May 15, 2009, 6:13 pm
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.
May 15, 2009, 6:09 pm
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
