt factoring and invoice discounting markets during the course of the year.Recent reports suggest that there has been a very modest uplift in the economy - 0.1% growth - hardly impressive by any standards, but possibly an end to the recession. It remains to be seen how much growth will be achieved in the next...
- 02 Feb
Top 5 Factoring Companies
I was reading in a factoring blog recently that someone had apparently posted the question "which are the top 5 factoring companies ?" and the blogger proceeded to state various web sites that would be able to give the prospect a list of the top 5 factoring companies.The issue is that you cannot say that any 5 particular factoring companies are "top" in every case. Which factoring companies are...
- 01 Feb
Why Are The Credit Control Benefits of Debtor Factoring Overlooked?
I have been looking around the blogosphere and have been surprised at the number of times that industry commentators focus only on the finance related benefits of debtor factoring without considering and mentioning the benefit of having a credit control service included in the price.An integral part of debtor factoring is that the factoring company takes on the task of collecting the outstanding...
- 27 Jan
January 2010 Invoice Finance Newsletter Published
Please feel free to read our free January 2010 Invoice Finance newsletter that includes information and advice about factoring, invoice discounting and improving business cash flow....
- 26 Jan
Size Of The Factoring & Invoice Discounting Market
Following on from my previous posts about the Factoring & Invoice Discounting market being far from the point of saturation we ran some counts today to see how big the potential size of the market in the UK is.Dun & Bradstreet's Marketplace of UK Businesses lists 5,857,600 records for businesses in the UK. We selected from that list only businesses that had a turnover in excess of £200,000 per...
- 25 Jan
Factoring Market Saturation?
I have just been reading an article written by an industry broker about the factoring and invoice discounting markets reaching the point of "saturation".Wikipedia defines "market saturation" as the point at which a product has become diffused (distributed) within a market and it gives the example of refrigerators being present in 97% of homes - a saturated market.According to the September 2009...
- 22 Jan
New Invoice Finance & Business Climate Trends Survey Launched
I have just completed the design and launch of our new Invoice Finance & Business Trends Survey which seeks to find out business people's attitudes to the current business climate, the economy, business finance and invoice finance.It is based on the short survey that I announced on the blog a few days ago but incoporates further questions that will be asked of business leaders by telephone...
- 18 Jan
7 Ways to Increase Cash Flow Over Holiday Periods
Following the inevitable slow down in customer payments over Christmas and New Year, we have just published an article on the site which sets out 7 Simple Ways to Increase Cash Flow Over Holiday Periods....
- 03 Nov
Overdraft Compared With Factoring Calculator Released
We have just released our latest free calculator that compares the costs and benefits of using bank overdraft with those of using factoring....
- 07 Oct
Calculator Comparing Overdraft Costs with Factoring
The Factoring Cost Savings Calculator we put up that showed the cost benefits that could be achieved by using Factoring and offsetting the costs against the savings that could be made in terms of credit control staff and supplier discounts - has proved popular and has already been viewed a number of times by visitors to our site.We are now working on a similar calculator that will compare those...
- 22 Sep
Factoring Cost Savings Calculator Released
Factoring clients often focus just on the cost of the facility without considering the cost savings that are possible. We have just put together a new Factoring Cost Savings Calculator which can be downloaded in Excel 2003.It allows users to enter their business' details and find out how much they might save through using a factoring facility....
- 15 Sep
Cattles Invoice Finance relaunched as Absolute Invoice Finance
It has been reported that Cattles plc have now completed the sale of their invoice financing arm, Cattles Invoice Finance to AnaCap Financial Partners. This puts an end to all the speculation about Cattles Invoice Finance and puts them in a superb position to drive their business forward, under their new brand which is Absolute Invoice Finance....
- 20 Aug
Is It Time for a Code of Practice for Invoice Finance Companies?
A recent issue with a client of a bank owned factoring company led me to investigate the existence of any code of practice, either compulsory or voluntary, that would govern the actions of the invoice finance company and potentially assist the client if it was not being followed.However, there seems to be no published code of conduct available against which an invoice finance provider's actions...
- 12 Aug
Cattles Invoice Finance Sale Agreed
Recent reports are that Cattles plc have now agreed terms with AnaCap Financial Partners for the conditional sale of Cattle's invoice financing arm, Cattles Invoice Finance. This could be good news for Cattles Invoice Finance as it puts an end to months of speculation about the disposal of their factoring and invoice discounting arm and the uncertainety that has resulted....
- 13 Jul
Online Monitoring of Debt Collection
One of the providers that we deal with that supply debt collection services, in respect of businesses or consumers that have unpaid invoices, recently demonstrated their automated debt collection system to us. It allows you to see exactly what is going on regarding the collection of your outstanding invoices, via their online interface, and if the debtor raises any kind of dispute the software...
- 26 Jun
Latest ABFA Factoring & Invoice Discounting Statistics
The latest Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) statistics have been published for Q1 2009.They show reductions in the amount of funds provided and contractions in client turnover but they also show a reduction of c. 3% in the actual number of clients across the members.The invoice finance market is tough but we are still seeing growth in our own client book, indeed having recently had our best...
- 23 Jun
Is Cheap Factoring Always Best Factoring?
It is interesting to note that we have had a number of enquries recently from businesses who already use factoring and are looking to change providers but NOT in order to save on cost. What we have noticed about some of these recent factoring enquiries is that they are driven by a need for an improvement in service levels rather than costs, specifically around the collection of debts.Going back a...
- 13 May
Debt Collection and Debt Recovery
We have had an increasing number of requests through the invoice finance brokerage for debt collection and debt recovery services. In response to this we now have a reputable provider that are able to provide a "no win no fee" service in respect of old unpaid sales invoices or even single invoices....
- 17 Apr
How to Maximise Your Chances of Getting Factoring
We have just published an article that sets out our top 10 tips to maximise your chances of getting a factoring facility.It covers issues such as:Â Â Â Â Â ...
- 02 Apr
Not the Time to Shop Around for a Factoring Deal?
We had a factoring prospect over the last few days that was convinced that it was not the right time to shop around for a factoring deal due to the recession. The opposite is true. OK, the factoring industry is a little more careful risk wise and prices are not as low as they were but there are still excellent deals to be had if you are prepared to shop around.We have found prospects quotes with...
- 12 Mar
Confidential Factoring and Invoice Discounting
Recently we have been in contact with a small printing business that have been considering factoring (to release the cash tied up in their invoices for working capital) but they are concerned about any adverse effects if their customers were aware that they were using an invoice factoring service.There are a number of solutions available. "Confidential Invoice Discounting" could be the answer if...
- 11 Mar
Dawn of the
An interesting post in the Times Online today "Welcome to the era of no money".It seems like at last the inevitable for our economy has become apparent, the "consumer spending era" cannot continue indefinitely (surprise, surprise!) despite the current desperate attempts to spend our way out of recession.The high levels of consumer spending that have fuelled our economy have been supported by the...
- 24 Feb
Minimum Service Standards for Factoring Brokers
We just had a call from a prospective client enquiring about a factoring facility and they mentioned that they had phoned two other invoice finance brokers but neither of them had called them back! Good news for us but not for the company looking for factoring. You would think that in the current economic climate other brokers would be chasing every opportunity - perhaps they have seen the same...
- 17 Feb
Unauthorised Overdraft Fees for an SME
We have just had an invoice finance prospect, an SME, where one of the major banks has reduced their overdraft by circa 90% after they received a payment into their account which reduced their borrowing. Furthermore, the bank have then "allowed" an unauthorised overdrawn position (equivalent to circa 50% of their previous overdraft value) and charged them circa the value of the "unauthorised"...
- 21 Jan
100% Funding Against Public Sector Invoices
Our invoice finance brokerage has been fortunate enough to have been offered an exclusive arrangement by one of it's finance partners to offer an invoice discounting product whereby our clients will receive 100% funding in respect of their invoices to government and public sector bodies and organisations.This could provide a much needed additional cash flow benefit for a number of our clients....
- 13 Jan
Second Credit Crunch Coming? . . .
I just read an article highlighting the next potential problem for the economy arising from the continuing downward spiral of property prices which could lead to a second credit crunch.The article suggests that banks could be exposed to £250bn of lending secured against UK commercial property and that if commercial property prices continue to fall half of this could need refinancing over the...
- 07 Jan
Avoiding The New Year Cash Trap . . .
It happens every year, we see an increase in new invoice finance enquiries (factoring and invoice discounting) in the New Year caused by the "New Year Cash Trap" causing cash flow problems. In the run up to Christmas customers generally slow down their payments to suppliers, partly due to their own customers slowing down their payments and partly due to staff holidays. This puts an added pressure...
- 11 Dec
Invoice Finance & Factoring Bucking the Economic Trend?
We were recently contacted to contibute something to an article that is being written about businesses that are "bucking the economic trend" and recruiting more staff in the new year. If any level of recruitment next year is a measure of a business that is "bucking the trend" then I guess that paints a fairly bleak portrait of the current economic climate in the UK! Fortunately the demand for...
- 09 Dec
Protected Invoice Discounting Without Reconciliation
One of the invoice discounting companies that our invoice finance brokerage deals with has just launched a new improved version of its confidential invoice discounting product, with the addition of protection against bad debts . . . appropriate in the current climate!The way that their confidential invoice discounting product works is that it directly integrates with their client's accounting...
- 17 Nov
Borrowing Rates Not As They Might Seem?
Whilst the government has the expectation that recent cuts in base rate will help UK businesses, there are a few "terms and conditions" that might mean that the full effect of any cuts might not be passed onto the end users. For more information about invoice finance (factoring and invoice discounting) borrowing rates see our latest article about "How to check your borrowing rate"....
- 29 Oct
New Article Top 10 Tips Comparing Factoring Quotations
i have just put a new factoring article up on the site, our "Top 10 Tips for Comparing Factoring Quotations"....
- 15 Oct
Factoring & Invoice Discounting NACFB Reports Growth
The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), has just reported its members survey results to June 2008 which show huge growth amongst its members in the volumes of factoring and invoice discounting business being arranged which countered falls in the levels of leasing and short term finance arranged.This is not surprising as factoring and invoice discounting are growth areas...
- 05 Oct
US Bailout goes ahead but what about the UK?
The $700 million bailout of the US banking sector has now gone through the US senate and there has been a lot of speculation about what will happen next. Noone knows for certain what the effects of this will be but the UK still seems set for difficult times.It seems like the factoring and invoice discounting markets will have a growing role in the UK bridging the credit gap for businesses that...
- 16 Sep
Access to Funding in the Factoring Market
Whilst the ongoing credit crunch saga and the recent events with Lehman's bank are affecting the availability of finance generally, the factoring and invoice discounting markets are still relatively unscathed.Some of the factors and discounters have tightened up their funding criteria but there are still players within the market that are leading by being bold with the finance they will offer....
- 15 Sep
What will be the Effect of the Bankruptcy of Lehman's Bank?
Lehman's, america's 4th biggest investment bank has apparently filed for bankruptcy triggering a wave of speculation about what the future effect will be on the rest of the world?It would seem most likely that Lehmans assets will be sold off cheaply, driving down the price of similar assets which will only be bad news for the captial adequacy requirements (the ratio of capital that a bank needs...
- 05 Sep
How Much Worse Will The Economy Get?
When you work within the finance industry you often see the first signs of economic problems. This was true with the recent "credit crunch" related economic issues. Some of the factoring companies that we deal with started mentioning increases in the number of debtors that have failed, 6 to 9 months ago and as is often the case the construction sector seems to have been particularly badly hit due...
- 04 Sep
Free Factoring Newsletter
We have just finished sending out our latest factoring newsletter which includes an article about how factoring charges and payments have changed over the years and our predictions for the future. There will be futher articles in future editions of the newsletter along the same lines, changes to the factoring industry, so watch this space.You can sign up for our newsletter at:Â REGISTER FOR OUR...
