What are the interest rates for invoice financing?
Pricing of invoice financing / debtor financing is largely based on a few factors.
1. The main risk factor of debtor financing is the quality of the debtor (the party obligated to pay). If the debtor is a large company or government, then the risk of the invoice not being paid is very low. This will allow you to get better terms, than if the debtor was another small business.
2. The nature of the invoice being financed. One of the main dispute points of invoices is either the quantity or quality of the product /service being provided. Some products / services that leave themselves open to more ambiguity about quality or quantity, will attract higher pricing, than those that don't. As these transactions carry more risk. This can be mitigated by your invoice financier having a proper and in depth understanding of your invoice process.
3. The industry you are in. Some industries carry more risk of non payment and dispute than others such as the construction industry.
4. Your financials. Whilst the debtor book is the main security point of an invoice financiers, the secondary point of call is your business. Therefore the financial health of your business will play a factor in pricing.
5. The quantum of money you are using. typically the larger the facility you use, the more competitive pricing you can obtain, than smaller transactions.
Some invoice financiers will play tricks on borrowers, by stating they only charge 2% of the invoice amount per month, but only forward you 70% of the invoice value. This is greatly misleading, as interest is charged on the invoice amount, not the funds provided to you!
Realistically, and ddepending on the mix of the above factors, the effective rate of invoice financing is 11% p.a to 30% p.a on drawn down funds. Even on the higher end, this works out to be fraction per week (.6% per week), which if an invoice is financed for a month, this works out to be 2.4% interest on the funds drawn down. Assuming a 15% margin within an invoice, the 2.4% has a minor impact considering the inconvenience it is helping to solve within the business.
What are the eligibility requirements for invoice financing.
To qualify for debtor financing.
1. You must have a ACN borrowing entity.
2. You must have the need for a minimum facility amount of $250k.
3. You are in an industry / business, where once an invoice is issued, the debtor is obligated to pay, with little chance of dispute regarding quantity or quality.
4. You have enough margin in your transactions to cover the cost of capital.
What are the risks of invoice financing / debt factoring for borrowers?
Invoice financing carries less risk for borrowers compared to other forms of finance, as the financiers main form of security is their security registration against the receivables / debtor book of the business.
Invoice financiers will vary in regards to what security they require from a borrower. Some will only take the debtor book, others will want a first ranked or second ranked GSA against the business as well, others will want a personal guarantee and a number of invoice financiers today wish to have some type of property available to them.
As a borrower understanding the security position of the invoice financier you are working with, will determine the level of risk you are facing. The more you are able to narrow down their security to just the debtor book, the less risk you have of them being able to touch your other assets. Your asset protection will also be a byproduct of the structures you have in place before the loan to protect your assets.
Why would businesses use invoice financing?
The main reason businesses use invoice financing, is because the debtor book / invoices of a business, can be used as a form of security to obtain finance against! This is especially vital for business owners that don't have property security, or other forms of security to provide to a traditional lender.
This means businesses can obtain finance to help them solve their free cash flow issues, when in other instances they would not be able to obtain it. Invoice financing is superior to getting a unsecured business cashflow loan, as the pricing is far more competitive, and is an ongoing facility.
When do i use invoice finance?
Invoice financing is typically used when your business is rapidly growing, or when you need to take a loan and don't have other assets available as security. The beauty of invoice financing is it uses your invoices as a form of security, from which you can take a loan against!
The beauty of invoice financing, is you can use with other funding solutions, such as bank loans, first mortgage private loans, second mortgage finance loans, alternative asset loans and supply chain finance.
Invoice finance is a great solution for businesses that are rapid growing, that don't have the free cash flow to service their growth prior to payment!