Invoice Factoring

Factoring is selling invoices to receive your money at the moment, instead of waiting for say, two to three months. That's why it is one of the most important finance management tools - especially for a small company that does not create debt. Factoring does not require you to give up any ownership in your company.

For carrying out any operation, finance is required. So, necessary finance is to be raised, allocated and controlled for the effective execution of any function. Success or failure of the firm as such depends on how effectively the finance part is undertaken.

The finance function is comprised of the determining and raising of necessary funds from appropriate sources and their proper allocation and control. The aim is to attain the enterprise objective of wealth maximization. The wealth or the value of the firm is at the maximum when the return or profit is also at the maximum. But with the increase in return the risk also increases. For example, holding less inventory may increase profit because a lesser amount is locked up in inventory, but this may increase the risk as the chance of running out of inventory is higher.

According to experts, factoring process has some distinct advantages. For example, unlike a loan, collateral is not required in the factoring process, there is no interest, and no debt shows up on your balance sheet. What's more, fees are paid in the form of a percentage discount, deducted after all of the invoices have been paid to the Factor. The discount amount depends on the length of time it takes to collect on the invoices.

Always keep capital budgeting and working capital on mind while understanding the finance management. Capital budgeting is the evaluation and ranking of investment projects with the aim of finding out the most suitable project from among alternative courses. On the other hand, working capital is the amount of capital required for the day-to-day running of the enterprise.

Factoring provides detailed information on factoring, credit card factoring, loan factoring, invoice factoring and more. Factoring is affliated with Invoice Factoring Discounting

Are you a Freight Broker? Learn if Factoring your Freight Bills can Help you Grow your Business

Running a freight brokerage can be very profitable. Although being a freight broker can be very rewarding, financially speaking, it can also be very challenging. Especially since drivers depend on you to pay them quickly. And many times, your clients make you wait 30 to 60 days before they pay you.

So you have a challenge. Your drivers want to get paid quickly but your clients want to pay slowly. The math doesn't work. Unless you have a nice cash cushion in the bank, paying your drivers will be a problem. And trying to get bank financing will get you nowhere. Banks always provide financing based on your past history. What if you are a new or expanding freight broker?

A better solution is to finance your freight bills through freight broker factoring. Freight factoring provides you with immediate money for your freight bills, giving you the necessary funds to pay your business expenses and most importantly - your drivers. And, as opposed to business loans, freight factoring is easy to obtain. While banks usually look at your past history to make their credit decisions, factoring companies look at your future potential. The main qualification requirement is that you do business with credit worthy clients that pay on time.

If you are a freight broker, factoring your freight bills may be a little bit different from traditional factoring. Most factors will team up with you to find a solution to pay your drivers on time, since this is essential. Others may even pay your drivers on your behalf, helping you handle back office tasks.

Freight broker factoring works as follows:

1. Once the freight has been delivered, you send copies of the documents to the factor 2. The factor advances you up to 100% (less fee) of the freight bill 3. You get immediate use of funds, while the factor waits to get paid 4. Once the client has paid, the transaction is settled

One of the big advantages of factoring is that it is easier to get than a business loan. And, as opposed to business loans, factoring financing grows with your business. The more you invoice, the more financing you qualify for.

About Commercial Capital LLC
Do you know how to find truck loads? Are you moving truck loads of cargo? We help finance freight brokers through our freight broker factoring program. For more information call Marco Terry at (866) 730 1922.

Learn How To Finance Your Healthcare Business With Medical Factoring

There are few bigger pains for healthcare industry professionals than having to wait 30, 60 or even 120 days to collect payments from insurance companies, HMOs and Medicare/Medicaid. The healthcare industry is riddled with complex billing, coding and processing rules that create very long payment cycles. This can be very difficult for medical offices, testing and diagnostic centers, medical supply companies, or any healthcare related business, for that matter. There are always many ongoing expenses that can?t wait. There is rent that needs to be paid, offices expenses that need to be covered, and payroll that must be met.

This situation creates a problem for most healthcare businesses. On paper, the business may look very profitable and seem to be doing well. But in reality, most of the money is tied up in slow paying invoices (also known as accounts receivable) with little cash to show for it in the bank.

When faced with tight cash flow, most healthcare professionals turn to their bankers. Medical doctors can usually qualify for signature loans or lines of credit. Other business professionals are not so lucky. In reality, a loan or line of credit may help you in the short term, but will not solve the main problem. Why? Well, loans are good for buying equipment or large capital expenditures, but not for covering recurring and ongoing expenses. A line of credit is a better solution, but they usually have fixed limits. What happens if the business grows past the limits of the line of credit? Many healthcare professionals usually find out, the hard way, that the bankers that were quite happy to extend the first loan or line of credit will not be so helpful at increasing it. Unfortunately, bankers absolutely hate it when businesses came back to the well for more money.

If you look at the problem at hand, you will soon realize that the perfect solution should have the following characteristics. First, it should be able to accelerate your insurance payments so that you can get them quickly rather than slowly. Second, the solution should be able to grow with your business. So, if your business grows its billings, the solution should be able to adapt the financing it delivers, seamlessly. Third, the solution should allow you to finance significant growth. Maybe three to five times your current revenues ? or more.

There is a solution that meets these criteria and is available to the healthcare industry. The solution is to factor your medical receivables using a financing tool called medical factoring. Medical factoring allows you to accelerate your payments from insurance companies, HMO?s or Medicare/Medicaid. It enables you to receive a substantial amount of your net collectables within days of billing, streamlining your cash flow dramatically.

Medical factoring, a specialty form of general factoring, allows you to sell your claims and receivables to a factoring financing company. The factoring company buys them ? at a small discount ? and pays you with immediate funds. The factoring company waits to be paid while you get to use the funds to meet business expenses. As opposed to traditional banking financial products, medical factoring has no arbitrary limits. You can factor or sell as much revenue as you can generate, making it the ideal financing tool for growth.

However, factoring is not the best solution for every situation. It works best in instances where your main challenge is that you cannot afford to wait to get paid in 60 to 120 days. It helps you meet ongoing and recurring expenses such as rent, payroll and lease payments. Medical factoring is an ideal solution for medical offices, rehabilitation centers, medical testing and diagnostic centers, medical supply companies and small to mid sized hospitals.

Invoice factoring Group can provide you with a medical factoring and medical receivables factoring quote for free at http://factoring.qlfs.com/html/medical_offices.html . Marco Terry, the president, can be reached at (866) 730 1922

What is Factoring and Invoice Discounting?

Factoring and invoice discounting (known as debtor finance) can dramatically improve your cash flow by releasing money as soon as you have completed an order and raised an invoice rather than having to wait for your customer to pay. This makes them ideal for funding growth. Because it's linked to sales, factoring or invoice discounting is ideal if your business does not have the financial track record or security available to negotiate sufficient overdraft facilities.

A key advantage is flexibility. The amount you can borrow grows in line with sales and it is often possible for you to repay bank facilities and release previously pledged security.

Typically, when factoring is set up you can borrow about 80% of the value of your approved invoices less than 90-120 days old. Thereafter, cash will be made available against invoices on a daily basis with the remaining 20%, less charges, once the value of the invoice has been collected. Once the system is established, the level of advance you receive against invoices depends on a number of issues, but can rise as high as 100%.

Once in place, there is no limit to the amount you can borrow as the finance is linked directly to sales. This is in sharp contrast to bank overdrafts, which require regular re-negotiation and arrangement fees.

The cost of such a facility is normally up to 3% over base rate for the money borrowed together with a service charge linked to gross turnover of at least 0.5% depending upon the level of annual sales, the number invoices raised and how many live accounts are on the sales ledger. Small addition charges are often made for extra services such as credit insurance.

John Courtney AIMC, MABS, MInstDis, is the managing director of Strategy Consulting Limited (http://www.strategyconsultinglimited.co.uk). Having trained at The Academy of Business Strategy, and is an associate of the Institute of Management Consultancy and a member of the Institute of Directors, he is also a visiting lecturer on the MBA course at Cranfield University School of Management and a Judge in The National Business Awards

Business Finance Expert Series: "The History of Factoring"

In conventional times factoring ( http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/factoring-glossary.html ) is one of the most sought- after method to improve the cash flow ( http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/cash-flow.html ) of a company. When a firm decides to its account receivables to a financial institution then it is termed as factoring. The factor then bears the credit risk for the accounts and finally receives the sum from the customers. It is among one of the most effective and efficient form of financing used these days. Factoring has been in existence since the beginning of trade and commerce. It can be traced back to the period of a Mesopotamian king Hammurabi. However, an extensive use of the concept began in American colonies before the revolution started. During those times raw materials like timber, fur and cotton were shipped from the colonies and before they reached the destination merchant bankers in London and other parts of Europe used to advance funds for the raw material. The practice was very beneficial to the colonists, as they didn't have to wait for the money to begin their harvesting again. Basic work of factors of colonial times is similar to factors of conventional times. They have the same job of making advances against the account receivables ( http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/accounts-receivable-financing.html ) in order to help them in continuing with their job even before they are paid for their sale. With the Industrial Revolution the concept of factoring got narrowed down to credit. In the 60's and 70's with an escalation of interest rates there was a surge in private factors. The trend strengthened in 80's with further increase in interest rates and changes in the banking industry. With various expenses and inflexible rules involved with banking, factoring is a safe and easy method for financial expansion and growth. Working capital arranged through factoring is an easy means to cover purchasing, operating and other pay roll costs and provides the much-needed freedom from varied book keeping functions like credits and collections. All these attributes have made 'factoring' a buzzword in the financing market. Learn more about http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/factoring-glossary.html

Howard Schwartz is a partner in several business strategy groups, including HJ Ventures International, Inc. Howard has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs worldwide with a focus on writing Business Plans for companies interested in raising capital from Venture Funds and Angel Investors. Howard's business plans have secured several million dollars in funding. For more information: http://www.hjventures.com/factoring/factoring-glossary.html

Factoring Volume Continues to Grow

Accounts receivable funding, also known as factoring, continued an upward trend in 2005 with volume exceeding $112 billion. This represented a 9.3% increase over the prior year, which is the strongest year to year growth rate since 2000. In fact, only 2001 was the only year in the past 20 that factoring volume did not rise. A/R funding continues to be an accepted part of financing, but according to the Commercial Finance Association’s Annual Asset Based Lending and Factoring 2005 Survey, two thirds of the volume came from the northeast and southeast parts of the country. The northeast is the major region for factoring volume with 42% of the total.

The survey indicated that only 5% of factoring volume came from the Midwest, which includes some highly populated states with a plethora of companies that typically use A/R funding. States in the Midwest included in the survey were Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri. Why are the totals so low for these states? One reason could be that Midwest firms typically become utilize more traditional means of financing, and are hesitant to look for alternatives when bank loans aren’t available. Another factor is that 59% of all ’05 volume was represented by the textile and apparel industries. Most of firms of this nature are located in the east.

Most factoring volume (72%) involved clients selling goods to retailers. Only 9% were service provider clients with the remainder (20%) being clients selling goods to anyone other than retailers. Clearly, even though factoring volume is increasing each year, there are still several industries that could benefit from using factoring as a financing tool.

Factoring is a largely a non-recourse, notification business. 80% of factoring was on a non-recourse basis. This means that if a customer doesn’t’ pay, the factor can’t come back to the client for payment (unless the non payment is the result of product disputes and liability or fraud). The majority (85%) of factoring was performed on a notification business. This arrangement requires clients to notify their customers that their accounts receivables have been assigned to a company and that payments should be remitted to the factor.

Kent Harlan, a CPA since 1984, has served as Financial Advisor and Consultant to several companies and author of numerous articles in the alternative finance arena. He is the owner of Ozarks Capital Funding, LLC, a company that focuses on providing a number of financial services, including factoring, equipment leasing, and healthcare financing. Website: www.ocflink.com email: kenth@ocflink.com

Factoring vs. Bank Loans

Is factoring a type of loan?

No. Even though invoice factoring is commonly referred to as “ factoring loans”, it is a financial practice involving a B2B transaction, but no bank. To further explain, account factoring, it is when a company, like Peacock Capital, purchases your accounts receivable invoices at a discount and provides you with immediate cash. A traditional bank loan uses your company’s accounts receivable as collateral, where account receivables factoring looks primarily at the financial soundness of your customers, not your company. Banks are regulated heavily; large finance companies generally are public and driven by pressures in the financial markets. When times are tough, banks and finance companies limit lending. A small business, too new to have a track record, with a weak balance sheet, with a history of financial problems, in turnaround mode or undergoing big changes, often cannot find a willing lender at any price. That is why factoring is best for small to mid-sized businesses.

Does a bank loan make more sense for my small business than invoice factoring?

No. Banks often have restrictive lending requirements relating to cash flow, profitability, equity, and years in business, which prohibit them from making loans to small to mid-sized businesses. Since factoring companies are not in the lending business and there is really no such thing as “ factoring loans”, the decision to purchase invoices is influenced primarily by the quality of your customer base and their financial stability, and not the financial fundamentals of your company.

Do I have to jump through the same hoops for account receivables Factoring as with bank financing?

No. All Peacock Capital needs to produce a proposal is a completed pre-approval form, summary of accounts receivable aging, summary accounts payable aging and some other basic financial information.

Do I have to be an established business operating a minimum number of years to start an account factoring relationship with Peacock Capital?

No. Peacock Capital prides itself on working with companies in all stages of business, including recently developed small to mid-size businesses. Even pure start-ups are usually not a problem for Peacock Capital. If your company has verifiable invoices and creditworthy customers, Peacock Capital will happily speak with you about an account receivables factoring relationship.

Are my receivables held as collateral while my company is factoring?

Yes. Peacock Capital requires a first position on all accounts receivable while you are factoring with us.

Does Peacock Capital require additional collateral when my company is factoring?

No. Within our traditional account factoring programs, a first position on accounts receivable is all that Peacock Capital requires while you are factoring. In some situations, Peacock Capital may take an available security interest in other company’s assets.

Afra AmirSanjari is the Principal for Peacock Capital. Peacock Capital specializes in solving the cash flow challenges of Small/Medium Businesses, Government Vendors and Individuals with innovative financial solutions by providing a network for securing operating capital.

http://www.peacockcapital.com; info@peacockcapital.com