Factoring Company Guide
First Step: Filling Out the Application
Embark on improving your cash flow with an easy-to-complete application. Simply provide us with your business details – a straightforward process aimed at enhancing your financial management.
Required documentation, like an accounts receivable aging report, is crucial in evaluating your customers' financial reliability. This step is about understanding the entire financial landscape of your business relationships.
In this stage, you’ll discuss the specifics of your financial needs. How much do you plan to factor? What rates are you looking for? The terms depend on factors like your industry, business history, and customer credit risk.
The volume of invoices you factor is important. Generally, the higher the volume, the more favorable the terms you can negotiate.
Based on your application, we determine the suitability of factoring for your business. Post-
Factoring Company Benefits
Factoring: Your Gateway to Financial Freedom
- Redirect your focus from cash flow worries to growing your business empire.
- Eliminate the stress of loan repayments; access cash within days, not weeks.
- Stay in command of your business’s future.
- Reduce or say goodbye to the costs of chasing down payments.
- Master your cash flow by selecting the right invoices at the right time.
- Gain a financial edge over slow-paying clients.
- Use stable cash flow to amplify your production and sales.
- Take advantage of experts in payment collection and credit checking.
- Ensure your payroll is always funded and on time.
- Always have the funds to cover your payroll taxes.
- Unlock the power of bulk buying with available cash reserves.
- Strengthen your buying power for better deals and savings.
- Improve your credit score with consistent cash flow for bill payments.
- Have the necessary funds for ambitious business growth.
- Allocate sufficient resources for your marketing strategies.
- Improve the appearance and accuracy of your financial statements.
- Benefit from comprehensive reports on your accounts receivable for smarter financial decisions.
Is Factoring For You
The Importance of Factoring
"A sale isn't complete until the payment is received." Are you inadvertently acting as a bank for your customers? It’s time for a strategic reevaluation.
Analyze your accounts receivable. Notice the number of overdue accounts? This isn't just delayed payment; it's interest-free financing you're providing, which is probably not in line with your business strategy.
Your customers, if borrowing from a bank, would pay interest. However, in your case, you're losing out on both interest and the opportunity to use this capital effectively. What could you be achieving with this money if it were readily available?
By offering extended payment terms, you're unintentionally financing your customers. Consider the broader impact of this on your business's growth and take control of your receivables.
Factoring History
Factoring History
Welcome to the world of factoring. Whether you're a business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or seeking new financial tools for your current employer, factoring can help you achieve your financial goals. Surprisingly, factoring serves as the financial backbone for many successful American businesses.
The irony lies in the fact that factoring is rarely taught in business colleges, seldom mentioned in business plans, and remains relatively unknown to the majority of American businesspeople. However, it plays a crucial role in freeing up billions of dollars every year, enabling thousands of businesses to thrive and prosper.
So, what exactly is factoring? It is the process of purchasing commercial accounts receivable (invoices) from a business at a discount. In today's business landscape, offering credit terms to customers has become a common practice in order to secure business. However, these terms can strain the financial health of new or struggling companies, as cash flow is the lifeblood of any business.
Factoring has a rich and ancient tradition, dating back 4,000 years to the days of Hammurabi, the king of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia, often called the "cradle of civilization," contributed numerous advancements including writing, structured business codes, government regulations, and the concept of factoring.
Over time, various civilizations embraced factoring. The Romans, for example, were the first to sell promissory notes at a discount. In the American colonies before the revolution, factoring gained widespread documented use. The colonists relied on merchant bankers in London and Europe who provided funds in advance for shipping cotton, furs, and timber before they reached the continent. This allowed the colonists to continue their operations without waiting for payment from European customers.
It's important to note that these arrangements differed from modern banking relationships. If the colonists had relied on traditional banking services in eighteenth-century England, the process would have been much slower. Banks would have awaited payment from the European buyers before paying the colonists. This impractical process led to the emergence of factors in colonial times, who advanced funds against accounts receivable, enabling clients to continue their operations before receiving payment.
During the Industrial Revolution, factoring evolved to focus more on credit issues while preserving its core principle. Factors assisted clients in assessing the creditworthiness of their customers and establishing credit limits, thus guaranteeing payment for approved customers. This practice, known as non-recourse factoring, is common in today's business landscape.
Prior to the 1930s, factoring primarily occurred in the textile and garment industries, as these industries directly inherited the colonial economy's reliance on factoring. After the war years, factors recognized the potential to extend factoring to other industries that relied on invoices, leading to its expansion.
Today, factors come in various forms and sizes. They exist as divisions within large financial institutions, but more frequently as privately owned entrepreneurial endeavors. The rise of private factors surged in the 1960s and 1970s when interest rates soared to unprecedented heights. This trend continued in the 1980s due to increasing interest rates and changes in the banking industry. With banks becoming costly and inflexible due to heavy regulations (recall the Savings and Loan crisis), small business owners sought alternative sources of financing for their expansion and growth. As more banks distanced themselves from small business owners, factoring emerged as a popular option.
Each year, thousands of businesses sell billions of dollars in accounts receivable through factoring. They do so to achieve profitability, fuel growth, and, in some cases, ensure their very survival.
Credit Risk
Quick Continuous Cash: Expert Credit Risk Assessment Without Burning a Hole in Your Pocket!
Hey there! Evaluating credit risk is our bread and butter, and honestly, we're darn good at it. Bet you can't do it as well as we can, and guess what? We don't charge extra for it!
We're like your in-house credit department, but without the overhead costs. We handle the nitty-gritty of credit assessments for your new and existing customers, giving you an edge you won't find elsewhere.
Picture this: Your sales guy is chasing a big fish, so focused on closing the deal that he misses the red flags. You land the sale, but what if you don't get paid? With us, you don't have to worry about that. We've got your back in spotting those risky customers.
And hey, if you're eyeing a customer with iffy credit, you still call the shots. But remember, we might just have to say, "We told you so!"
Even if we pass on buying certain invoices, you're still in the driver's seat. You make the credit decisions, but with our input, they're smarter, sharper, and way more informed.
We do the heavy lifting in researching new clients and keep a close eye on your existing ones. Most businesses drop the ball here, but not us. We're always on alert, so you don't get blindsided by a bad credit situation.
On top of that, we dish out detailed reports on your entire accounts receivable. Imagine having all that intel at your fingertips. It's like having superpowers in financial management!
With 70+ years in this game, we're the pros you want on your team. Let's turn our expertise into your financial victory.
How To Change Factoring Companies
Changing Your Invoice Factoring Service Provider
Need-to-know info about switching invoice factoring firms.
Are you considering a different invoice factoring firm?
Are you dissatisfied with your current one?
Planning on ditching your current factoring firm?
What should I know before I switch factoring companies?
Here's a guide answering all these queries and more:
Understanding UCC and its role in switching factoring firms:
Usually, factoring companies file a general Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to secure their claim over the invoices they've funded.
The UCC helps factoring companies, banks, and lenders know who's lent money on which assets. As invoices change daily, factoring companies need to file a 'blanket' UCC that secures all your receivables, even if you're only factoring a part of your sales. This 'blanket' UCC acts as a signal to other lenders, showing a Security Agreement exists between you and the factoring company.
Your specific factoring details, like rates and which accounts are factored, are laid out in the Security Agreement, which is not publicly accessible. Essentially, a UCC works like a first mortgage on your business.
The Process of Switching Companies
The lender with the earliest UCC filing gets 'First Position' on the promised collateral. For instance, a factoring firm has first rights to collect payments on your invoices.
To switch factoring firms, the new factoring firm has to pay off the old one. At the same time, the old factoring company's claim is released, and the new company's claim is filed, similar to refinancing a house.
A 'buyout' is when the new factoring firm pays off the old one using funds from your first financing.
The Buyout Agreement details the transition process and is signed by the old factoring firm, new factoring firm, and your company. In this agreement, you agree to the 'buyout figure' provided by the old factoring company.
How is the Buyout Figure Determined:
The buyout figure is usually the total outstanding receivables minus any reserves and then plus any fees owed to the old factoring firm. It's a good idea to ask for a detailed breakdown of your figure to ensure you understand if there are any early termination fees or additional charges.
What does the buyout cost?
If you can provide new invoices to the new factoring company, which they can use to pay off the outstanding invoices at your old firm, then you wouldn't incur additional costs for the switch. However, most companies need to resubmit some of the invoices already factored with the old company to the new one. In this case, the 'overlap' invoices will incur fees from both factoring firms.
How long does a buyout take?
When you're switching factoring firms, plan for the first funding to take two to three more days than the normal setup process. The extra days will be used to verify the invoices and calculate buyout figures for your approval.
What if my situation is more complex?
Although it's not usual, the old and new factoring firms can collaborate via an Intercreditor or Subordination Agreement until the old firm is paid off. Depending on the situation, factoring firms have managed to 'draw a line in the sand,' where the old firm has rights to invoices up to a certain date, and the new firm has rights to all invoices after that date.
Questions you should have asked before signing up with your current factoring firm:
- Can I use multiple factoring firms at once? The universal answer is one, according to the Uniform Commercial Code/UCC.
- If I decide to switch factoring firms, how much notice do I need to give?
- What is the penalty for leaving without giving the required notice and can you provide an example of how the fees are calculated? Beware of 13-month contracts that require a certain monthly factoring volume.
For example, a 13-month contract where you've agreed to factor $100,000 per month at a rate of 3% means you promise to pay them $3,000 per month in factoring fees or $34,000 in total over the next year. If you want to leave after 6 months, they will charge you the fees for the remaining 6 months, which equals $13,000. This can be too expensive for most companies, especially those with low profit margins. You're stuck!
