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We all know that an invoice factoring can provide immediate cash of  up to 85% of unpaid invoices. This provides valuable cash and working capital when a bank overdraft might not provide enough of a working capital facility. However there are instances when this might not be enough. Depednding on  the seasonality of your business and timings of payments to key suppliers and Vat returns etc there might be occasions when an overpayment is required. Therefore it is imperative that when choosing a factoring or invoice discounting facility that the flexibility and approachability of the finance company must be taken into consideration. Not all finance companies are the same and a proper invoice factoring company will be able to help you in times of need.

XL Business Finance has helped many business find the most appropriate and flexible finance company. As a rule the larger independents tend to be a little more flexible and as such they are more amenable to overpayments. They would normally only advance up to 100% of the outstanding debtor book unless there is additional security available to provide the necessary cover. Try and approach yoyr local bank manager to organise an overpayment. It just wont happen. With a independent provider you are never more than one or two phone calls away from a decision maker and as such they are far more flexible.

When we say independent finance company we mean one that isn’t bank owned or doesn’t borrow money from the banks to lend money. There are plenty of so called independent invoice factoring companies that borrow money off the banks and as a result tend to have the same sort of restrictions that the banks have. A rue independent is one that does not borrow any money off the banks and it is these that tend to be more flexible.

Hopefully now that we are out of the recession we will once again start to see businesses grow and to flourish. The benefits of invoice factoring during a period of growth are obvious however many businesses will be tempted to go down the overdraft route which in the long term may restrict a businesses cash flow and ability to operate from a liquidity point of view. It is also important that we choose the right factoring or invoice discounting company because not all of them are the same and they don’t offer the same level of funding and flexibility.

The two main problems with bank overdraft the level of the facility is often restricted by the amount of security available. A token overdraft facility without providing additional security  may be available depending upon the level of profitability however more often than not it is never enough. Therefore as a business grows and you need to increase the amount of working capital it may be difficult to obtain an increase. Secondly overdrafts are repayable on demand. Until the recession I don’t think anyone believed the bank would pull overdrafts however during the credit crunch and the recession the banks have shown their true colours. We have heard horror stories about the banks withdrawing overdrafts and forcing companies into administration. With factoring or invoice discounting, so long as you don’t breach the terms of the facility it is not possible for the facility to be withdrawn. And even if you breach the terms of the facility it is more likely that your factoring or invoice discounting provider will work with you to a satisfactory solution.  It is therefore important that you choose your factoring or invoice discounting company carefully to make sure they are approachable and potentially flexible. It is more likely this will not be a bank owned provider but this doesn’t mean a facility will be more expensive.

Once upon a time invoice factoring was condsidered the lend of last resort. There was once a stigma surrounding factoring or invoice discounting however businesses wishing to maximise their cash flow realise that there are no better options.  Any sensible finance director or managing director will know that a bank overdraft is potentially a very dangerous funding option. All overdrafts are repayable on demand and we have seen many instances recently where once very profitable businesses have had their overdrafts withdrawn because of a poor set of trading results. This can have catastrophic consequences for the business and can even have worse consequences for the directors particularly if personal assets have been lodged as security.

Factoring or invoice discounting both maximise a businesses cash flow by releasing cash against invoices you have raised but as yet have not been paid for. The security is the actual invoice and the factoring or invoice discounting company are expert in making sure that the invoices are paid in a timely and orderly fashion. Therefore any exposure as a result personal guarantees is reduced to a minimum.  Guarantees are not taken by all finance companies . It just depends on the circumstances of each particular deal.  This has got to better than using a bank overdraft!!!