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Invoice Finance

  • Don’t wait to get paid. Release cash tied up in your invoices to generate the cash flow you need to grow.

Invoice finance is an umbrella term for factoring and confidential invoice discounting facilities. Both facilities are designed to increase cash flow, with the financier releasing cash against your sales ledger and advancing cash against ongoing sales.

Facilities can be tailored to each individual businesses requirements and can be structured to cover a short term funding need or provide long term cash to help long term growth. Modern facilities are becoming more like overdrafts with minimal reporting required and instant control through apps on your devices.

Benefits Of Invoice Finance

Boost cash flow

Don’t wait for your debtors to pay. Release cash tied up in your invoices to increase buying power with your suppliers and fund increased orders from your customers.

Fund growth

Generating cash from your sales early gives your business the competitive advantage to fund increased orders.

Fund acquisitions

If you are looking to expand through acquisitions generating cash from yours or your target companies sales ledgers by invoice finance can provide the funding required without the need for personal investment.

Limited security

The invoice finance providers security is the sales ledger. Often they will require a nominal unsecured personal guarantee, however, there will be no requirement to offer tangible security, as would normally be the case with term loans or overdrafts.

Help with collections

Outsource the collection of your invoices to the financier to increase the time you have available to drive growth and sales, whilst maintaining a positive relationship with your debtors by letting the financier have the difficult task of chasing payments.

Credit protection and credit risk advice

By using your financier’s customer risk departments, you can undertake due diligence into the creditworthiness of your existing and new debtors, and ensure that your growth is safe. Use the financier to protect those sales against bad debts or protracted disputes.

Flexible facility

The on-going management of an invoice finance facility enables the financier to get close to and understand your business, your issues and your requirements. This makes them best placed to increase your facility as your business grows or your circumstances change.

Factoring

Factoring is a working capital facility which advances at a set percentage (typically between 70% – 90%) against invoices raised by the business. Factoring facilities are typically disclosed (ie the lender’s involvement is notified to your debtors) but they can be confidential.

The defining feature of a factoring facility is that the lender will assume the role of credit controller and undertake the collection of invoices on the businesses behalf. This has advantages, such as allowing the business owner to fully focus on sales and the growth of the business; but also disadvantages, such as the concern that the relationship between business and debtor could be negatively affected.

How Much Does Invoice Finance Cost?

There are three main fees associated with invoice finance facilities which are detailed below. Many lender have other ‘disbursement’ fees which can add to the overall costs. As such it is best to consult with an expert if you have any questions or queries.

Arrangement fee

This is the fee for setting up the facility and is typically taken from the initial advance by the Invoice Finance Lender. Usually, it is charged as a percentage of the facility funding limit (typically 1%) but can also be a fixed fee amount.

Service charge

The Service Charge will be the main charge in an Invoice Finance facility. This is applied as a percentage of the sales that are put through the facility. For example, if the Service Charge was 1% and you loaded a £1,000 invoice for funding against the Service Charge would be £10.

Discount margin

The discount margin is the interest rate for borrowing the money that the lender makes available. The rate is quoted as an annual rate but is applied on a daily basis and only against the amount that is being borrowed and only for the duration the money is borrowed.

Uses of Invoice Finance

  • Designed to boost cash flow over a sustained period and aimed at leveraging cash against the whole ledger to release an initial advance of cash and then further advances with each invoice.
  • Boost cash flow to take on multiple orders.
  • Grow safely as the facility grows with your business.
  • Negotiate better terms with suppliers.
  • Help with long term planning and growth strategy.
  • Enable acquisitions of competitors.
  • Advancements rates up to 90% depending on industry sector.
  • No tangible security required.

Invoice Discounting

Invoice Discounting is a confidential working capital facility. It operates under a similar premise to a Factoring facility. However, with an Invoice Discounting facility, the lender’s involvement in founding the business is kept confidential and the credit control and collection of the business’ invoices remain the responsibility of the business.

There are some other subtle differences compared to a Factoring facility. Notably, the lender will fund against the sum of bulks of invoices rather than individual invoices. The lender will also set up a trust account in the name of the business and to which payments are made by your debtors.

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How Oakmead Finance Can Help

With over 20 years of experience in structuring facilities across all sectors from startup businesses to corporate entities, we are best placed to advise and structure the right facility for you.

Contact us if you would like to explore the invoice finance options available to you or if you would like us to review your existing finance facility.

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