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What is Accounts Receivable Factoring?

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Author: Marco Terry

Do your clients take more than 30 (or even 60!) days to pay your A/R? Learn how to finance your company with A/R financing.

Do you have clients that take up to 60 days to pay their accounts receivable? Waiting months to get paid for your invoices can wreak havoc in your company’s cash flow, especially if you have to meet payroll, pay suppliers and pay rent. But what happens if your business can’t wait to get paid because it must meet its obligations?

One solution to this problem has been gaining popularity recently. It’s called accounts receivable factoring and it allows you to turn your slow paying receivables into cash, almost immediately. It works by selling your receivables to a factoring company, who in turn, pays you on the spot. This provides you with the necessary cash flow to pay suppliers, rent and salaries.

Selling your receivables to a factoring company is relatively simple. It can be done with a 3-step process:

You deliver goods/services and issue an invoice
You sell the invoice to the factoring company who advances the first installment you up to 90% for them. The average advance is 80%.
Once your client pays the invoice, the factoring company rebates the remaining installment, less a small fee (installment #2)

As opposed to other financing products, accounts receivable factoring is easy to obtain and can be setup in a week or so. A critical benefit of a/r factoring is that the financing companies make their credit decision based on your clients. So, accounts receivable factoring is an ideal tool for small and medium sized businesses who cannot obtain bank financing but have a roster of solid customers.