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Nowadays, every business needs finance. But at the same time, bad debt has become a stinging problem for the creditors. Many companies are faced with the high credit risk, so obtaining it can be one of the most difficult parts of running your business. So what is the solution for this problem?
You can see, there are so many types of business finance, including: bank loans, credit cards, leasing, even outsides investors, family and friend loans… But in my opinion, one of the quickest forms of low cost business finance is factoring, where you can get up to 85% of the value of your invoice immediately, and the remainder (minus the factoring company’s fee) after the money is collected. kFactoring is one of the best ways to get quick finance, improving your cashflow and allowing you to make the most of your sales without risking late payment.
What is factoring? You can image that just be simple to sell your invoice to a factoring company. You can get cash quickly, have a chance to access immediate funds, without having to wait for the customer to pay the invoice. You also don’t have to collect the debt. Because you transfer the mission to the factoring company. They get debt and have to collect it. Of course, you lose some of the value of the invoice. And the difference between the price it paid for the invoice and the money from the debtor is the factor’s overall profit.
They can provide money either with recourse or without recourse. This is particularly beneficial to those of you who are in a growth period and committing more working capital to customer credit debtors. There are three basically parties involved in factoring transaction. First, the seller of goods. Second, the buyer of goods. And lastly, the factor or factoring company. Three parties interact each other during the purchase of goods. And what about the history of factoring? In fact, it started centuries ago. It was used in England before 1400.
It appears to be closely related to early merchant banking activities. As time rolled on, factoring underwent several changes. The changes are brought about by technology, the organization of companies particularly air travel and non-face to face communications technologies starting with the telegraph, followed by the telephone and then computers…. The changes in the legal structures also influenced the changes in factoring rules. But in general, the purpose of it is as the same. Factoring is becoming popular tool to solve problems relating collection, delays recievables.
So what are the advantages of factoring over other types of finance? Time Saving ??? With factoring, you don’t waste too much time to chase debts, administer sales ledger. Instead that you can concentrate on the other major areas of your business and improve your efficiency. You can use this money to invest in stock, real estate… Cost – Naturally, one of the key considerations when thinking about factoring solutions is the amount it will cost. Obviously it will mean that profit margins are reduced when the factor’s service fee is taken into account.
However, factoring your invoices is still cheaper than using credit cards, overdrafts or many other forms of finance. Factoring also gives you set fees, whereas credit cards and overdrafts costs can build up if you keep using them and not paying them off in full. Speed ??? Factoring allow you to capitalise on your invoices with a minimum of delay. You can get up to 85% of the invoice within 24 hours, helping to maintain a good working cashflow rather than requiring you to wait 30/60 days for a customer to pay (If they pay on time! . This is particularly useful if you get a large order that requires you to spend on stock and production costs before you get paid; factoring allows you to accept the order with much less risk to your cashflow. Security ??? Factoring does not require you to use your home or business assets as security for the finance, as the money is secured on the sales you have already made. Bear in mind though that some factoring companies will not want to factor risky invoices; as they carry the risk rather than you.
Suitable for Businesses of All Sizes- One big advantage of factoring is that it is potentially suitable for businesses of all sizes; especially now there are invoice finance firms that are targeted at small businesses and their needs. The above listed advantage do not mean that the factoring operation are totally free from any limitation. Some of main limitations of such transaction are listed below: Reputation ??? Some less reputable invoice finance companies can damage your customer relations by being too aggressive in collecting factored invoices. However, you can avoid this problem by choosing a well known and reputable firm.
Control ??? Factoring reduces the control you have over your debts, as the invoice finance company collects them for you. However, this also means less work on your part. factoring can have a negative impact on the way a business operates. * The factor usually takes over the maintenance of the sales ledger. Customers may prefer to deal with the company it is trading with rather than a factor. However, if the factor’s techniques are clearly agreed beforehand, there will usually be no problem. * Factoring may impose constraints on the way to do business.
For non-recourse factoring, most factors will want to pre-approve customers, which may cause delays. The factor will apply credit limits to individual customers (though these should be no lower than prudent credit control would suggest). * The client company might only want the finance arrangements and yet it might feel it is paying for collection services they do not really need. * Ending a factoring arrangement can be difficult where the only exit route is to repurchase the sales ledger or to switch factors and that could cause a sudden shortfall in your working capital.