How to Get Working Capital with Invoice Financing and Funding

Do you have clients that pay your invoices in 30, 45 or even 60 days? If so, then you are aware of how their slow can drain your working capital. Unless your company has a nice cash cushion in the bank, paying suppliers or even employees can become a problem.

Asking your customers to pay your invoices quickly will not help either. Paying invoices in 30 to 60 days is an industry standard. And, if you work with large or midsize companies, you’ll be expected to offer 30 days terms if you want to keep their business. There is no alternative.

So what can a business owner do? Going to the bank may help some, but not most. Before providing financing, banks will require that you provide them with three years of audited financials. They may also require that you have stellar personal credit. So if you cannot get a business loan, what other business financing options do you have?

Invoice financing, commonly known as factoring, is a option that is widely used by businesses, however it is virtually unknown to the general public. It gets your invoices paid in as little as 2 days, eliminating long payment periods. In the end, it provides you with predictable cash flow, enabling you to pay suppliers, employees and grow your business. An invoice financing transaction works as follows:

1. You deliver goods or services and invoice for them

2. You send a copy of the invoice to the factoring company, who advances you up to 85% as a first installment

3. You get the funds to meet business expenses

4. Once your customer pays for the invoice, the transaction is settled

The cost of factoring invoices, varies based on the commercial quality of your customers and the length of time that you need the money for. Generally speaking, the monthly cost will be between 1.5% and 3.5% for most accounts.

The big benefit of invoice factoring is that it is easy to obtain and can be set up quickly. On average, it takes about 5 days to obtain factoring financing. And once you get it, qualifying for line increases is very easy. All you need to do is increase your sales. Factoring is one of the few products that grows with your business.