Personal Business Journal

If you have a problem with cash flow, you might consider finding a company that engages in buying invoices to get you on the right track again. Often, through no fault of their own, small and large companies find themselves in a bind because they don’t have enough cash to meet debt payments, to pay employees, or to invest in needed materials and manpower in order to bid on lucrative, time-sensitive contracts. In these cases and some others, companies buying invoices from you may be able to help.

Buying invoices is also called factoring. A company, or factor, engages in buying invoices from another company at a discount, taking on the responsibility of collecting payments due. Through this process, the company selling the invoice gets immediate cash flow, and the company buying invoices stands to make a profit.

Most invoices are factored at fees starting at around 1.67% of the total principle for each ten days left in the payment due terms. For instance, if you have invoices that come due in thirty days, the factoring company would buy them from you at a 5% discount, and thus make a 5% profit for a thirty-day investment. Fees are predicated on the creditworthiness of your debtor, not you; thus, a company with a very good record of paying its debts on time and otherwise appearing sound would get you the best terms. If you have a company without strong credit that owes you money, you may find their invoices factored at rates of more like 8% to 10%. Generally, companies that buy invoices will limit the total amount of invoices the hold from you to no more than $100,000, but have no minimum amount.

If you have an invoice in the amount of $200,000, this does not mean you will not be able to find a factoring company that can help you. Instead, the company buying invoices may advance your company a hundred thousand dollars, but when they collect the debt, the will then pay to you the entire advanced amount you qualify for. In other words, you can factor a portion of an invoice if you don’t need to factor the whole thing.

When companies are buying invoices, you can count on at least three parties being involved. The first is the seller of the invoice which is your company. The second is the payor of the invoice which is the company you have done business with that owes you money. The third is the broker/funder buying invoices. This third party may be a separate broker and funder, or it may be one company or individual acting as both. The broker would arrange the transaction, and facilitate your receipt of the funds advanced in a timely manner. The funder is the party actually buying invoices; they would use a broker to find appropriate invoices to buy. Brokers who arrange the transaction but who don’t fund the transaction generally earn a commission on the transaction.

Typically, the funder buying invoices is the chief risk taker in the transaction, and receives the largest share of your factoring fee. The broker arranging the transaction would receive around ten percent of the fee charged for buying invoices.

When you’ve found a company buying invoices to work with, it’s generally a good idea to maintain the relationship with them. If you find yourself needing cash flow in the future, these companies are much more willing to work with those they’ve funded successfully in the past, and may even offer you more favorable terms.

Companies buying invoices are generally those with large cash on hand totals, like insurance companies and federally-insured banks. You may also be able to find companies buying invoices overseas, particularly in resource-rich companies like those in the Middle East.

Business owners are becoming increasingly dependent on business credit cards, albeit not quite to the extent that individual consumers rely on their personal credit cards. This dependence on business credit cards is mainly due to its usefulness in transacting and because it provides instant credit when needed. Realizing the huge potential of the small business market, more and more credit card issuers have come up with business credit card packages specifically designed to meet the needs of business owners.

If the credit card companies are correct in their predictions, business credit cards will become an essential tool for conducting business going into the future. Business owners may as well familiarize themselves with the basic benefits of business credit cards, to assist them in choosing a package best suited to their needs.

Cash flow when cash is low
Business credit cards offer a financial life line when an urgent expense needs to be incurred and the cash flow is temporarily impaired. It is also not uncommon for entrepreneurs to employ business credit cards in helping them get a business off the ground. Naturally a solid and sufficiently convincing business plan will be required with which to persuade a business credit card company to issue a business credit card for this purpose.

Earn as you spend
Business credit cards with various reward options are very popular. Many business owners appreciate the savings that these business credit cards offer in terms of airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, gasoline purchases, office supplies, printing, courier services, and more. There are variations to these reward options, but one can compare the different business credit card features and apply for the business credit card that best suits the business’ needs.

Credit when you need it
Companies that issue business credit cards know that businesses need more funding than individual consumers do. For this reason, higher spending limits exist on business credit cards when compared to those of personal credit cards. It is reassuring to know that the business has the ability to cover an expense – even if it is unexpected and substantial. Some business credit card issuers even allow business owners to cover overdrafts on their checking accounts by means of a cash advance drawn against the available credit on their business credit cards.

Access to business resources
If you’ve ever visited the web sites of business credit cards issuers, especially those belonging to the big banks, you will have noticed that they offer expert assistance to small businesses. This includes information on market research methods, business plan preparation, cash flow management and so forth. These valuable resources are available to holders of their business credit cards free of charge.

Both the application and the approval processes for business credit cards are quick and easy. It is time and effort well spent by any business owner. A business credit card has become an indispensable financial instrument, in every way. In addition to the direct benefits on offer, issuers of business credit cards also provide business owners with detailed, itemized statements at regular intervals. This is a great help in as far as bookkeeping is concerned. Provided that the business credit card, like any other financial instrument, is dealt with in a circumspect manner, it will enhance the potential of any business to succeed.