The number of troubled businesses has increased dramatically as a result of the current economic environment. Usually, the problems start when clients start delaying payments. This has a negative impact on cash flow, and if your company does not have a working capital reserve, it can create major problems. The first reaction for most owners tends to be to delay vendor payments as well. That seldom works as a long term solution unfortunately. Before long, like falling dominos, other payments start getting delay and the company gets into deeper trouble.

Most company owners look for business financing - hoping to implement a stop gap solution to the working capital problem. Unfortunately, getting a business loan is very hard for companies that are not in pristine financial condition. The catch 22 is that if the company where in pristine financial condition, it would probably not need a business loan. Most of time times, this situation can be fixed with the right financing. Otherwise, the company risks going out of business.

There is a solution that can help companies who face slow paying clients and who are not in the best financial shape. It solves this particular problem at its source - the slow client payments. The solution is called invoice factoring.

Factoring provides you with a funding advance for your slow paying invoices. It provides you the capital you need to pay suppliers, vendors and employees - on time. The fact is that while your clients are paying invoices more slowly, most of them are still good solid clients. Factoring companies can provide you an advance on your invoices because they consider them to be your best collateral - something most institutional lenders don’t always do. Because of this, invoice factoring can be a good solution for a troubled company that still has a solid roster of clients.

Another advantage of factoring is that is a dynamic form of financing that grows with your business. Since financing is tied to your invoices, it can be used to grow your business and restore its financial health.

Starting or growing a transportation company in the current economic environment is very challenging. At the same time, it can be very profitable, especially for business owners who know how to manage their businesses well. This can be the right time to position your company for growth.

Transportation companies - freight brokers and carriers - operate with very tight cash flows. They have to pay for drivers, fuel, repairs and employees regularly. However, their clients always delay their payments by 30 to 60 days. This puts most companies on shaky ground. It’s impossible for the company to grow, if the owners needs to worry about clients paying on time. And sometimes a single delayed payment can throw the whole company into a tailspin.

So what is the solution? Well, you can try and negotiate a quick pay. If that fails, your other option is to try and secure business financing. However, getting a business loan in this environment is very difficult. Given all the new institutional credit restrictions, business loans are hard to obtain unless your business has pristine credit.

One alternative is to use freight factoring, a specialized for of factoring that is available to the transportation industry. With freight bill factoring in place, you no longer need to worry about when your client payments will come, or whether they offer quick pays. The factoring company gives you an advance for your invoices, which provides the cash flow to run and grow your business. Instead of focusing on how to collect from your clients, you can focus on getting more clients and on running your company more efficiently.

Freight factoring can be relatively easy to obtain and you will find that most factoring companies offer flexible terms to transportation carriers and brokers. And as opposed to institutional financing, most factoring financing lines can be setup very quickly, enabling to reduce or eliminate your cash flow problem very quickly.

There is something interesting about recessions. Although nobody likes them, many times they provide growth opportunities to businesses. Through careful planning and solid execution, many business owners are able to increase their market share and grow their companies. The catch is that more often than not - they need business financing.

Getting a business loan, or any type of business financing, has been a challenge in the current economic client. Institutions are not lending, either because they lack the funds themselves or because they don’t trust their client’s collateral. Institutions themselves must also follow tough guidelines regarding what they can finance or not. Does that mean that you are out of options? Not really, it just means that you need to know where to look.

One business financing option that has been overlooked in the past few years is invoice factoring. Invoice factoring is a bit different than other forms of financing. It helps companies that have commercial or government clients and that have to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid for their invoices. While many companies can afford to wait to get paid, few realize the true cost of waiting, also called the opportunity cost.

Factoring invoices provides working capital, using the soon-to-be-paid invoices as collateral. Invoices from large or medium sized companies tend to be good collateral that can be financed, and that is where factoring comes in.

What makes factoring financing appealing to companies is that is relatively easy to obtain. The most important requirement is that you do business with solid customers. This product is usually offered by private finance companies called factoring companies, though some banks offer it as well.

Factoring is a tool that can be used to grow your business when other types of financing are hard to obtain or out of reach. It has the added advantage that it grows with your sales, providing your company with a dynamic form of financing.

One of the toughest challenges that business owners face is that clients never want to pay their invoices immediately upon receiving the service or the product. Most clients, especially large corporations, demand to be given 30 to 60 days to pay their invoices. Offering trade credit, as providing net 30 day terms for payment is usually called, is very common in commercial transactions. It’s the way business operates. And when done correctly, it can be very safe and give you an advantage over competitors that can’t offer net 30 terms.

But should you offer this to any client just because they ask? No, not without doing a little bit of research about your client.

There are two simple ways to research a client. The first one invoices getting a commercial credit report from either Dun and Bradstreet or from Smart Business Reports. A commercial credit report, which anyone can buy, provides useful information about your clients. It shows liens, judgments and more importantly, it shows how quickly your client pays their invoices. The payment history is the most important piece of information on the credit report. Most reports will also give you a credit score and a credit recommendation. You can buy these reports by going to Dun and Bradstreet’s or Smart Business Reports respective web sites.

However, not ever company has a credit file with Dun and Bradstreet or Smart Business Reports. This is especially true for small and medium sized companies that don’t have a wide exposure. In that case, your best alternative is to ask your client to submit a credit application which includes references. Be sure to check on those references and about their payment experience and average outstanding volumes.

What if your problem is that you cannot wait 30 days to get paid because you need funds to run your business? One alternative is to go to an institution to try and obtain business financing. However, in this economy, getting a business loan is very hard. Another alternative is to factor your invoices. Invoice factoring is a form of financing that give you an advance for your net 30 invoices. It provides the working capital you need, without having to wait for your clients to pay you first.

Author: This article was authored by Marco Terry of Commercial Capital LLC and remains the exclusive property of Marco Terry/Commercial Capital LLC

As a result of the current credit environment, finding the necessary business financing to grow their companies has become the full time job of many CEO’s, CFO’s and company owners. For example, venture capital has become increasingly difficult to get - and understandably so. Some venture capitalists are being extremely cautious, while others just have their own financial problems and are not in a position to finance other companies. Other institutions are not too helpful either. For example, getting a business loan has become increasingly more difficult, and in some instances, impossible to obtain. Many institutions require audited financial statements, proof of hard assets, excellent credit among other things before issuing a business loan. Unfortunately, this puts business loans out of the reach of many businesses - especially those that don’t have collateral in the traditional sense of the word. There is a possible solution though.

Some businesses may be able to use accounts receivable factoring to fund their growth. One of the biggest challenges for companies that have commercial sales is having to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid. This also applies to government contractors and suppliers who must also wait to get paid. Many companies would not need a business loan or venture capital to finance their growth, if their clients paid quickly. You can achieve this using accounts receivable factoring. This form of financing has a number of advantages over other forms of financing. By factoring receivables you can get working capital for your company without while minimizing the problems - and hassles - of waiting 30 to 60 days to get paid.

Getting a receivables factoring financing line is fairly simple, since the main qualification criteria is that you do business with credit worthy clients. But more importantly, accounts receivable factoring is dynamic, and grows (almost automatically) with your sales. This makes it an ideal solution for companies that are growing and have solid prospect - but are having challenges finding a financial partner to back their business.

Funding a business in the current environment has been a challenge for company owners. The business financing environment has not been friendly business owners, in part because many funding companies had problems of their own. Because of this, they have tightened their commitment requirements.

Some companies have tried a different approach and opted to look for business loans. Unfortunately, trying to get a business loan in the current environment is also very difficult. Most institutions are being very cautious and only lending money to companies that meet very strict criteria. For example, you may need to show that they have been profitable for a number of years, have seasoned managers, include audited financial statements and have other assets. This puts business loans out of the reach of most businesses, at least at this time. So, is there an alternative? In fact, there is.

If your company has commercial or government clients, you may want to consider accounts receivable factoring. Most companies with commercial or government clients share the common problem of having to wait up to 60 days to get their invoices paid. Waiting this long will certainly impact your cash flow, especially if your company does not have substantial cash reserves. Factoring your invoices provides you with a solution to this problem. It provides capital to cover your business expenses without having to wait for your customers to pay you. It also enables you to take on new clients, as you no longer have to worry about net 30 or net 60 day payments.

There are several advantages to using accounts receivable factoring. The most important one is that it is easy to obtain, since the most important qualification criteria is that you have solid customers. Aside from that, it offers a dynamic form of financing. Dynamic financing lines adapt to your sales volume, and increase as your sales increase. This makes receivable factoring a great solution for growing companies that need different levels of financing as their business grows.

Accounts receivable financing can be a great alternative way to finance your company, especially in a tough credit environment.

Trying to get business financing for a transportation company in the current economic environment has been nearly impossible. This applies to both trucking companies and freight brokers. Most institutions are imposing a number of restrictions on their financing activities to the point where getting a business loan is very difficult. It’s not that institutions don’t want to make business loans - but rather - they have to be extra careful. For example, many institutions now require company financial statements for multiple years that must show profits. They need substantial assets as collateral, and usually require the business owner to have substantial assets themselves.

But, what happens if you can’t meet this criteria? Are you basically out of luck? Not really. You just need to look elsewhere.

Let’s look at a common problem in the transportation industry - cash flow. This affects brokers and carriers alike. They have expenses that they must cover immediately, such as drivers and repairs. However, they must also wait up to 60 days to get paid by their clients. If they don’t have a cushion of capital to bridge the gap - their businesses fail. There is an alternative though - it’s called factoring.

Factoring your freight bills bridges this gap in a simple and elegant way. It provides you with an advance on your freight bills, which you can use to cover your expenses. The transaction is then settled when your client pays the freight bill.

Freight factoring has a number of advantages and is easy to qualify for. Most factoring companies look at the credit of your client as the most important requirement (though not the only one) to provide financing. Although your client’s credit is important, your company should be free of liens, judgments and tax problems.

Freight bill factoring is an ideal source of financing for startup and growing transportation companies, it provides financing to cover operational expenses while you focus on growing your business. One if the biggest advantages of freight factoring is that is tied to your sales - your financing line grows as your business grows.

Are you looking for a business loan? Many business owners who need business financing start their financing search by looking for a business loan or a business line of credit. Although business loans and lines of credit are well known products, they are very hard to get. And in reality, few business owners actually manage to get them.

In certain instances, invoice factoring may be a better and easier to obtain alternative. There are three conditions that can determine whether factoring is a better alternative than a business loan:

1. Are your clients’ slow payments hurting you? Do they take up to 60 days to pay?
2. Are you turning away bigger sales because you lack working capital?
3. With the right financing, does your business have significant growth potential?

If you answered yes to these questions, then chances are that factoring your invoices will be better for you than more traditional business financing products. Invoice factoring provides you with financing based on your invoices, eliminating slow payment cycles and providing you with money to pay rent, meet payroll and expand your business.

Since factoring is tied to your sales potential, it does not have the arbitrary use limits that business loans have. The more your business grows, the more financing you qualify for. Period. This makes it an ideal product for businesses that have significant growth potential.

Factoring (or receivable factoring as it is also known) is easy to use. Once you have invoiced your customers you send a copy of the invoice to the factoring company. The factoring company, in turn, advances you up to 90% of your invoice and waits to be paid by your client. Once your client pays the invoice, the transaction is settled.

In effect, by financing your invoices you eliminate the slow payment problem. You accelerate your cash flow, enabling you to pay your obligations, take new opportunities and grow your company.

In terms of cost, factoring is a very competitive product. Factoring fees range from 1.5% to 3% per month, making it an affordable product. If you own a business that is growing and you need financing, be sure to consider invoice factoring.

If you own a business and your clients take up to 60 days to pay your invoices, you may want to consider invoice factoring. Invoice factoring eliminates the payment wait and gets your invoices paid in a couple of days. This gives you the necessary financing to pay ongoing expenses such as suppliers, salaries and rent.

But invoice factoring is different from most traditional financing. For starters, it is not a business loan, but rather, a sale of invoices. Although it may not be clear at first sight, you can finance your business by selling your invoices.

Basically, when you factor your invoices, you sell them to a factoring company, who pays you for them. When the factor buys your invoices, it’s common that they’ll pay you in two installments. The first installment, called the advance, is provided as soon as you sell the invoice. The second installment, called the rebate, is provided once your client pays for the goods/services.

Lets look at a factoring transaction to see how it works:

1. You deliver goods and services to the customer.
2. You invoice the client
3. You sell the invoice to the factoring company
4. Factoring company advances (installment #1) between 70% and 95% of the invoice
5. You get immediate money for your business
6. The customer pays the factoring company
7. The factoring company rebates you (installment #2) the remaining money, less a small fee

As you can see, the sale of your invoices provides you with accelerated funds that can be used to run and grow the business. Although factoring is a great tool, it only works to solve one very specific problem. That is, that you can’t afford to wait to get paid by your clients. However, it solves this problem better that most other financial tools. Furthermore, as opposed to bank financing, invoice factoring is easy to obtain and can usually be set up in days.

Do you have clients that take 30, 50 or 60 days to pay their invoices? Although having slow paying clients is expected in today’s business environment, they make managing cash flow a very difficult task. Paying suppliers, salaries and rent becomes a challenge.

However, there is a way to solve this problem. The solution involves factoring your invoices.

Factoring is a financing tool that allows you to get your invoices paid in as little as 2 days. It provides your company with the necessary capital to operate the business, pay suppliers and grow. However, factoring is not a business loan. Rather, factoring involves selling your invoices at a discount for immediate cash. The factoring company waits to get paid, while you get immediate use of the funds.

Factoring can easily be integrated to any business and works as follows:

1. You deliver goods or services and invoice for them
2. You sell the invoice to the factor. They give you the first installment of 70% to 90% of your invoice. This is called the advance.
3. You get immediate funds to run your business
4. Once the customer pays the factoring company, you get the second installment (of 10% to 30%) and are charged a small fee for the transaction. This is called the rebate

Although factoring costs vary and are based on transaction size and timing, the average cost of a transaction is usually between 1.5% to 3% of the invoice per month.

One major advantage of factoring is that it is easier to obtain than a business loan. Furthermore, the factoring line can be set up in about a week, and the biggest requirement for approval is that do you business with credit worthy clients.