Factoring Company Guide
First Step: Filling Out the Client Application
Start off by completing a basic client profile form that we'll provide. It'll ask for simple details like your company's name, location, what your business is about, and some info on your clients.
You might also need to provide documents like an accounts receivable aging report, or info on your clients' credit limits. Don't forget, we (the factor) are trying to gauge how creditworthy your clients are, beyond their payment history with your business. We're looking for a wider view of their overall credit health.
In this first step, we'll also discuss basic financial details. For instance, how many invoices do you want to factor each month (meaning, how much cash do you need quickly)? What will be the advance rate and the discount rate? And, how soon can we provide the advance?
Often, the answers to these questions depend on your clients' financial health and the expected monthly sales to be factored. Other factors can affect this too, like your industry, how long you've been in business, and your clients' risk profile. For example, if you have a lot of high-risk clients, you'll likely pay more in factoring fees than if your clients are slow-paying government bodies.
Remember, in the factoring business, volume matters. The more invoices you factor (the higher your volume), the better your rates will be.
We'll use the client profile you give us to determine if your business is a good candidate for factoring. Essentially, we're evaluating the risks against the rewards based on the information you've provided.
Once we give the green light, be ready to negotiate terms and conditions. This process takes into consideration various elements of the deal. For instance, if you're factoring $10,000, you won't get as good a deal as a company factoring $500,000.
During this negotiation, you'll gain a good understanding of what it costs to factor your accounts receivable. Once you've reached an agreement with us, the funding process gets underway. We conduct due diligence by looking into your clients' credit and any liens against your company. We also verify the authenticity of your invoice before purchasing your receivables and giving you the cash advance.
Factoring Company Benefits
Perks of Factoring Services:
- Devote more time to growing your business, rather than worrying about cash flow problems.
- There's no need to stress over monthly loan payments. You can get the money within two to four days.
- Enjoy full control of your business operations.
- Reduce or eliminate the costs that come with collecting payments.
- Exercise greater control over your cash flow by choosing the specific invoices to sell and the timing.
- Deal effectively with clients who are slow in paying their dues.
- Boost your business output and sales figures.
- Benefit from professional services for collection and credit checking.
- Ensure you can always meet your payroll needs.
- Settle your payroll taxes with ease.
- Offer cash discounts on your materials.
- Boost your buying power, which lets you enjoy discounts for bulk purchases or prompt payments.
- Better your credit score by consistently having enough cash to pay your bills on time.
- Have readily available cash for expanding your business.
- Allocate funds for marketing your business.
- Improve the look of your financial statement.
- Get comprehensive and detailed reports on your accounts receivable status.
Is Factoring For You
The Benefits of Factoring
Have you ever considered the advantages of factoring?
Factoring can provide numerous benefits for your business. Let's explore them:
Improved Cash Flow: Factoring allows you to access immediate cash by selling your accounts receivable to a factoring company. Instead of waiting for your customers to pay, you can receive a significant portion of the invoice value upfront. This infusion of funds can help you meet your financial obligations, pay your suppliers on time, and seize new business opportunities.
Elimination of Bad Debt: When you factor your receivables, the responsibility for collecting payment shifts to the factoring company. They assume the risk of non-payment, reducing your exposure to bad debts. This protects your business from the financial consequences of customers who fail to pay or become insolvent.
Focus on Core Operations: By outsourcing the accounts receivable management to a factoring company, you can free up valuable time and resources. Instead of chasing late payments, you can concentrate on core business activities, such as sales, production, and growth strategies.
Credit Risk Assessment: Factoring companies often conduct credit checks on your customers before purchasing your invoices. This assessment provides valuable insights into the creditworthiness of your clients, helping you make informed decisions about extending credit and minimizing potential risks.
Professional Collections: Factoring companies have expertise in collections and can employ professional strategies to ensure timely payment from your customers. Their dedicated teams will handle the collection process, allowing you to maintain a positive business relationship with your clients.
Flexible Financing: Factoring provides a flexible financing solution that grows with your business. As your sales increase, so does the amount of funding available to you. This scalability allows you to access the working capital you need to support your expanding operations.
Quick and Easy Process: Factoring is typically a streamlined and efficient process. Unlike traditional bank loans, factoring does not require extensive paperwork, collateral, or a lengthy approval process. The focus is primarily on the creditworthiness of your customers, making it a quicker and more accessible financing option.
Consider factoring as a strategic tool to optimize your cash flow, reduce risk, and focus on the growth and success of your business.
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: No-Cost Expert Credit Risk Assessment!
Credit risk evaluation is a pivotal aspect of factoring, and our proficiency in this area is a key differentiator. We offer this crucial service at no extra charge, acting as your in-house credit department for all customer transactions.
Consider the risk when a salesperson prioritizes a sale over credit health. This could lead to a transaction without payment. Our approach ensures that we make prudent credit decisions, rejecting invoices from customers with poor credit ratings.
While we provide expert credit assessment, the final decision on transactions is in your hands. We supply you with in-depth, unbiased credit information to enhance your decision-making process.
Our regular and thorough credit evaluations of your existing customers set us apart from the norm. This proactive approach is crucial in managing financial risks effectively.
You also gain access to detailed reports on your accounts receivable, offering strategic insights for your financial management and planning.
Leveraging our 70 years of experience in cash flow and credit management, we're poised to enhance your financial operations. Let our expertise contribute to your business's success.
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!
