Has Your Company Overlooked the business financing of receivables or Factoring as a Working Capital strategy?

Have you forgotten something? Perhaps it is just a case of overlooking or not knowing all your alternatives in business financing for working capital. Factoring receivables for cash flow is just one of those strategies that you may have missed, not heard about, or not fully understood or investigated.

Let's do a basic ' primer' on this somewhat unknown or mis-understood form of business financing. Many Canadian business owners or financial managers mistake factoring or the selling of your receivables as a ' loan '. That is not the case, it’s simply the case of monetizing or cash flowing your probably largest current asset, your receivables, and paying a financing charge, or discount fee for the service

In general approximately 90% of the value of an invoice is advance to you pretty well the same day that you issue your invoice. Your normal obligation is to provide some sort of proof of delivery or acceptance of that invoice related to your goods and services.

We're of the opinion that factoring receivables seems to be viewed as a small business financing tactic , but we can assure readers that some of the largest corporations in Canada utilize the tactic also - in some cases its simply jazzed up with a fancier name such as ' securitization' or financing via 'asset backed commercial paper ' , etc. So the big boys are doing it also! Don't forget that.

When clients talk about moving forward on this type of business financing the largest challenges seems to simply be their ability to understand pricing, pick the right firm to work with, and finally, to ensure that the daily flow of paperwork around this type of business financing makes sense . If the wrong factor partner is selected there are countless stories out there of firms who have experience a negative level of customer intrusion around the whole factoring receivables process. So choose your partner well, and probably the best info or advice we share in this regard is to seek the services of a trusted, experienced and credible business financing advisor who can steer you towards financing and cash flow success.

A common question related to our 'primer' on factoring (also called invoice discounting or receivable financing) is: ' Do we qualify '. The short and positive answer is absolutely, if you have receivables you qualify, that's what this form of business financing is about.

Many business owners or their financial manager’s struggle with the cost of this type of financing which typically is in the 1- 2.5% range in Canada. The bottom line on the costs is simply that they will vary relative to the size of your receivables, the perceived credit quality, and the type of firm you contract with in this regard. That’s where the help of a Canadian business financing expert can help you immensely. In fact more often than not that expert can demonstrate how you can significantly reduce the cost of financing receivables to almost zero in some cases, but certainly a reasonable amount in most situations.
So whats our primer summary on receivables and business financing via factoring. It’s simply that if you’re reading this you probably have a business financing challenge. A/R financing is a method to eliminate that challenge. Working hard on your financing is commendable; working smart on your financing with an expert is a must. Investigate the solution that will bring cash to your firm’s door tomorrow.