What Makes A Business
Suitable For Factoring?
If you are small or medium sized business, you are often faced
with a very typical situation where you have money due from your
customers. These businesses will be paying you the amounts only
after 45 to 60 days. However, you also have your own set of payments
to make at certain dates, like salaries, bills to be paid, and rents
to clear.
For these payments, the money that your business requires may not
be readily available at hand or from your bank especially when large
amounts are due. Moreover, if your business approaches the banks
for finance the probability of getting a good loan is less, as your
business has no proven standing yet in the industry. As your company
is small or medium sized, you do not have the necessary credit ratings
built up over a period. You are yet to prove yourself a good business
proposition for the banks. They may not be ready to risk giving
you loan incase you default on the payments. This proves to be a
very difficult scenario for you. For your business to grow you need
finance and to get finance you need to be a big business. There
are tricky situations where you may not be able to grab some big
contracts because you do not have the finances in hand to show.
This is an excellent opportunity lost. In such a situation accounts
receivable factoring provides you a good option for financing your
business needs.
When you need working capital for running your business operations
and are unable to get finance from a bank, it comes as a relief
that you are eligible for financing from factoring companies. What
you have is some good asset like the invoices, which are receivable
from your customers. The factoring companies will provide you with
finance against the invoices that they buy from you. You need to
remember though that the creditworthiness of your customer is very
important when you are considering the factoring option. If your
customer has a good credit record then you will get finance at a
good rate. Generally, if you have contracts from government institutions
or big business you will get a decent rate. You may get up to even
90% of the invoice value. This is simple, since a customer with
a good credit standing will pay the amount due on the stipulated
date. The company does not stand to lose anything. Depending upon
what type of factoring, recourse or non-recourse option you have
you will be responsible to pay if the customer does not pay.
With factoring, the finances are timely when you have urgent need
for the money. This is helpful for you to keep the momentum going
when you are growing at a good rate. Improved cash flow means chances
to get new projects improves. New projects means new invoices for
further finance needs. If you have a good record with your initial
invoice factoring, you will find that the Factoring Companies are
ready to give you good financing options.
All those businesses that need finance urgently and are unable
to get it from banks as well as have late paying customers; invoice
factoring is a good option.
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