In addition to trying to win new business, companies are equally concerned about whether their existing customers can pay, and on what terms.  Businesses often rely on loans and overdrafts to provide the capital they need; in recent years however, a variety of invoice finance options, such as factoring have helped SMEs to ease their funding gaps.

Not only do these arrangements have more flexibility than bank loans, but they are quicker and tailored to a company’s specific requirements. In both good and challenging markets, invoice finance can provide the flexibility and access to capital that a business needs to thrive and grow. The annual cost of a factoring facility starts as low as 1% of sales so it is a very cost effective option for business owners.

This is an even larger amount than the average £1.4 billion monthly drop seen over the previous six months; it is apparent that despite government policies and public calls to increase lending to this sector of the economy, there is still reluctance from banks to support those businesses that really need some help.

However, there are alternatives that are still available to smaller businesses; banks are not the only option. Invoice finance could be a viable solution for companies that would otherwise struggle to find the finance that they require. Without the need for additional security a bank may require, Invoice Finance can provide the necessary funding to smooth out your cash flow and provide the working capital you need to survive through these challenging times.

This news may be a welcome relief to businesses that have approached their own high street banks for EFG fundin,g but for one reason or another have been refused. It must be remembered that as far as banks are concerned the availability of a government guarantee doesn’t make a bad deal good. For a business to be available for EFG funding via a high street bank, they must meet that banks normal lending criteria and if there is a lack of security in the deal then that is where the EFG funding kicks in.

If you don’t meet the banks’ normal lending criteria then it won’t get past first base. The problem is that it appears that many commercial high street bank managers don’t know what they can and can’t do and rather than saying no, they string the customer along on a merry dance.

There are currently two invoice finance companies offering EFG funding on the back of invoice finance. One provider will provide an overpayment to a maximim of 100% of the outstanding debtor book whilst the other will provide EFG funding equivalent to any director’s loans that there might be in the business.

Obviously these companies use slightly different criteria and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out which invoice finance company might be best for you.

At a review meting the bank announced that they would no longer be able to finance the African invoices. A change of policy apparently. The customer during 15 years of trading had never had a bad debt into Africa and in any case most of the debtors could be credit insured. This obviously had a dramatic affect on the businesses cash flow and as such the £250k in case of need overdraft facility quickly reached its limit.

In our opinion a switch from one high street bank to another would certainly be out of the frying pan and into the fire. We therefore introduced our customer to a couple of lessor known invoice discounting ccompanies that specialise in bigger deals. They kind of start off where the high street banks start getting uncomfortable. They tend to be owned by foreign banks however unlike invoice discounting companies attached to high street banks they have their own autonomy. In addition because they are foreign owned they tend to be able to deal with world wide markets.

It is always worth getting an alternative to a high street bank and a good independent finance broker will undoubtedly be able to point you in the right direction

Most business owners will say it is the latter however in a small number of cases it may genuinely be because a business is struggling. Any asset based finance company will always be willing to lend against the value of an asset providing they are doing so for a positive reason. On the other hand if a business is struggling they may insist that you take advice from a specialist accountant or insolvency practitioner.

It maybe that it it is better to fund a business following a pre packed administration particularly if there is a lot of creditor pressure and crown arrears. Many business owners think that it is not possible to obtain funding following a pre packed administration. In reality, asset based lenders would probably prefer to fund such a arrangement because the new business going forward will be leaner and meaner. It is true that a bank may not wish to assist with the funding however in reality this should not cause any major problem going forward. An independent invoice finance company will be happy to provide a factoring facility and as such there should be no need of a bank except for clearing cheques.

The problem with the bank based scheme is that a proposal for funding should meet all the banks normal lending criteria. If you have a proposition that they want to do but the only thing that is stopping them doing it is a lack of security then this is where the EFG scheme gives them the security to do the deal. If for some reason they don’t want to do the deal because your business hasn’t been trading long enough or the financials are not strong enough then it wont get passed first base. EFG funding does not make a bad deal good.

An alternative to bank based EFG loans could be funding via invoice finance companies. One funder provides EFG funding on the back of a factoring or invoice discounting company match funding any directors loans but up to a maximum of fifty percent of the debtor book. Another invoice finance company provides EFG funding to give a business 100% of its debtor book.

Invoice finance companies tend to be a little more flexible than the banks therefore if you have drawn a few blanks then it is worth giving them a call. We will gladly point you in the right direction.

A number of these specialist invoice finance companies have a network of offices and associations spread around the world offering multi currency facilities and credit control. Obviously it is easier to obtain funding in developed countries however it may be possible to obtain funding in less developed parts of the world so long as your customer has a credit rating.  As with any factoring or invoice discounting product different companies are better in handling different sectors than others. Just because you go to your bank and they inform you  that it is not possible to factor foreign invoices it doesn’t mean it cannot be done via a specialist lesser known finance company.

A good independent finance broker will be able to introduce you to the most appropriate funders. Again it is important to be talking o two or possibly three finance companies so it doesn’t become a one horse race. However if you invite every tom dick and Harry of a finance company non of them will take you seriously an in our experience you end up getting a worse deal.

XL Business Finance has been helping business for over 10 years find the most appropriate funding partner. Give us a call today to see how we can help your business. Go on you know you want to!

Funding for pre sold goods is certainly more straight forward and is available for most types of businesses and products. Perishable goods become more difficult to fund for obvious reasons. Businesses that have been told by their bank that they are not eligible for funding have a very good chance of obtaining funding via the more flexible and independent trade finance companies. The finance company not only can provide funding for the import element but it can also provide funding via invoice finance as soon as your goods are delivered to your customer and an invoice is raised. Therefore it is possible to obtain funding from start to finish. The finance company does this by taking title of the goods at the start of the transaction and not releasing title until the goods have been paid in full via your end user.

Banks tend to provide trade finance based on the track record of the business. Their exit route is not necessarily the guaranteed sale of the goods to your end user but is based on the ability of the importer to sale the goods and repay the facility. Therefore from a high street banks point of view a  business must be well established , profitable and ideally bank with themselves to be considered for funding.

XL Business Finance has over 10 years of experience and expertise in helping business choose the right funding solution

We had such an enquiry just yesterday. As per normal the enquiry was for a different  however unsuitable form of finance. The enquirer had been told by a number of different sources that they were not eleigle for invoice finance and as such they had been trawling the inter net for business loans and approaching the banks for overdrafts. As we know the banks are\ still being over cautious resulting in a number of dead end enquires.

XL Business Finance with our ten years of experience in this sector was able to introduce a number of specialist funders that would be willing to fund invoices raised against contracts. Hopefully this will give the business the much needed working capital to grow and expand the business and take on more available contracts.