Business Financing Made Simple

Do you have a new or growing business? If you do, sooner or later you will need business financing. Of course, if you are like most business owners, your first inclination might be to look for a business loan. Unfortunately, business loans can be very hard to get, take weeks to set up and don’t fit too well with most businesses. You might be better off looking for alternative business financing products.

I am going to discuss two alternative business financing products. As opposed to the traditional business loan, they are easy to obtain, can be set up in days, and they grow as your business grows.

<b>Invoice Factoring</b>

If your biggest business financing challenge is that you have clients who take as long as 60 days to pay their invoices, then the solution is to factor your invoices. Factoring, or invoice factoring as it is often called, accelerates your clients’ invoice payments and gets you paid in about 2 days. Factoring does not involve changing your customers’ payment habits, but rather, financing your slow paying invoices through a factoring company. With factoring, you can capitalize on your invoices and get the funds you need to meet payroll and pay suppliers.

<b>Purchase Order Financing</b>

If you are a reseller or wholesaler and your biggest challenge is that you cannot afford to pay your suppliers, then purchase order financing is the best tool for you. Purchase order financing provides you with the necessary funds to pay your suppliers (usually by a letter of credit). This enables you to buy the goods to fulfill your orders and make the sale.

Both purchase order financing and invoice factoring can be obtained from a factoring company (rather than a bank). Both solutions are very affordable, but they work best when the business has profit margins of 15% or more.

So, if you own a business that needs financing, be sure to look at these non-traditional business financing tools.

Factoring Canada - How To Finance Your Canadian Business

Financing a business in Canada has its unique set of challenges. If you are like most business owners you have probably relied on the banking industry to obtain financing. However, obtaining business loans is difficult. Your business must have years of profitable operation experience in order to qualify. But what if your business is new (but growing)? Or, what if you don’t qualify for a business loan but still have a great business?

You have two options, and they are not available from your bank. They are available from a factoring company. Do you have one of these two problems?

Problem: Your clients take up to 60 days to pay. You need payment faster!

Waiting up to 60 days (or sometimes more) to get paid can be very challenging for a business owner. Especially if you have regular expenses, such as salaries, rent and suppliers that must be paid. The solution to this challenge is to factor your slow paying invoices. Factoring (also known as invoice discounting) allows you accelerate client payments, reducing the 60 day wait to 2 days. It’s very easy to obtain and the main requirement is that you do business with good commercial or government clients.

Problem: Your client just placed a large order. You need money to pay suppliers.

If you are a distributor, wholesaler or reseller, then you have a unique set of challenges. You have suppliers that need to be paid quickly and clients that want to pay slowly, leaving you trapped in the middle. The solution for this challenge is purchase order financing. Purchase order financing covers up to 100% of your supplier payments, enabling you to deliver the goods and close the sale. With purchase order financing you can accept big orders with confidence, knowing that you’ll be able to deliver.

Is factoring or purchase order financing for you?

These financing products work great if you meet two very important criteria. First, your profit margins must be above 10%, and ideally closer to 20% (or more) Second, you must do business with reputable commercial clients or the government. If you meet these two criteria, then these products should help you grow your company and take it to the next level.

Factoring and Purchase Order Financing in Canada

There was a time when obtaining business financing in Canada was very hard. But this is changing as small business financing companies are moving into an area previously dominated by large banking institutions.

As most business owners know, qualifying for a business loan or a line of credit is very hard. Bank lending criteria is so strict that few companies ever manage to get any financing. But that is changing.

If you own a company that sells goods or services to other businesses (or the government), then there are two financing options that are available to you. They are invoice factoring and purchase order financing.

Are your clients taking up to 60 days to pay their invoices? Consider invoice factoring.

Selling to mid size and large companies is great, as they can provide you with reliable and steady business. However, their payment terms are always challenging. They usually demand the right to pay in up to 60 days. In the meantime, you must cover paying rent, salaries and suppliers. This can easily be fixed by factoring financing. Factoring can eliminate the 60-day wait and get your invoice paid in 2 days. The process is simple, you sell your invoices to a factoring company, who pays you up front for them (less a small fee). You get your money up front, while the factoring company waits to get paid.

Need money to pay your suppliers? Consider purchase order financing.

If you sell products as a reseller or wholesaler, then your biggest challenge is getting the financing to pay your suppliers. In this case, purchase order financing may be the right solution for you. Purchase order funding provides you with the necessary funds to cover your supplier expenses, allowing you to fulfill the order and deliver to your clients. The transaction is then settled when your client pays their invoice and the collateral is the purchase order from your client.

Conclusion

Both factoring and purchase order funding are easy to obtain and can be set up in days. The biggest requirement is that you own a profitable company and that you do business with reputable clients.

Can a factoring company help you grow your business?

Sooner or later, every business will need financing to grow. Most owners will try to qualify for venture capital or angel financing. Others will try to get a business loan or line of credit, since business loans are popular with business owners. All these business financing tools work well, but they also have a very important trait in common. They are hard to get and out of reach for most owners. There is an alternative way of financing your business growth. Financing that is easy to qualify for, quick to set up and very cost effective. Not only that, it’s financing that grows with your business. And most of the time, you won’t get it from your local bank. This form of financing is called invoice factoring and you can get it from a factoring company. Factoring is different than a bank loan and it works well if your biggest problem is that you can’t wait the 30 to 60 days that commercial clients take to pay their invoices. Basically, invoice factoring cuts the payment time to two days. Factoring is simple. The factoring company buys your invoices (at a small discount) and pays you for them immediately. Then, the factoring company waits to get paid by your client. The net result: you get immediate working capital to pay business expenses and grow. You also eliminate the stress of having to wait to get paid and can count on a predictable cash flow. As a form of financing, factoring offers two very distinct advantages over bank loans. First, it’s very easy to qualify for. Your main requirement is that you do business with strong commercial clients (or the government). Second, factoring financing grows with your business. As your invoicing grows, so does your financing. This enables you to easily cover the increasing costs of running a business that is growing. A similar type of financing that is also offered by factoring companies is purchase order financing. Purchase order financing provides you with financing based on your purchase orders from large commercial clients. Purchase order financing is ideal for re-sellers and distributors that are growing quickly. Whether you need financing because your customers pay you in 60 days or because you have a large purchase order from your biggest client, a factoring company will be able to offer alternatives to traditional financing.