Invoice Factoring: Helping Temp Staffing Agencies Grow

 

When a temp agency is experiencing a cash flow problem, they generally have two options: the first option is to apply to a bank or other lender for a business loan, and the second is to use Invoice Factoring. In this article we'll take a look at why Invoice Factoring may be the best option.

 

Many companies who bill their clients have discovered that Invoice Factoring is a very effective way of addressing cash flow issues, and this is also true for temp staffing agencies. Typically, temp agencies don't get paid by their clients until such time as their job vacancy has been filled and the employee hired has actually commenced work, which means that it's very common for temp agencies to experience cash flow problems.

 

Any advertising required to successfully place job candidates is paid for by the temp staffing agency, meaning that they're not able to invoice their client until they've found a suitable candidate and the candidate has actually started work. So, the temp staffing agency must wait to get paid.

 

Why Invoice Factoring Works Well for Temp Staffing Agencies

 

Temp staffing agencies are typically paid per hour, with the amount due being based on the number of hours their placement has worked. Of course, during this time they still have to pay their own bills, and these might include rent, payroll, advertising costs, utilities, and so on. So, it's easy to see that this can put a big strain on a temp agency's cash flow.

 

Many expenses incurred by a temp staffing agency can't be put off, so the agency must be able to access cash straight away: their employees need to be paid on time, as do their rent and utility bills. All businesses require office supplies, so money must be available to keep the business running smoothly. In addition, temp agencies must have money on hand for advertising job openings. For all of these reasons, it's not either feasible or practical for a temp staffing agency to apply for a business loan, then sit, wait, and hope to be approved.

 

These businesses need money and they need it now; and that's why Invoice Factoring may be the perfect solution to their cash flow problem.

 

Explaining Invoice Factoring

 

When a business makes the decision to use Invoice Factoring in order to generate cash, their cash-flow problem can be resolved almost immediately. In many cases, the business can secure up to 92% of the value of their invoice within 24 hours! A word of caution though: if this is the first time the temp agency has worked with a factor it could take longer - somewhere between four and seven days.

 

Any temp staffing agency that's experiencing a cash flow crisis, or even agencies that only occasionally experience cash flow problems, should do as much research as they can to learn about factoring and how it might help their business grow. With this knowledge they can then consider Invoice Factoring as and when the need arises. Factoring really is the perfect way for a business to access cash money when it's most needed. In many cases, once a relationship has been established with the factor, the money will be delivered within 24 hours.

 

Cash When You Need It!

 

Of course one of the major bonuses of invoice factoring is that temp staffing agencies no longer need to worry about whether they will or won't qualify for a bank loan, because factoring will take care of their cash flow crisis. All they need to do is provide their chosen factor with the invoices they wish to sell, complete with the time-sheets for each employee, and the cash that's due and payable to them can be deposited into their bank account within 24 hours. Now, temp agencies will have no problems meeting their monthly obligations, and best of all, there'll be no need to take on new debt.

 

How Medical Staffing Helps The Medical Industry

 

Mary Henderson sat in her office, waiting for the phone to ring. Her job was a busy one, and she had stopped all her calls and shut her door five minutes before the phone conference was set to begin just to get some time for herself. The truth was she was stressed to her breaking point. Her company Med Staff needed to hire three new people to cover the demand of their clients. The problem was, they couldn't. They were short on funds.

 

Med Staff did temporary medical staffing. They employed LPN's, RN's, and a few others of the same ilk. Companies that needed nursing for a short amount of time paid Med Staff, and the nurses were sent over on short term contracts. Then they came back, and they were sent somewhere else.

 

A retirement home had contacted Mary two weeks ago, they were undergoing an expansion, and they would need temporary staffing until they could appoint permanent nurses to the shifts. Mary had known she didn't have enough people for this, but she took the contract on anyways, figuring she could hire people. There were always a number of nurses and technicians applying for work at Med Staff, and she knew it wouldn't be a problem to hire a few new people.

 

There had been a problem though. There simply wasn't enough money in the books to do it. The company was doing fine, but a quick expansion, even as small as three people, simply wasn't going to happen, not without help.

 

She had gone to the bank for a loan, but they had denied her. It seemed to Mary that the only people who could get loan money from a bank were the people who didn't need to do so. And then she had found something different, a website online about factoring. She had looked the site over, and set up the conference call.

 

The phone rang, she picked it up. "Hello?"

 

"Hi, is this Mrs. Henderson?! a cheery woman's voice asked over the phone."

 

"It is."

 

"Great! My name is Stacy, I'm going to help you today."

 

"Okay great.! Mary said.

 

"I'm looking over the form you filled out, it looks like your company temporarily staffs medical professionals?"

 

"Yes,! Mary said. "Nurses mostly."

 

"Great,! Stacy said. "And if you called me, it means you ran into a snag."

 

"I took a contract to fill five places in an expanding retirement community. I have two people available but needed to hire three more. Unfortunately, we just don't have that kind of money in the books right now. We have a few outstanding invoices yet to be paid, but until they come in, there's nothing I can do."

 

"Do you know how factoring works?! Stacy asked.

 

"Not really,! Mary admitted.

 

"Okay, well we don't look at your business credit, we look at your clients' credit. We know they have some time to pay bills, and we're interested to see if they can pay those bills. If they can, we become interested in helping you out, because we think all businesses should have a fair shot to make it, and sometimes things just don't work out."

 

"This is the first time it hasn't worked out,! Mary said. "And it's hard."

 

"I know. I hear about it every day. The cool thing about my job is I get to help fix it. So what we do, if we feel secure in our ability to help you, is we buy a piece of your accounts receivable. We aren't just loaning you money, we're basically becoming active in your business. That is you get the money you need right now, but we have an assurance that we get our money back, later down the road."

 

Mary nodded behind her desk, even though the other woman couldn't see her. She had never heard of factoring before she came across the site on the internet, but the way Stacy explained it certainly made sense.

 

The call continued, with Mary giving the information that Stacy would need. She promised to get back to her within a couple of days, and then they hung up. Mary went on with her work, and a day and a half passed.

 

Mary was at her desk when he phone rang then. It was Stacy.

 

"Good news,! she said as soon as Mary said hello. Mary couldn't help but smile as Stacy went on. "We're going to be able to help you out."

 

"You don't know how great it is to hear you say that,! Mary said.

 

"Believe me, I do,! Stacy said. "I get to say it more often than not, and I know that we're really helping good people, and good businesses."

 

"The bank, they couldn't do anything,! Mary said, she felt salty tears stinging her eyes as they welled there.

 

"They aren't built to help people like we are. They just want as much money as they can get. We want money too, because it's a business, but if you don't succeed, we don't succeed, and it's also important to us that we help people."

 

"So what's next?! Mary asked.

 

"Well the real answer is I fax some stuff over for you to fill out and sign, but the fun answer is your business gets the help it needs, and you keep going to work each day. Well, not the weekends."

 

Mary couldn't help but laugh. "Believe me,! she said. "I work plenty of weekends."

 

Stacy laughed as well, and then got the fax number she would need. Once again the women hung up and Mary let out a long breath as she sat back in her chair. She used a tissue to dab the tears from her eyes. She knew everything was going to be okay.

 

 

Everything You Need to Know about Invoice Factoring

 

You've probably heard about invoice factoring, but like many business owners you may not be entirely sure how it works or whether it could help your own business. In this article we'll try to answer all your questions about what invoice factoring is, how it works, and whether it could help you grow your business.The following definition of invoice factoring may sound too good to be true, but let's look anyway! "Invoice factoring is a viable alternative to bank financing and other traditional types of financing, but it's not a debt, and there are no strings attached." For anyone who's approached traditional lending sources for financing and been refused or left hanging for weeks or months, yes, this probably does sound too good to be true, but it's actually not! Invoice factoring can provide the working capital you need to help your business grow and prosper, so read on then decide for yourself.

 

How Invoice Factoring Works

 

With invoice factoring you no longer need to wait 60, 90, or even 120 days to receive payment from your customers, because invoice factoring converts these invoices into immediate cash in-hand. It's up to you to determine which invoices, and how many invoices, you wish to factor, following this simple process --

 

- Once you've been accepted for invoice factoring by your factoring company, you can begin submitting your unpaid invoices. These invoices must be for products that have been delivered or work that's been completed. The process to follow is to fax or email a copy of the invoice directly to the factor, while at the same time invoicing your customer as usual.- Within 24 hours you'll receive a cash advance from your factoring company. Your invoices will be verified by the factor and you'll receive a cash advance of up to 95% of the invoice, which will be paid directly into your bank account.- Now that you've received this cash advance, you continue on with your work while the factoring company works to collect on the invoice on your behalf. Your factor will be highly experienced in collecting on invoices, thus allowing you to do what you do best, which is to continue providing excellent customer service and focusing on other important aspects of growing your business.- It's entirely up to you how many invoices you factor and how many clients you choose for the factoring process. You may decide to factor all your invoices, or it may be that you have one client that's always late in paying and you'd prefer the factoring company to only collect on that one invoice. It's your decision!

 

The Benefits of Invoice Factoring

 

The major benefit of invoice factoring is that, as the business owner, you're controlling your cash flow. Of course, there are other advantages of using a factoring company which can help your business grow and prosper.

 

No. 1: Your Factoring Company Will Provide Background and Credit Verification

 

It's very important to the viability of your business that you work with reliable customers in fact, it's the only way to turn your sales into revenues and to develop a solid payment history. But, we all know just how expensive it can be to run background and credit checks, and this simple exercise can dig deep into your working capital.

 

No problem! These checks will be provided to you by your invoice factoring company at no additional charge to you, which will provide reassurance that you are in fact working with quality customers. It also means that any issues that may arise can be addressed before they negatively affect your company.

 

No. 2: Your Factoring Company Can Assist with Credit Building and Repair

 

Perhaps your business credit is not ideal, but the good news is that you could still qualify for an invoice factoring program. The benefit of invoice factoring for a business with less-than-perfect credit is that, not only will you have available cash to meet your daily operating costs, you'll also be able to rebuild your credit rating by paying down current debt. Factoring companies are also well-equipped to assist start-ups, so if you're just getting your business up-and-running, invoice factoring is the perfect way to maintain regular cash flow.

 

No. 3: Invoice Factoring Opens Your Business to Great Money-Saving Opportunities

 

With invoice factoring, your business can utilize this rejuvenated cash flow to not only save money by offering competitive rates, but you'll now be able to negotiate early pay discounts and other incentives with your suppliers. And, depending on how many invoices you decide to factor, you could eventually qualify for a reduction in rates by receiving a volume discount.

 

No. 4: Invoice Factoring Provides Steady Cash Flow

 

In order for any business to grow and prosper it's vitally important to have a steady cash flow. And that's the beauty of invoice factoring: instead of late-paying customers controlling cash flow, the business owner regains control of the working capital. Perhaps you're simply tired of waiting for invoices to be paid, or maybe you're in an industry with seasonal fluctuations; whatever the reason you're struggling with cash flow, invoice factoring can help you regulate and take control of your business once again.

 

No. 5: Invoice Factoring Allows You to Dream Big Again!

 

Having a steady business is one thing, but having a growing business is what every business owner dreams of. Now that you've been accepted for invoice factoring and you have a steady cash flow, there are many ways you can use this cash to grow your business.

 

- You can increase your marketing efforts and get your name out there;

 

- You can negotiate bigger and better contracts with bigger clients;

 

- You can invest in technology upgrades;

 

- You can employ experienced personnel, or provide training programs for existing staff;

 

- You can upgrade or replace outdated equipment; and

 

- You can relocate your business or invest in expansion.

 

No. 6: Invoice Factoring Is Not a Debt to Your Business

 

It's very important to note that invoice factoring is not a debt, so there will be no more debt added to your balance sheet. In fact, it's exactly the opposite, because invoice factoring provides cash in-hand, so you can pay off old debts. The money is already yours, so there's no money to pay back or interest to add on. All invoice factoring does is get money that's owed to you into your bank account - faster.

 

I've Never Heard of Invoice Factoring

 

 

Many businesses know very little, or nothing at all, about invoice factoring, which is strange because invoice factoring is certainly not new. Perhaps it's because we typically think of bank loans and other traditional types of lending when looking to grow our business; however, factoring goes right back to the Roman Empire. Back then, businessmen, particularly farmers, used factors to grow their business, and in more modern times factoring was used to finance transactions in the clothing and textile industry, helping businesses accept larger purchase orders and pay for raw materials. Today, invoice factoring is used by almost every industry you can think of, like -- - Construction

 

- Transportation

 

- Medical

 

- Staffing, HR

 

- Consulting

 

- Engineering

 

- Media and Marketing.

 

Understanding the Language of Invoice Factoring

 

Invoice factoring does appear to have its own language, so let's clarify some of the terminology --

 

- Your customers are known as Account Debtors.

 

- The report showing the total amount of unpaid receivables in addition to the amount of time they've remained unpaid is known as an Accounts Receivable Ageing Report.

 

- The two terms Invoice Factoring and Accounts Receivable Factoring can be used interchangeably because they mean the same thing.

 

- The percentage of the invoice charged by the factor as a fee for advancing funds is known as the Discount Rate.

 

- When your factor conducts background research to assess potential customers this is known as Due Diligence.

 

- The cash that's advanced to the business, typically within 24 hours and usually ranging between 80% and 95% of the total invoice amount, is known as the Factoring Advance Rate.

 

- The third party who connects a business with the right factoring company, to meet their business goals and needs is known as a Factoring Broker.

 

- The right to maintain possession of property until such time as a debt has been discharged is known as a Lien.

 

- It can occur that a customer fails to pay their invoice on time, or they may never pay their invoice. Non-Recourse Funding is where the factor assumes full responsibility for funds lost. Because the factoring company accepts this responsibility, non-recourse funding is therefore more expensive.- With Recourse Funding, your business will be required to buy back the receivables if your client fails to pay within the agreed-upon terms.

 

- The amount of money withheld by the factor until full payment has been received from your customer is known as the Reserve.

 

- Staffing companies may choose to enter a one-time agreement in order to factor a single invoice. This is known as Spot Factoring.

 

How Does Invoice Factoring Affect Your Customers?

 

It's important to point out here that your factoring company is not a collection agency and that factoring is not a bad thing. The aim of your factoring company is to maintain a good working relationship with both you and your customers, which means that your customers will receive great customer service. Both you and your factoring company have one common goal, and that is to ensure the payment process of your invoices is as seamless as possible. See below for how factoring typically works --

 

- You've decided to start factoring, so the first step is for your Account Manager to verify with your debtors that they are indeed your customers and to inform them of a change of address for remittances.

 

- Your customers must pay their invoices anyway, so a change of remittance address should not affect them in any way.

 

- Your account manager is a professional when it comes to collecting on invoices, so they will simply advise your clients that they will be managing your invoices in future and taking over your accounts receivable.

 

- And that's all there is to it! Nothing should change between you and your customers. They'll still receive an invoice from you; but their payment will now be sent to a new Post Office box. Your Account Manager will always be on hand to resolve any issues that may arise.

 

How Do I Choose the Right Invoice Factoring Company for My Business?

 

When you start looking for factoring companies you'll discover that there are many different companies out there, but they're certainly not all the same.

 

When making comparisons we suggest you consider the following points --

 

1: Factoring Fees

 

It's true that factoring fees can be more expensive than traditional bank loans, but sometimes the decision businesses are faced with is to simply have access to some working capital or have no working capital at all. What should you be aware of? You need to know the overall factoring cost, in addition to any smaller (or hidden) fees your factor may charge. These fees might include --

 

- Account Setup Fees

 

- Application Costs

 

- Credit Reports

 

- Costs to Research Liens

 

- Money Transfer Fees, or

 

- Last-Minute Funding.

 

Choose a factor that you believe you can trust and one that you feel completely comfortable with; because you're also looking for great customer service. Remember also that factors may charge for different things, and there may be hidden fees.

 

2: You Need Flexibility, so Carefully Check Your Proposed Contract

 

It's very important that you carefully read the fine print of your contract, prior to signing on the dotted line. It would be so disappointing to sign a factoring contract only to realize that you didn't completely understand the terms and now you're locked into a contract that's not clear on how the factoring company charges or how many invoices you can factor per month - or even worse - that you're now legally bound to this factoring company for the long term. Yes, long-term factoring contracts do exist, but be prepared to pay a lot of money if you try and break the contract. Make sure you know exactly how long you're signing up for, which of your clients are eligible for factoring, and how much per month you can factor.

 

3: With Invoice Factoring, Communication Is Key

 

Great customer service is very important with any business, and the most important part of great customer service is good and easy communication. And now we're talking about dealing with a company that's handling your money, so you can see how important good communication is! The last thing you need from a factoring company who's handling your money is being forced to wait for days for someone to respond to your phone call or email communication. Any factoring company you talk to is going to say their communication and customer service is really great - but be very cautious. How well did your potential factoring company respond to your initial queries? Then ask yourself: is that how you'd want them to deal with your customers? Remember there are plenty of factoring companies out there, so if the answer to these questions is not an unequivocal ‘yes', then find someone else.

 

4: Look for a Factoring Company That Has Industry Expertise

 

Yes, there are factoring companies out there that cover general factoring, but ideally, you'll choose someone who specializes in your own industry; someone who has a good working knowledge of the type of business you're running. Once you start looking for the right factoring company for your business you'll see that there are many factoring companies that specialize in specific industries, which means they already know a lot about your business model. And, if they have a lot of expertise, they'll probably be able to offer specific programs that relate to your industry, like fuel cards, or back-office support. These little extras can be just what you need when deciding whether or not to factor your invoices.

 

 

Small Business Invoice Factoring: The Clever Choice!

 

Many small businesses are discovering invoice factoring and quickly realizing this was a very smart business choice! Why? Because small business invoice factoring converts receivables into immediate cash!

 

The Ideal Alternative to Traditional Bank Loans

 

Small businesses are discovering that invoice factoring is the perfect, and much easier, alternative to traditional funding sources, like bank loans and cash advances. Any small business who sells to the government or other companies can use invoice factoring to enjoy the many benefits of accessing immediate cash flow. Whether you've applied for traditional funding and been refused or applied and are still waiting to hear if you've been accepted, keep in mind that small business invoice factoring is a very viable option for you.

 

How Does Invoice Factoring Work for Small Businesses

 

One of the major benefits of small business invoice factoring is that it's the credit worthiness of your customers that determines the funding decision. This means that if you're a business who sells to the government or other businesses with good credit, you're the perfect candidate for small business invoice factoring.

 

Applying for invoice factoring is a very simple process, and you certainly won't be forced to wait weeks, even months, for a decision as you would with traditional funding sources.

 

Why Small Businesses Are Choosing Invoice Factoring

 

Many businesses are only just learning about invoice factoring, even though factoring has been around for a long time. Any business owner who has applied for a bank loan knows only too well that, to start with, the application process can take months, and secondly, there's still no guarantee you'll be approved for finance.

 

According to the Small Business Administration, in the first quarter of the year 2015 small business loan approval rates at banks were 22%, and at credit unions it was 43%. The limit on business credit cards is often capped at less than $100,000, which is often not sufficient to cover unexpected expenses or large projects.

 

Invoice Factoring: The Smart Alternative to Traditional Lending

 

Today, small business invoice factoring has become the smart alternative for many business owners because factoring provides an immediate cash advance, with no restrictions placed on the money received. It's also important to note that factoring is not a debt, which means there are no limitations on how you choose to use the funds received.

 

Yes, small businesses can access quick money with a merchant cash advance, but there's always a high cost involved. You'll soon discover that the cash advanced will cost your business more than 70% effective annual interest. Alternatively, cash advance lenders demand daily repayments with full payment due in just a few months. The demand for daily payback can destroy a small business, but sometimes business owners are left with no choice.

 

So, let's take a quick look at just some of the benefits of small business invoice factoring, and once you read through this list we're sure you'll think of more benefits to your own business.

 

With this immediate cash advance you'll be able to --

 

- Employee new staff members

 

- Easily meet payroll

 

- Accept larger orders from bigger customers

 

- Invest in marketing and sales

 

- Expand manufacturing and production

 

- Your business will be able to weather cash flow cycles and seasonal sales periods

 

- Pay down any existing debt

 

- Take advantage of early pay discounts from your suppliers (these discounts often cover your factoring fees)

 

- Extend your customers' payment terms

 

- Provide a smooth cash flow to support daily business operations

 

- Overheads are lowered due to reduced administration expenses

 

- Your business will be self-financed during rapid growth periods, without having to give up equity.

 

As you can see, the benefits of small business invoice factoring are many and varied, so why not contact us today and let's talk business!

 

 

Medical Factoring: Healthcare Professionals Choose Medical Factoring As Their Preferred Financing Option

 

Healthcare professionals are finding that business loans and commercial lines-of-credit are becoming more difficult to qualify for, so today we're seeing more healthcare professionals looking to medical factoring to alleviate cash flow problems. All types of medical and healthcare practices can benefit greatly by choosing to factor their receivables and thus receive immediate cash payments.

 

In the past, healthcare has typically been a resilient industry, but today we see this industry facing financial challenges that leave practices struggling to meet their own financial commitments. Cash flow was virtually a non-issue for medical facilities, professionals, and their suppliers, but today with Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies working with strict reimbursement guidelines, professionals are forced to wait much longer than they previously waited to receive payment on their invoices. In addition, complicated documentation and billing requirements are resulting in fewer dollars and longer waiting periods.

 

Financial Difficulties Experienced by Healthcare Professionals

 

The above issues are creating serious problems for a large number of medical providers who not only must wait longer to get paid less money, but who are also forced to deal with growing operating expenses, including salaries and other benefits. Operating under these unsure conditions means that the viability of these businesses is being threatened and it's become almost impossible for them to pursue new growth opportunities. Today, a medical practitioner operating a relatively small practice could have receivables of up to $1 million tied up!

 

Any business that's confronted with cash flow problems will typically look to banks or other lenders for a loan. Offering the business a loan or line-of-credit can certainly be very helpful in the short term, but unfortunately neither of these products are an ideal financing solution because neither will permanently solve the real problem.

 

A business loan may be ideal for fixed capital purchases, but it's no solution at all for handling recurring business expenses. A line-of-credit can certainly be very helpful, but because it will have a credit limit and a fixed term it won't provide a renewable source of business capital. Once the credit limit has been reached or the term of the line-of-credit expires, the lender may either increase the credit limit or perhaps not renew it at all. It's a sad fact that, today, many healthcare professionals are finding themselves in this unfortunate situation.

 

Finding the Ideal Medical Financing Solution

 

The perfect financing solution would be one that's flexible and one that would provide a steady and reliable source of working capital. It would grow with the healthcare business, without the need to re-apply or having to approach a bank for an increase in the credit limit. In short, this perfect financing solution would provide working capital to finance both the current and future growth of the business. So, is there such a solution? Fortunately, yes there is! It's called medical factoring.

 

Explaining Medical Factoring

 

Medical factoring is a receivables factoring program designed exclusively for medical invoices. Because factoring medical receivables can be quite challenging, many factoring companies today are specializing only in the healthcare industry. It does require a certain amount of expertise to manage the medical claims process; plus, it becomes even more challenging when many healthcare receivables are either reduced or denied altogether by insurance providers.

 

What Types of Business Can Use Medical Factoring?

 

Many business owners are surprised to learn that factoring in general has been around for a long time. Medical service providers, in particular, seem to be completely unaware of the existence of factoring. The truth is that invoice factoring has become one of the most flexible and powerful business financing tools available today.

 

Many healthcare providers can benefit greatly from choosing medical factoring. Below we've listed just some of the healthcare service providers who can achieve huge benefits from a medical factoring program.

 

- Hospitals

 

- Medical Centers

 

- Physicians: Both Specialists and General Practitioners

 

- Outpatient Clinics and Facilities

 

- Medical Staffing Services

 

- Medical Labs

 

- Dialysis Facilities

 

- Home Healthcare Providers

 

- Physical Therapy Clinics and Groups

 

- Rehabilitation Centers

 

- Medical Equipment Providers

 

- Medical Labs, and

 

- Many More

 

What Are the Benefits of Factoring Medical Receivables

 

The benefits to healthcare professionals are very similar to the benefits enjoyed by many businesses in many other industries. They include -

 

- Faster (almost immediate) payment;

 

- Increased percentage of billings collected;

 

- Consistent cash flow;

 

- Access to debt-free working capital;

 

- Stress-free outsourced accounting and collection; and

 

- Being able to improve your business credit.

 

Medical Practices Can Depend on Factoring for Reliable Cash Flow

 

Medical factoring is an excellent financing alternative for medical practices because practices receive consistent and flexible financing which is directly tied to their insurance claims. This means that the financing will increase as more claims are filed. It's highly desirable for all medical practices to achieve a scalable and reliable cash flow, thus ensuring sufficient liquid business capital to cover operating expenses.

 

And with medical supply companies the situation is very similar. Depending on the volume of sales these companies can achieve fast and predictable business financing by signing up for a medical factoring program. And, as sales continue to grow so does the amount of financing, providing the much-needed working capital required to both grow and maintain business operations.

 

Medical Receivables Factoring for Smaller Medical Offices

 

Medical factoring is especially beneficial for smaller medical offices. Office overheads and staffing expenses can be dramatically reduced because the factoring company will take control of the more tedious and time-consuming administrative work involved in collections and processing claims. This frees up remaining staff members to concentrate on delivering excellent medical care. If you're a small medical practice and you have good growth prospects but a slow cash flow, receivables factoring could well be the ideal tool to assist in financing the growth of your business. You'll find that many factoring companies have minimums, and there are factoring companies prepared to finance a medical office billing just $50,000 per month.

 

Explaining How Medical Factoring Works

 

In simple terms, if a healthcare business is dependent on third-party payors, those payments will be accelerated with medical factoring. Within just days of the initial billing, the majority of the amount billed will be deposited directly to the business's bank account. The instant rewards are a dramatic shortening of the collection cycle and the elimination of cash flow problems for the business concerned.

 

Importantly, receivables factoring is not a loan, so there are no credit or financial requirements; there will be no impact to your balance sheet and there are no arbitrary limits. Medical factoring is the ideal financing tool for business growth because you can factor as much billing as your business is capable of generating.

 

How Long before My Business Is Accepted for Factoring?

 

With medical factoring there are no lengthy delays, certainly not like when applying for bank finance! A medical factoring program will usually take around two weeks to set up. This timeframe allows the factor to determine the stability of the medical practice and to ensure the reliability of its third-party payors. Then, once a medical factoring program is in operation, the financing will be predictable and constant. Once claims have been submitted to the medical factoring company, claims are typically funded within 48 hours.

 

The process of medical factoring is very simple, as follows -

 

 

- Your medical practice periodically submits billings to Medicaid, Medicare, and insurance companies. At the same time, copies of these billings should be forwarded to your factor.

 

- Within 48 hours of receiving a copy of these billings, the factor will deposit an advance of up to 85% of net collectables into your bank account. The balance will be held by the factor until such time as the account has been paid in full.

 

- Once the factoring company has received payment in full, the balance of the billings - less the agreed-upon factoring fee - will be remitted to you.

 

Medical Factoring Fees

 

Medical factoring fees vary depending upon the size and types of claims generated by the medical practice. It's not known why medical factoring today is not as widely known as it is in other industries; however, interest in this type of financing is now becoming more popular and widespread as business owners are beginning to understand the many financial and other benefits of medical factoring.

 

Medical factoring in the healthcare industry is fast becoming a widely accepted tool to resolve shortfalls in working capital financing and as a long-term solution for patient accounting support and medical financing. It's certainly a tool that healthcare businesses should give careful consideration to because cash flow problems can stall growth and prosperity in businesses of all sizes and types.

 

About Invoice Factoring

 

Perhaps you've heard about Invoice Factoring but you're not sure how it works or how it might help your business. The purpose of this post is to provide a clear explanation of what Invoice Factoring is and how it works.Basically, Invoice Factoring is a viable alternative to traditional financing methods, providing your company with fast access to working capital. There's no large debt to repay and there are no strings attached. It probably sounds too good to be true, but we can assure you it's not! Invoice Factoring has become a lifesaver to many businesses, so let's go into this a little further to see how Invoice Factoring might help your business go from just so-so to really great!

 

How Invoice Factoring Works

 

A very brief definition of invoice factoring is that it converts your open invoices into immediate cash, which of course sounds perfect if you're experiencing a cash flow problem. Factoring saves you from having to wait the 60 or 90 days (sometimes even more) for payment by your customers. With invoice factoring you have the flexibility to factor whichever invoices you want and however many invoices you need, to ensure you have enough cash on hand to grow your business.

 

The following is a short description of how the process works --

 

Once you and your chosen factoring company have reached an agreement and set up your account, you're now free to begin submitting copies of your unpaid invoices to the factoring company. These invoices must be for products that have been delivered or for work that's been completed. With invoice factoring you simply continue invoicing your customers as usual, then fax or email a copy of the invoice directly to your factoring company.

 

Now here's the good part! You'll receive a cash advance within 24 hours! Once the factor has verified your invoices, a deposit of as much as 95% of the value of the invoices will be deposited directly into your bank account.

 

You continue working as per usual, and the factoring company works to collect on your accounts. It's now your factor's responsibility to engage in the active collection of these accounts, thus allowing you more time to focus on the big stuff, like providing your customers with excellent service and continuing to grow your business.

 

As a customer of the factoring company you can repeat this process with as many different clients as you want and as many times as you want. You may choose to factor all of your clients, or just the clients that are known for being slow-paying clients. The choice is yours!

 

The Benefits of Invoice Factoring

 

Once you're working with an invoice factoring company you'll have control over your cash flow, and more importantly, you'll have a working relationship with your factor that will help your business grow in lots more ways. Let's take a closer look at some of the ways a factoring company can help you grow your business -- Credit Checks and Background Verification

 

It's important to all businesses that they work with honest, reliable customers; customers who have a solid payment history. Sales must be turned into revenue as quickly as possible. However, we know that credit checks and background verifications can be very expensive and these costs very quickly eat away at your working capital. Now, it will be your invoice factoring company who provides these checks for you, at no additional charge. This means that any issues will be addressed before they affect your business, thus ensuring that you're working with top-quality customers.

 

Credit Repair and Credit Building

 

Even if your business credit is less than perfect, you can still apply for a competitive invoice factoring program. The benefit of this to the business owner is that, not only will factoring your open invoices cover your daily operating costs, it will also help pay down any current debt in order to rebuild your credit rating. The good news is that start-ups also qualify for invoice factoring so, if you're just getting your business off the ground, factoring is the ideal financing alternative to help you hit the ground running.

 

Other Money Saving Opportunities

 

Invoice factoring can certainly save your company money, and it's not only with competitive rates. By negotiating with your suppliers for early-pay discounts or other payment incentives, you'll soon discover new ways of putting your rejuvenated cash flow to good use. And don't forget that, depending on how much you factor, you could well qualify for a volume discount, and this will further reduce your rates.

 

Steady and Consistent Cash Flow

 

When you begin factoring your invoices you'll be able to regain complete control of your working capital. Whether you're simply tired of waiting up to 90 days for money that's owed to you, or perhaps your business is subject to seasonal fluctuations, either way, invoice factoring is the ideal method for regulating your cash flow.

 

Now You Can Start Dreaming Big!

 

You may have become used to business being steady, but with invoice factoring you'll have the opportunity for business growth in many new ways .

 

o You'll be able to attract larger clients, with better contracts;
o Increased business marketing efforts;
o New technology investments, or upgrades;
o The ability to employ more staff;
o Training and further education programs for existing staff;
o Relocation of your business, or site expansion.

 

Finally, No More Debt!

 

One of the most attractive things about invoice factoring is that it's not like a traditional loan: it won't add additional debt to your balance sheet. In fact, it's actually the opposite; because Invoice Factoring provides you with the extra cash you need to be able to settle old debts. With factoring, it's already your money so there's no money to pay back and no interest to pay. All factoring does is help you get your money into your bank account - quicker!

 

Why Haven't I Heard of Invoice Factoring Before?

 

This is a question a lot of business owners ask. Invoice factoring certainly isn't new, but maybe it's just been overshadowed in the past by bank loans and other types of business investments. The fact is that factoring goes right back to the days of the Roman Empire, where factors assisted businessmen (usually farmers) in growing their business. Then, later, it was used in the textile and clothing industry to help pay for raw materials, to finance transactions, and accept larger purchase orders. Today, invoice factoring is used by many different types of industries, such as:

 

-- Construction
-- Transportation
-- Medical
-- Staffing, HR
-- Consulting
-- Engineering
-- Marketing/Media

 

Becoming Familiar with Factoring Terminology

 

Don't be discouraged because you don't understand factoring terminology. See below for an explanation of general factoring terms :

 

-- Account Debtor:
An account debt or is your customer.

 

-- Accounts Receivable Ageing Report:
This is the name given to a report which shows the financial figure of unpaid receivables, in addition to how long they've remained unpaid.

 

-- Accounts Receivable Factoring; also known as Invoice Factoring:
These two terms can be used interchangeably because they mean exactly the same thing.

 

-- Discount Rate:
This refers to the percentage of the invoice charged by the factor as a fee for advancing funds.

 

-- Due Diligence:
This refers to the background research carried out by the factor to determine potential customers.

 

-- Factoring Advance Rate:
This rate is a percentage of the invoice that's advanced within 24 hours to the client -- this figure is generally between 80 and 95% of the total amount of the invoice.

 

-- Factoring Broker:
A factoring broker is a third party whose position is to connect business owners with appropriate factoring companies in order to meet the business's goals and needs.

 

-- Lien:
The right to retain possession of property until a debt has been discharged.

 

-- Non-Recourse Funding:
Most businesses have experienced customers who fail to pay their invoices within the agreed payment terms, or worse, the invoice is never paid at all! Non-Recourse Funding is when the factor assumes all responsibility for unpaid invoices. Because the factoring company is accepting the risk, Non-Recourse Funding is more expensive than Recourse Funding.

 

-- Recourse Funding:
With Recourse Funding, your company must buy back the receivables if your client fails to pay within the agreed payment terms.

 

-- Reserve:
This is the amount of the Accounts Receivable retained by the factor until such time as full payment has been made by the customer.

 

-- Spot Factoring:
This refers to a one-off agreement that offers staffing companies the ability to factor just one single invoice.

 

Your Customers, and Factoring

 

It's important that we point out here that factoring is not a negative thing, and your factoring company is definitely not a collections agency. In fact, it's important to your factoring company that they maintain good relationships with both you and your customers, and it's their aim to provide the best customer service possible. It's in your factoring company's best interests that the factoring process works as smoothly as possible.

 

The following will give you a general idea of how factoring works :

 

-- Once you've made the decision to start invoice factoring, your dedicated account manager will start by verifying that your debtors are indeed customers, in addition to advising them of your new remittance address. It's important to remember that it makes no difference to your clients where they send their payment: they know their invoice must be paid, so this is simply a change of address for payments.

 

-- Your factoring account manager will be very experienced and will assure your clients that they'll be well taken care of, and that the factoring company will be managing your invoices in future by taking over your accounts receivable. And that's all there is to it! Nothing will change between your company and your customers: you'll still invoice them as usual, and they'll simply forward their payment to a new Post Office box. Your account manager will be available to help if any problems should arise.

 

What You Should Look For in a Factoring Company

 

Once you start doing your own research you'll discover that there are many factoring companies out there, but they're definitely not all equal. The following are points to consider when comparing factoring companies:

 

-- Fees
As we've explained, factoring is a little more expensive than a traditional bank loan, but some small businesses don't qualify for a bank loan, so being able to achieve some working capital is better than none at all. Do your research, and make sure you understand the overall cost of factoring, in addition to the extra smaller fees that may be charged by your factor. These extra fees may include account set-up fees, application fees, credit reports, costs to research any liens, charges for last-minute funding, or for money transfers. Not all factors charge these extra fees, and not all factors have hidden fees, which means that it's very important that you choose a factor you're comfortable with and one that you can trust.

 

-- Flexibility
This is a very important aspect of factoring, and one we can't stress enough. Make sure you very carefully read the fine print of your factoring contract! If you start working with a factoring company and then realize that you're locked into terms that don't suit your own particular circumstances, you're going to be extremely unhappy. These unsatisfactory terms might include how much you're able to factor each month, or being tied to a specific factoring company for the life of your business. If you sign up for a long-term contract, then change your mind, it's going to be a very expensive exercise trying to get out of the contract. Don't let this happen to you! Be very clear on how much you can factor each month, which clients are eligible for factoring, and how long you're signing up for.

 

-- Communication
At one point or another we've all had to deal with a business with poor communication skills, and we probably all agree that it's extremely frustrating. So, imagine a business with poor communication skills that's also handling your money! Naturally, when it comes to your business and your money, you need someone that's going to immediately respond to your inquiries. All factoring companies are going to say their customer service is second-to-none, but be very cautious here. Pay close attention to when and how your potential factoring company responds to your calls and emails, because this is how they'll be responding to your customers. If you're not 100% happy then move on to another factoring company, because there are certainly plenty to choose from!

 

-- Industry Expertise
Remember that there are many factoring companies out there servicing many industries, so you should be looking for one that services your own industry. Ideally, you'll choose a factoring company that specializes in your niche, which means that they'll already understand a lot about your business. The bonus of using a factoring company with industry expertise is that they may also offer programs specific to your industry, such as fuel cards and back-office support. It's these extras that may prove very beneficial when making your final decision on a factoring company.

 

 

Payroll Funding: The Perfect Solution for Financing a Temp Staffing Agency

 

Many people run very profitable temp staffing agencies. Today's business environment lends itself very nicely to outsourcing employees instead of hiring them; thus providing staffing agencies with very attractive financial opportunities. But, like all other businesses, temp staffing agencies require working capital. In this industry, accessing capital can become a serious problem and many agencies struggle to meet their own financial obligations. In addition, business growth suffers because the agency is unable to add new clients. Fortunately, there is an answer to cash flow problems in temp staffing agencies.

 

Payroll: The Biggest Expense for Temp Staffing Agencies

 

Perhaps the most important expense, and often the biggest expense for a temp staffing agency, is employee payroll. It's vitally important that employees are paid regularly and on time. Failure to cover payroll will result in your employees leaving and seeking work elsewhere.

 

Of course, there are other financial obligations to be met by the temp staffing agency, such as paying employment taxes. Failure to meet tax obligations can become a costly and serious legal issue for agencies, with the result that businesses begin to struggle.

 

All Businesses Need Funds to Grow and Prosper

 

Most clients (both commercial and government) settle their invoices within 30, 60, and sometimes 90 days, and it's this lengthy period of time that creates financial issues for staffing agencies. Once a staffing agency has accepted a new client, it must be capable of covering the employee's wages for a period of up to 2 months -- and this is before the agency itself starts being paid. So, in order to meet operating expenses, it becomes imperative that the staffing agency has a substantial cash reserve. And, the bigger the contracts the bigger reserve required. Without this reserve, the agency won't be able to accept new contracts, and without new contracts there can be no growth. What a vicious cycle! And it all comes down to cash flow.

 

Grow Your Temp Staffing Agency with Payroll Financing

 

Today there's an easy way to resolve cash flow problems experienced by so many businesses. It's called Payroll Funding, and it's a solution that's been designed specifically to assist staffing agencies access much-needed working capital.

 

What Is Payroll Financing?

 

Payroll financing is just one type of invoice factoring, and invoice factoring is a financing solution designed to help businesses finance their slow-paying receivables. With payroll financing your agency will receive immediate funds. No waiting 30, 60, or 90 days to receive payment from your government or commercial clients because you'll receive a payment from the factoring company within a day or two of receiving your invoice. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it! Well, it is true, and it works very well for many businesses in many industries.

 

Factoring works because it provides the much-needed working capital required to cover payroll and other running expenses. Now you don't need to stress about slow paying clients; you can still meet your financial obligations and continue growing your business

 

How Factoring Works

 

Invoice factoring is a very straightforward process. Basically, your invoice will be financed in two payments. The first payment you receive will cover approximately 90% of the total value of your invoice, and your agency will receive this payment once you've submitted the invoice for financing. You'll receive the remaining payment, typically 10% less factoring fees, once your client has paid their account. It's important to note that your clients will still pay on their regular schedule; they're not being asked to pay any sooner.

 

Payroll Funding Is Available to Small Agencies Too!

 

Don't be concerned that your agency may be too small to be accepted for payroll funding. This is one of the great advantages of factoring; that it's available to businesses of all sizes, even start-ups. The reason for this is that factoring companies are more interested in the credit quality of your customers, because the factoring company is financing the invoices, which are the assets. When you apply for factoring, the factoring company will confirm whether (or not) your clients have good commercial credit, because this is what will determine if the factor is prepared to finance your invoices. So, if your temp staffing agency has reliable-paying customers, your business is an ideal candidate for payroll financing. You can see, therefore, that factoring becomes a very attractive financing option for agencies with a strong lineup of clients.

 

Grow Your Agency with Payroll Factoring

 

In case you're still not entirely clear about payroll factoring, let's have a look at a hypothetical example

 

Let's say you can't afford to grow your temp staffing agency because you're experiencing cash flow problems. A new client has just contacted you and requested 5 full-time employees for a 6-month period. This new client is a relatively large company with a good reputation. Unfortunately, though, you can't afford to carry the cost of this contract because they wait 50 days to pay their invoices.

 

The solution: You'll invoice this new client weekly and factor the invoice. By factoring the invoice you'll receive weekly cash advances, which means your agency can both service the new contract and continue paying your employees in a timely manner. Providing you're servicing reputable clients with no credit issues you'll be able to use receivables factoring to continue growing your agency. Besides resolving immediate cash flow problems, payroll factoring could be the catalyst for growing your business well in excess of its current capabilities.

 

 

The Advantages of Trucking Factoring for Trucking Companies

 

Around the country, many owners of small trucking companies are running into the same problems when trying to expand their business. While the trucking business can be quite lucrative, it can take many weeks or even months to finally get paid on hauling invoices. This puts trucking companies in a real bind by having to play catch-up while trying to pay bills and salaries of their drivers.

 

We caught up with Jason Kind, an owner of a small trucking business that he created just a few years ago. Like many trucking owners, Jason was trying to expand his company to meet the needs of his clients, but was running into money issues that were holding him back. We asked him about his situation, the challenges he faced and how Trucking factoring played a real role in helping his company to expand without being burdened by paying back high interest loans.

 

Jason, it's good to have you with us.

 

Jason Kind: "Thanks, I appreciate being here."

 

Tell me a little about your trucking company and how it got started.

 

JK: "I had been driving trucks for years when in 2011 I decided to start my own trucking business. I went through the loan process, purchased a couple of trucks and got started. At first, it was really exciting because I had made a few connections as a driver and I picked up some early business. It seemed like everything was starting to snowball as I was getting requests from other businesses, but I was running into a cash problem."

 

It seems rather strange that being successful was causing you to be short on cash?

 

JK: "I know. You see in the trucking business we charge invoices which means that it could take weeks or even months before the cash would roll in. A typical invoice takes anywhere from 45 to 60 days before the payment comes through. Here I was getting offers from other businesses and I didn't have the cash on hand to buy trucks and hire drivers.!

 

So, what did you do?

 

JK: I'll admit I was at my wit's end because I thought by the time I had the cash to expand that the interest would dry up first. I didn't want to take out another loan because I would just be putting off that debt until later and I had nothing to sell or any additional way to make more money. It was around that time when I heard from one of my friends in the trucking business about Trucking factoring."

 

What exactly is Trucking factoring?

 

JK: "Well, Trucking factoring is a way for trucking companies like mine to get paid quickly for the loads we are hauling. Instead of having to wait weeks or even months sometimes to get paid for hauling, Trucking factoring lets us get money right away for the work that we've done.!

 

How does Trucking factoring work?

 

JK: "Well, there are companies out there who are willing to purchase the invoices that trucking companies like mine get when we perform a job. I managed to find a good, reputable company that actually purchases the invoices we get after performing a job along with other bills that we charge in our business. In return, they pay us cash that I not only use to cover my payroll, fuel costs and expenses, but I was able to put back enough money to purchase another truck a lot more quickly than if I had simply waited for the invoices to be paid.!

 

It seems like you stumbled on a pretty good deal when it comes to Trucking factoring. Are there any other benefits that you've enjoyed by using this service?

 

JK: You bet, because the invoices act as the means to pay the company. It is not a loan where I have to pay back any money. The Trucking factoring company simply takes a very small percentage off each invoice or bill as their fee and I get the rest in cash right away. It's really worked out for me because not only was I able to get the cash needed to expand my business I was able to pay off my original loan a lot more quickly as well.

 

In fact, I was able to leap onto new business offers more quickly because the Trucking factoring allowed me to start purchasing new trucks and hire drivers months before I could even consider doing that simply waiting on the invoices.

 

This Trucking factoring sounds almost too good to be true, surely there must be a catch somewhere?

 

JK: I'll admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but it's all pretty straightforward. The Trucking factoring company I use didn't even charge me a sign up fee nor did they sign me to any long term contract. I just took a few minutes with them to set everything up and when I turn in an invoice, they pay me cash right on the spot.

 

You said you didn't have to sign any long term contracts. Are there a minimum number of invoices or amounts that you have to turn in each month?

 

JK: Actually, no. When I first started with them I was turning in practically all of my invoices so I could generate some cash up front. Now, when I need some cash to pay off bills or make quick purchases, I go to the company with my invoices. Some months I've turned in quite a few invoices, other months not so much.

 

It really sounds like you found a great deal in Trucking factoring?

 

JK: You bet. I have even used their fuel advances and discount cards to help me save money which really helped out in the first year of my business. I've had other trucking owners call me up and ask me how I was able to expand my company as fast as I did. I tell them all the same thing, if you have invoices, then Trucking factoring is the way to get fast cash without having to take out loans or put yourself in a deeper hole.

 

Jason's business continues to grow and Trucking factoring was a big reason why he was able to expand so rapidly. If your trucking business is short of needed cash with invoices that have yet to be paid, then you should consider Trucking factoring as a way to put money into your hands right away.

 

 

Explaining 'Factoring'

 

A 'Factor' is a third party commercial financial company who purchases the Accounts Receivable from businesses: this transaction is known as 'Factoring'. Factoring exists so that businesses can receive a quick injection of cash, as opposed to waiting the 60 or 90 days for customers to pay their invoices. Factoring is also known as Accounts Receivable Financing, and Invoice Factoring.

 

The majority of factoring companies purchase invoices and advance money to the business within 24 hours; however, the nature and terms of factoring can (and do) differ among financial service providers and industries. Depending on your customers' credit histories, your industry, and other specific criteria, the advance rate on your invoices can range from 80% to as high as 95%. The factoring company not only collects on your invoices; it also offers back office support to your business.Once the factoring company has collected on your customer's invoice,you'll be paid the balance of the invoice -- less the factor's fee for assuming the risk. The primary benefit of factoring is that businesses no longer need to wait anywhere between one and three months for a customer to pay their accounts: they now have access to cash in hand so they can operate and grow their business.The Advantages of Factoring

 

There are a few reasons why factoring has become an invaluable financial tool for many businesses, including start ups. As mentioned above, the main benefit is that businesses can now receive a quick boost to their cash flow because factoring companies, in general, will provide cash on accounts receivable within 24 hours. This resolves the problems businesses experience with short term cash flow, and in many ways this injection of cash can help to grow a business. Besides handling your customer collections, factoring companies can also evaluate your customers' payment and credit histories.Other benefits of factoring include:

 

-- It can be customized to a business's needs and managed to ensure that capital is available when it's needed;
-- It's not based on your own business or credit history: it's based on the quality of your customers' credit;
-- It's not based on your company's net worth: it provides a line of credit based on sales;
-- There's no limit to the amount of financing, unlike conventional bank loans;
-- This financing will not show up as a debt on your balance sheet, because it's not a loan.
Who Uses Factoring?

 

Companies of all different sizes, including start ups, use factoring; and today factoring has become common business practice across many industries. Factoring is now widely used in the transportation industry, including manufacturing, textiles, trucking, oilfield services, wholesale and distribution, and staffing agencies. Interestingly, factoring receivables is practiced in many countries around the world and has a long history of success.

 

Can I Factor? My Company's New, with No Financial History

 

Yes, you can! In fact, factoring has become an excellent tool for start up companies because no company credit history or balance sheet is required. It's not really your company's finances that the factoring company is concerned with; they'll base their financing on your customers' payment histories and credit scores.

 

What Percentage of My Invoices Should I Factor?

 

The answer to this question really depends on the unique needs of your business. Some companies only factor invoices for customers who typically take a long time to pay, while others factor all their invoices. The receivables that a company can factor range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars each and every month.

 

What's the Difference between Factoring and a Bank Loan?

 

-- The difference between factoring and a bank loan is that you're not assuming any debt with factoring because it's not a loan;
-- With factoring, there's no emphasis on your balance sheet -- it's all on your customer's invoices;
-- In addition, a bank loan is typically one lump sum, whereas factoring provides a steady flow of funds;
-- Factoring companies can also help improve your company's balance sheet by assisting with your credit and collection functions;
-- A bank loan adds to your debt, whereas factoring converts receivables (an asset) into cash (another asset);
-- And of course, bank loans can be very difficult to get because they're limited by your balance sheet.
How Do You Start the Factoring Process?

 

The factoring process can be very simple to set up. The customer will be asked to complete a short application form, and may be required to follow up with other reports and documents.

 

Recourse and Non Recourse Factoring: What's the Difference?

 

-- With Recourse factoring the client is ultimately responsibility for the payment of the invoice; whereas
-- With Non Recourse factoring, the factoring company accepts responsibility for the risk of collecting the invoice.It's important to note that some factoring companies over offer both types of factoring -- recourse and non recourse.

 

What Are the Contract Terms and Fees Applicable with Factoring?

 

There are different fee structures with different factoring companies: some factors charge an overall factoring fee which is determined by the creditworthiness of your customers and the monthly volume of invoices; while others charge additional fees to cover shipping, money transfers, and other costs associated with doing business. Before signing with any factoring company make sure you understand the fees and terms applicable to your contract. Also note that most factoring contacts are renewed annually.

 

Do I Need Credit Insurance on Debtors?

 

Insurance is not typically required, but in specific circumstances it may be.

 

 

Discovering Trucking Factoring

 

Lambert Truck and Haul has been in business since the mid1980s. They've delivered goods for nearly every major industry in the nation and for 20 plus years, business was booming as they've traversed the country in all weather for all clients. During the heady times from 2002 to 2007, Lambert was a top rated accounts receivable mastermind of the trucking industry. Few customers were ever late on bills and those clients who were, were sure to turn in their late payments within a reasonable amount of time. Cash was flowing and times were good for all.

 

But a short year later, in the fall of 2008, when the United States economy took a nosedive and businesses both small and large began to feel the pinch on their pocketbooks, those that used to make their demands had suddenly and largely gone silent. Business slowed down. And worse yet, Lambert had noticed during the early part of 2008 that though the bulk of their clients were always on time with payments, the few late-bloomers there were, had seemingly started to spread this illness. And as spring turmed to summer and summer into the early days of fall, John Rondstadt, CEO of Lambert felt a chill go down his spine whenever he would look at the weekly A/R reports. The numbers of clients who owed him back debt were growing.

 

He had gone to his administrators and asked them what the problem had been. Were they doing something wrong or different when it came to reaching out to delinquent accouts? By his bookkeepers records, this wasn't the case. He thought perhaps that he was losing clients to a competitor who offered rock-bottom prices with little to no guarantee of quality performance and the folks who owed Lambert money had jumped ship and decided to leave him holding the bag. They couldn't afford to pay him their debt, but they could afford a lesser service, maybe. But after doing the cursory research for this and talking to friends in the field, he found that alas, no, customers of Lambert hadn't gone elsewhere. They had just gone home.

 

The situation looked dire to John Rondstadt. He had employees to pay, goods to ship, trucks to maintain and overhead that was almost unbearable when compared against the lack of funds that were coming in. At night he would speak to his wife Linda and shake his head in frustration. "I have a bad feeling, Lin," he would say with deep woe."Well, what do you think it is?" she would ask.

 

John would stare off for a moment and then close eyes. He could see the fleet of trucks he had purchased over the years. He could see them traveling, bringing goods to all of his clients. But somewhere, a haze would form over his fleet and the vast number of vehicles would disappear to but a few. What could cause this ultimate death spiral of business?

 

"I know what it is," John said. "I've relied too long on the profits I receive from invoices alone. I've let too many of our customers go too long without paying on their bills."Rhonda could only grab her husband's hand and look at him lovingly, "It's a hard economy. It might be awhile until things get settled up."John knew his wife meant well, but he knew that he was responsible for too many people to sit idly by, waiting for the sun to peak over the clouds.

 

The next day John strolled into his office and was determined to sit down and make every phone call to every client who had owed Lambert money. Now, it wasn't the most efficient way to spend a day as a chief executive, what he really needed to be doing was to be overseeing all of the other intricacies of shipment and delivery and reaching out to prospective clients or retraining his sales team to do the same. Even though he was doing something to help his company, he knew he had folks on salary to do just this thing. Wasting money, wasting time - even with the best of intentions, John knew that he was in trouble.

 

After a half day of contacting debtors in vain - they dodged his calls or promised to call back at worst or made minimal interest-only payments at best - he was about to throw in the towel when his secretary Beverley knocked at his door."John, can I have a word?" she asked standing in the doorway.

 

"Sure thing Bev, come on in." John leaned back in his chair and looked expectantly at Beverely. "Well, I did a little searching this afternoon and tried to figure out a way out of this mess John." She pulled a small stack of papers from a folder and set them on the desk before him. "Have you ever heard of factoring?" Beverley asked."It sounds vaguely familiar. What is it?" he said. "Well," she began, "Its actually quite simple really. So basically, factoring invoices would enable us to get paid on the nose for loads that we haul.""Immediately?" John interrupted.

 

"Yes, immediately," she continued, "In a nutshell, it's pretty easy. We can have an expert account manager review our numbers and help us complete a company profile. That profile will also include investigating our accounts receivable aging reports, our existing customer credit limits and so on. Additionally, the factoring will help to determine the creditworthiness of our customers independent of their credit history with our business. It's a broad view."

 

"I see,! John said. "And then what?""Well, after their review, and we're approved for a factoring contract, we can negotiate terms and conditions. There's a lot of flexibility depending on the business volume and credit histories. This company tells us what the cost will be to purchase factoring for our accounts receivable. We come to an agreement and the funding starts pouring out."John leaned forward and reviewed the paperwork closely.

 

"It sounds too good to be true, Bev," he said. "Now, now, I know, I thought the same thing. But really, they have guaranteed us experts that do all the legwork, which would free us up here to focus on our clients in good standing and marketing, all that good stuff. And they're flexible John," she underlined a paragraph on the paper before him. "How flexible?" he asked. "They personalize the factoring rates so that the amount they are willing to take on is commensurate with our needs and our client's debt. It only takes 2 to 4 days for this to be figured out.

 

"That sounds pretty good, seeing as we tapped ourselves out with bank loans last year to repair the fleet and money sure is tight. We need to keep business rolling as normal and every day we're going unpaid, we're closer to facing some serious problems in both the short and long term," John said.

 

He took a deep breath and looked at his secretary with something she recognized as hope."Exactly". I think this might just be a way out of the trouble we're in with these folks who owe us money."John thought about this and agreed with Beverley. The clients who owed them money were long standing friends and professional resources of Lambert. They didn't want to throw away these relationships because they were having trouble paying their bills now. John knew that the economy had taken a hit and he knew that it would probably be a long time before things started to look up again. That unknown amount of time, if he handled these debtors incorrectly, could spell disaster for both of them. He didn't want to lose business but he also didn't want to lose any more money.

 

"Well, let me think about this tonight Bev, thank you." Bev nodded, stood up and left the office feeling that she had helped her employer keep on his shirt and hers too.John sat behind his desk and looked over the details Bev had not mentioned in their meeting. What other issues could freight factoring help Lambert with? With his pencil gliding down the sheet he noticed that the factoring company could help fray the cost of fuel with fuel discount cards and fuel advances. In fact, Lambert could receive up to fifty-percent cash advances upon load pick-ups. As a man who hated binding contracts with no room to breathe, he was pleased to see that this factoring company would not make him sign a long term contract, would not make him pay any sign up fees and there was no minimum volume required.

 

"Well, I'll have to tell Billy about this," John muttered to himself.His son-in-law Billy had liked the idea of Lambert so much and revered his father in law for having such business acumen that only two years before, he had gathered the venture capital to begin his own transportation service company. John knew then what struggles Billy would face but he encouraged him nonetheless. With the faltering economy, if a big fish like Lambert was hurting, a little guy like Billy was about to catch his death. But, an antidote may have been found in freight factoring and John was soon to find out. A few months later after going through the entire application process and having the experts review his accounts receivable, credit history and statements, John found himself beginning to dig his way out of the hole his delinquent account holders had created for him.

 

They took on reasonable factoring purchase contracts and stopped spending their precious man hours scrambling to collect debt. They took that time and refocused effort to offering competitive prices in new territories. John looked back on the dismal months of life before freight factoring and almost shuddered at the thought. Had he missed the boat on this one, he probably wouldn't be in business today.