If you are looking for a financial solution to help release cash flow to help your business, then an invoice finance service could be right for you. This service allows you access the funding that is tied up in unpaid invoices.
If this solution sounds like it could work for you then read on to discover what the leading finance providers can offer you.
The table below gives a quick comparison of the top UK invoice financing providers.
Company | Maximum % of Invoice Value |
---|---|
Close Brothers | 90% |
Aldermore | 90% |
RBS Facflow | 90% |
Bibby Financial Services | 100% |
MarketInvoice | 90% |
Ultimate Finance | 95% |
Innovation Finance | 90% |
Calverton Finance | 90% |
HSBC Invoice Finance | 90% |
Nucleus Commercial Finance | 100% |
Skipton Business Finance | 90% |
IGF Invoice Finance | 90% |
Sancus | 90% |
Positive Cashflow Finance | 85% |
Catalyst Finance | 80% |
Advantedge | 90% |
Working Capital Partners | 85% |
Team Factors | 90% |
Pulse Cashflow Finance | 85% |
Barclays Invoice Finance | 90% |
Peak Cashflow | 85% |
Santander Invoice Finance | 85% |
Metro Bank Invoice Finance | 85% |
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance | 90% |
Lloyds Bank Invoice Finance | 90% |
Paragon Bank Invoice Finance | 95% |
Outsauce Financing | 100% |
Trade Finance Global | 90% |
Satago | 85% |
* The facts and figures included here come from each company’s website and were accurate at the time of writing but may have since changed. Also, please keep in mind these may not be apples to apples comparisons as each provider offers different solutions. This guide should be used as a starting off point for more research on your part.
Below we profile each of the companies’ services and features in a bit more detail.
Note companies are ranked in no particular order and this no way indicates one solution is better than another.
Topics
1. Close Brothers
Some of the features and benefits of Close Brothers’ invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice values
- Unlock capital lock up in invoices
- A small fee is deducted once the invoice is paid
- Invoice factoring
- Invoice discounting
- Provides services to a range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering, recruitment and healthcare
- Most suited to businesses with 30 day plus payment terms
- Funding is available to businesses with over £250,000 annual turnover
Close Brothers is a leading UK finance company that is a modern merchant bank who caters their services to their customer’s needs. Close Brothers Group of businesses are all within the finance sector and they state that their business is underpinned by traditional values and ethical approach to lending. They are ranked one of highest rated banks in the UK based on Moody’s bank ratings.
They offer a range of invoice financing services which include invoice factoring, invoice discounting and asset-based lending to support businesses to unlock the capital that is tied up in their sales invoices and assets.
2. Aldermore
Some of the features and benefits of Aldermore’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice values
- Quickly release cash tied up in unpaid invoices
- Same day access to finance
- Practical, flexible finance solution
- Offers invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Offers asset-based lending
- They approve 9 out of 10 applications
- Positive customer reviews
- Award-winning services
- Caters for a range of industries
Aldermore has been in financial services for eight years and they understand small businesses as they started off small themselves and know the challenges that they face. This is why they support the growth of small businesses in the UK. They are award-winning receiving both Best Invoice Finance Provider and Best Development Finance Provider in 2015.
Aldermore offers a range of finance options including invoice finance, invoice factoring, invoice discounting and asset-based lending. Aldermore’s invoice finance offering caters for a broad range of businesses including importers, wholesalers, haulage, construction, manufacturing and recruitment.
3. RBS Facflow
Some of the features and benefits of RBS Facflow’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Services to help release cash flow
- Access funding from unpaid invoices
- Access funding tied up in assets
- Improve your cash flow
- Quick access to cash
- Allows you to grow your business with a cash injection
- Offers both invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Offer asset-based lending
- Online account management
RBS is large banking institution with many banks within its RBS Group that have a lot of experience in both the banking and financial lending sectors. RBS has an established a sub-business called RBS FacFlow that provides a range of financial lending services for business.
RBS FacFlow’s invoice finance service allows you to free up some of the cash that is tied up in your unpaid invoices and assets so that you can grow your business or survive low cash flow periods. The services they offer include invoice factoring, invoice discounting and asset-based lending. Invoice finance allows you to access up to 90% of your invoice value quickly and easily.
4. Bibby Financial Services
Some of the features and benefits of Bibby Financial Services’ invoice finance.
- Up 100% of our invoice value can be released
- No setup fees
- Pre-approved £50,000 funding limit
- Available to businesses with an annual turnover below £300,000
- Release cash against your invoices as you raise them
- Access to funding within 24 hours
- Optional credit management and bad debt protection
- Online account management 24/7
- No long-term contracts
- Backed by their Service Promise
Bibby Financial Services has a range of invoice finance services which include Forward Finance that is designed to help new and small businesses that need funding to help them develop and grow. To be eligible for Forward Finance your business needs to have a turnover under £300,000.
Bibby Financial Services also offers invoice factoring and invoice discounting. These invoice finance services are suited to small businesses that have customers with longer payment terms that need to plug a cashflow funding gap. These services can release up to 90% of the invoice value within five days of your initial application and within 24 hours once set up.
Bibby Financial Services website
5. MarketInvoice
Some of the features and benefits of MarketInvoice’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Helps businesses with occasional or ongoing cash flow needs
- Offers variable length contracts
- Pay-as-you-go invoice discounting is available
- Offers contract finance to free up contract value
- Fast set-up
- Quick payments
- Hassle free with online access to your account
- Personal customer support
- Straightforward costs and no hidden fees
MarketInvoice offers two types of invoice financing which are contract finance and invoice discounting. Contract finance allows you to release the value of your contracts through their online bidding system which can offer some of the value of the contract within 24 hours or the same day.
MarketInvoice’s invoice discounting services offers a range of solutions that offer different contract lengths which include selective invoice discounting for one-off or occasional services with a choice of no contract or 12-month contract. Invoice discounting will give you access to up to 90% of your invoice values quickly and you can monitor your services through their online portal.
6. Ultimate Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Ultimate Finance’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 95% of your invoice value
- No contract length
- Competitively priced fees
- Set up within a week
- Funds released within 24 hours
- Dedicated relationship manager
- Choice of managed sales ledger or confidential service
- Collect payments for you (optional)
- Customers don’t need to know
- Flexible service
Ultimate Finance offers invoice finance that can be flexible to your business needs. They offer full sales ledger management where they manage the collection of payments from your customers. Ultimate Finance services generally involve them contacting your customers to collect payments but if you want the service to remain unknown then they can offer a confidential service.
Ultimate Finance charges a service fee and a discount fee which is like an interest rate fee. They offer a no-contract service at competitive prices which allows you to access up to 95% of your invoice values.
7. Innovation Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Innovation Finance’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- 6-month trial period
- Access cash flow immediate
- Transparent pricing
- Choice of invoice factoring or invoice discounting
- Maintain control of your sales ledger or allow them to collect the payments for you
- Ability to access cash flow when needed
- Bad debt protection available
- Credit advice and management to help you grow
- Customer service promises
Innovation Finance offers a range of invoice finance options which include invoice factoring, invoice discounting and bad debt protection. Their bad debt protection allows you to select either key customer accounts or the whole sales ledger for coverage as part of your invoice finance package.
You can choose between invoice factoring or invoice discounting which offer different services to cater for differing needs. Invoice factoring offers a complete invoice management service where they will manage your sales ledger and collect your unpaid invoices. Invoice discounting is more discrete and lets you retain control of your customer accounts.
8. Calverton Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Calverton Finance’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- Quickly access cash tied up in invoices
- Flexible service
- You can manage or hand over the management of customer accounts
- Offer both invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Invoice discounting is offered as confidential or selective service
- Also offers short-term finance services
- Offers specialist service for recruiters
- Supports businesses that are newly established, growing businesses, those that are restructuring and making acquisitions
- Available to a variety of businesses including manufacturing, service industries and distributors
- Offers a full range of other financial services
Calverton Finance is a financial services business that offers a wide range of financial solutions to help businesses to access funds. Their services include invoice finance, cash flow finance, credit control and bad debt management. Calverton Finance offers several invoice finance options including invoice factoring, invoice discount, short-term finance and finance for recruiters.
Invoice factoring will allow you to access funds quickly from your unpaid invoices and will take away the hassle of collecting payments as they will manage that for you. Invoice discounting is available under two products – confidential invoice discounting and selective invoice discounting, with both you manage your own sales ledger and customers.
9. HSBC Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of HSBC’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Receive cash in your account within 24 hours
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Also offers export invoice finance
- Improved cash flow and assistance with your credit control
- Self-manage or outsource your sales ledger
- Optional bad debt protection
- Secure funding that grows with your business
- Online account management
- Available to business who do not bank with them
HSBC’s invoice finance function is called Receivables Finance and it offers lending solutions against unpaid invoice of up to 90% of the invoice value which can be received within 24 hours of the invoice being raised. This service is available to all businesses that meet their criteria including businesses who do not bank with them.
HSBC’s Receivables Finance offering helps businesses to increase its cash flow and can protect them from bad debt. HSBC offers invoice factoring and invoice discounting as well as export invoice finance. Invoice factoring helps businesses to manage their sales ledger by handling payment collection for you. Invoice discounting allows you to maintain control of your sales ledger.
10. Nucleus Commercial Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Nucleus Commercial Finance’s invoice finance.
- Releases funds up to 100% of the invoice value
- Quick access to funding from your debtor’s book
- Utilise the cash tied up in unpaid invoices to grow your business
- Enhance your cash flow
- In-house client management
- Can combine the service with other finance services
- Tailored offering
- Suitable for new business start-ups
- Includes contractual debt
- Dedicated relationship manager
Nucleus Commercial Finance is a financial services business that provides a wide range of products which include invoice finance, cash flow finance, business cash advance, asset-based lending, and construction finance.
Nucleus Commercial Finance’s invoice finance offering includes invoice discounting. Their invoice discounting service releases funds that are tied up in unpaid invoices and allows you retain control of your customer accounts and payment collection. They offer to release up to 100% of the funding tied up in your unpaid invoices of a value between £100,000 and £50 million. Nucleus charges a percentage on the transaction that varies depending on your agreement.
Nucleus Commercial Finance website
11. Skipton Business Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Skipton Business Finance’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice values
- Quick access to funds
- Access working capital through flexible solutions
- Advance funds from £25,000 to £5 million
- Offers a range of invoice finance services
- Has a handy tool to compare financial products
- Transparent costs
- Choice of confidential or disclosed service
- Dedicated Relationship Manager
- Free credit reports on your clients
Skipton Business Finance is part of the Skipton Building Society Group of businesses and their business finance company solely focuses on financial support for businesses. Their finance solutions include invoice factoring, invoice discounting, My White Label and interest-free Skipton Select solution. These services will offer you access to funds between £25,000 to £5 million.
Skipton Business Finance’s invoice factoring service offers access to funding and support in managing your sales ledger with an invoice payment collection service. The invoice discounting service also offers access to funds but allows you to have a confidential service where you maintain control of your customers’ accounts and payments.
Skipton Business Finance website
12. IGF Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of IGF Invoice Finance’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Get an immediate cash injection
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Offer both a confidential and disclosed service
- Can manage your sales ledger for you
- Assistance with your credit management
- High-quality service
- Flexible funding solution
- An established provider established in 1997
IGF Invoice Finance is a financial services provider that offers working capital solutions to assist small to medium-sized business to accelerate their growth. They offer invoice finance and asset-based finance solutions that are tailored financial solutions to suit their clients’ needs.
IGF invoice finance solutions offer both invoice factoring and invoice discounting services that provide up to 90% of the value of your unpaid invoices at the point you raise your invoices. IGF‘s invoice factoring service gives its customers access to funding and also assists them by taking over their credit management and collecting their payments. Invoice discounting is more discrete and the clients retain control of their accounts.
13. Sancus
Some of the features and benefits of Sancus’ invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- Access funds within 4 days
- Simple fixed price
- No setup fees
- Can be used selectively or for all invoices
- Can be used alongside other funding arrangements
- Flexible service
- No fixed term contract
- Offers to lend from £25,000 up to £15 million
- Online account management
Sancus is a financial services provider who offers a range of lending services which include secure cash flow funding, asset-backed loans, supply chain finance, invoice trading, and education finance. Their lending services range from 0 to 60 months.
Sancus call their invoice finance solution invoice trading but it offers the same function which lends their clients up to 90% of their unpaid invoice values from £25,000 to £15 million. They charge an agreed fixed price which ranges from 1.5-3% of the advanced funds per 30 days. Their service is an invoice discounting service that allows you to maintain control of your customer accounts whilst benefitting from the cash injection.
14. Positive Cashflow Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Positive Cashflow Finance’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 85% of your invoice values
- Release funding from £10,000 to £1 million
- Available to businesses with a minimum turnover of £100,000 per year
- Flexible finance solutions
- Service that suits all business sizes
- Open to new businesses
- Quickly makes decisions
- Offers both invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Experienced provider backed by a larger group
- Offers a range finance solutions
Positive Cashflow Finance is an experienced financial services business that is part of 1pm plc. They offer a full range of financial solutions which include business loans, bridging finance, commercial mortgages, invoice finance, vehicle and asset finance. Positive Cashflow Finance’s solutions cater for smaller business, new business start-ups, and established larger businesses.
Positive Cashflow Finance offers two invoice finance solutions which are invoice factoring and invoice discounting. Their invoice factoring service is called disclosed invoice finance which also offers comprehensive credit control service. Their invoice discounting service provides a confidential service that allows you to stay in control of your customers’ accounts and credit control.
Positive Cashflow Finance website
15. Catalyst Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Catalyst Finance’ invoice finance.
- Access up to 80% of invoice value
- Simple solution
- Access as and when you need to
- Specialise in finance solutions for SMEs
- Available to businesses with a minimum of £25,000 in outstanding invoices
- Selectively choose invoices to raise funding from
- Charge a fixed daily rate
- No set-up or ongoing fees
- Offer a confidential or disclosed service
- Works alongside other finance solutions
Catalyst Finance is a smaller financial services provider who offers services that target small to medium businesses and was set up to specifically cater for this sector and their need to access finance for short periods of time to help cash flow. They aim to provide financial solutions that enable SMEs to access funding when needed, quickly, pay only for the period that they borrow the money for, without signing up to long-term contracts.
Catalyst Finance’s invoice finance solution offers invoice discounting service that can be confidential if required but either way you will retain control of your credit control and customer accounts.
16. Advantedge
Some of the features and benefits of Advantedge’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice values
- Receive funding on the same day as invoices are raised
- Improved cash flow
- Grows with your business
- Free up valuable management time
- Professional credit management solution
- Secure early settlement discounts
- Keep control of your relationships
- Online account management
- Access up to £1.5 million
Advantedge is an established business finance provider that is an independent, privately run business. Advantedge has local teams who work with businesses to help them find the right financial solution with a fast and personal service. They support businesses of all shapes and sizes across many sectors.
Advantedge offers a range of invoice financing services which include invoice discounting and selective invoice financing. Their selective invoice financing is an invoice factoring service where you can select which invoices you would like to release funding from and Advantedge will collect the outstanding payments for you. Invoice discounting is more discrete and you retain control of your payment collection.
17. Team Factors
Some of the features and benefits of Team Factors’ invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Release funding the same day
- Access funding from unpaid invoices as soon as you raise them
- Your own BACS account for payment
- Real-time account tracking
- Online account management
- They take over invoice payment collection
- Flexible service
- Bespoke solution
- Expert credit control service
Team Factors is a financial services business that provides invoice finance, recruitment finance and payroll services. Team Factors delivers a tailored service to its customers to help them access funding. Team Factors offers invoice financing in the form of invoice factoring.
Team Factors’ invoice factoring service allows you to access up to 90% of your unpaid invoice values on the same day that you receive the invoice. They pay their clients through a BACS service into their bank account which is delivered uniquely through a dedicated and individual BACS account. Clients can manage their account through the online system that shows information in real-time.
Team Factors website
18. Pulse Finance Cashflow
Some of the features and benefits of Pulse Cashflow’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 85% of your invoice value
- Release funds within 24 hours
- Instant decisions on invoices to factor
- Designed for start-ups to businesses with £2 million turnover
- Single fixed discount rate charge
- No hidden fees
- Simple application process
- 5-day turnaround on application
- Full credit control service
- Free customer credit checks
Pulse Cashflow Finance is a business to business asset-based lender who provides finance against the working capital tied up in assets and unpaid invoices. They base their finance solutions on the quality of the items that businesses are using as collateral.
Pulse Cashflow Finance offers a range of invoice finance solutions that are all based on factoring services. They evaluate your sales ledger in order to determine what factoring service they can offer you and give you a principal decision. Pulse Cashflow Finance bespoke their solution to you and cater for your needs to help both start-ups and established businesses to grow.
Pulse Cashflow Finance website
19. Barclays Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Barclays’ invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- Receive funds within 24 hours
- Confidential service
- Retain control of your credit control
- Collect your own payments
- Online account management
- Flexible service
- Available for multiple currencies
- Experienced provider
- Optional bad debt protection
Barclays is a well-established banking and financial services provider who provides a wide range of finance solutions to businesses. Part of Barclays’ financial lending services is cash flow finance and asset-based lending which allows businesses to utilise the money tied up in either their assets or their unpaid invoices.
Barclays offer an invoice finance service which they call cash flow finance that enables businesses to access the funding tied up in unpaid invoices up to the value of 90%. This type of financing is usually called invoice discounting which is where you benefit from the cash flow without having to disclose the service to your customers.
Barclays website
20. Peak Cashflow
Some of the features and benefits of Peak Cashflow’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 85% of your invoice value
- Quickly access funding
- Tailored package
- One-to-one approach to cater for your needs
- Choice of invoice finance solutions
- Confidential service available
- Managed or retained credit control
- Quarterly minimal contract levels
- Customer credit checks
- Optional bad debt protection
Peak Cashflow is a financial services provider who offers financial solutions that enable businesses to access the funding tied up in unpaid invoices and assets. These services include invoice finance, asset finance and trade finance.
Peak Cashflow offers three types of invoice finance, these are invoice factoring, invoice discounting and confidential factoring. Invoice discounting is most suited to established businesses with good credit control. Invoice factoring is better suited to smaller businesses with little back office functions that would benefit from outsourcing their credit control. Confidential factoring is the same as factoring, but the service is not disclosed to the customers.
21. Santander Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Santander’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 85% of your invoice value
- Raise cash against invoices as soon they are created
- Immediate access to the invoice value
- Flexible service linked to income
- Tailored service
- Confidential or disclosed service
- The option of managed invoice collection
- Online account management
- Experienced financial specialists
- Suitable for small to large businesses
Santander is a well-known bank that provides a range of financial services to businesses that include borrowing facilities such as loans, asset finance, invoice finance, and overdrafts. Their invoice finance solutions include invoice factoring and invoice discounting service.
Santander’s invoice financing solutions are ideally suited to businesses that have annual sales over £250,000. Through these services, you can release up to 85% of your unpaid invoices on the day that your invoices are raised. The service is tailored to your business and it can grow with your business. You can select whether you want to use the disclosed factoring service or confidential discounting service.
Santander website
22. Metro Bank Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Metro Bank’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 85% of your invoice value
- Release funding within 24 hours
- Apply for funds straight after raising the invoice
- Clear and fair pricing
- No cancellation penalty
- Minimum of two weeks to set up
- Dedicated relationship manager
- Flexible service
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Borrow up to £100,000
Metro Bank is a banking and financial services provider who tries to do things differently with stores that are open seven days a week and no need for appointments. They are a progressive bank that caters their services to smaller businesses.
Metro Bank offers a range of borrowing services which include invoice finance which consists of invoice factoring and invoice discounting. Their invoice factoring service is ideally suited to smaller businesses who can benefit from Metro Bank’s expertise in handling their credit control. The invoice discounting service allows businesses to retain control of their credit services and benefit from a confidential lending service.
23. ABN AMRO Commercial Finance
Some of the features and benefits of ABN AMRO’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- Immediately access funds within 24 hours
- Access funds normally tied up for 30-90 days
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Confidential or disclosed service
- Managed credit control or retain control of it
- Can be set up within 5 working days
- Personal account management
- Award-winning service
- Optional bad debt protection
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance is part of one of the Netherlands’ largest banks called the ABN AMRO Group who provide private and commercial banking services across the globe. They support businesses from start-ups to £1bn turnover. They provide invoice financing and asset-based lending solutions to help businesses raise the capital funds they need quickly.
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance offers invoice finance that includes invoice factoring and invoice discounting. They aim to provide a service that caters for businesses of all sizes and makes the process smooth and hassle-free. With both invoice factoring and discounting services available there is a solution to suit most needs.
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance website
24. Lloyds Bank Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Lloyds Bank’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 90% of your invoice value
- Typically receive funds within 24 hours
- Solutions that cater for different business needs and sizes
- Confidential or disclosed service
- Flexible service that grows with your business
- Managed credit control service available
- Available to businesses with a minimum annual turnover of £50,000
- Open to non-Lloyds Bank customers
- Optional insolvency protection
Lloyds Bank is an established provider of banking and financial services who offer a range of financial lending services to businesses whether they are small business start-ups to large businesses. They offer invoice finance and asset-based lending solutions.
Lloyds Bank’s invoice finance solutions include invoice factoring and invoice discounting. Their invoice factoring service is available to businesses with a minimum annual turnover of £50,000 and it provides credit control services to help you manage your payment collection. Their invoice discounting service is available to businesses with a minimum turnover of £250,000 and it offers a confidential service with retained credit control.
Lloyds Bank Invoice Finance website
25. Paragon Bank Invoice Finance
Some of the features and benefits of Paragon Bank’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 95% of your invoice value
- Quickly access to funding
- Flexible service that grows with your business
- Tailor-made contracts
- Experienced credit control team
- Credit card collections
- Fast and efficient payment collection
- Managed payment collection
- Debt protection solutions
Paragon Bank is a UK based specialist bank that focuses on lending services. They offer a range of lending and savings products which include mortgages, asset finance, invoice finance, development finance and structured lending.
Paragon Bank’s invoice finance solution is a factoring proposition where they manage the credit control for you and support you in collecting unpaid invoices. They offer a flexible and bespoke service with a tailored contract that caters for individual business needs. Paragon Bank will release up to 95% of your unpaid invoice values and give you the remaining funds minus their fees after the customer has paid.
26. Outsauce Financing
Some of the features and benefits of Outsauce Financing’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 100% of your invoice value
- Receive quick access to funds lock up in unpaid invoices
- Increased cash flow
- Caters for small to larger businesses
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- The option of handling your credit control and sales ledger
- Online portal to manage your account
- Flexible service that can grow with your business
- Can be used with their other services
- Optional bad debt protection insurance
Outsauce is a complete finance and back office solutions company that caters solely for recruitment agencies and they aim to help them grow their businesses. Outsauce have been providing tailored finance, payroll and credit control solutions for 15 years.
Outsauce offers invoice finance solutions that include invoice factoring and invoice discounting. Both financial lending solutions offer up to 100% funding against unpaid invoice values to allow recruitment agencies to access the funding tied up in these invoices quickly. Invoice factoring offers a managed credit control service and invoice discounting allows you retain your credit control services and has the benefit of having a discrete service.
27. Trade Finance Global
Some of the features and benefits of Trade Financed Global’s invoice finance.
- Access up to 90% of your invoice value
- Fast and convenient way to release funds
- Transparent service
- Expert financial support
- Independent broker who will source the best deals
- Choice of invoice factoring and invoice discounting
- Confidential or disclosed service
- Reduce risk whilst accessing cash flow quickly
- Managed credit control or retain management of it
- 5-star customer rating
Trade Finance Global is an independent global finance and trade broker. They offer trade finance and invoice finance solutions for businesses both in the UK and globally. They state that they are at the forefront of global trade and they offer a flexible trade facility which includes a wide range of trade finance, finance products and business funding.
Trade Finance Global’s invoice finance services include both invoice factoring and invoice discounting solutions. Their invoice factoring services include credit control and sales ledger management giving businesses expert financial support. Their invoice discounting can offer a confidential service and lets you retain control of your finances.
Trade Finance Global website
28. Satago
Some of the features and benefits of Satago’s invoice finance.
- Release up to 85% of your invoice value
- Quickly access cash flow typically the same day
- No hidden costs
- Selectively choose invoices to raise funding against
- Invoices can be as low as £500
- A solution can integrate with your accounting software
- Can manually upload invoices to their systems
- An online account that allows you to select invoices based on the fees
- Online calculator to illustrate the costs of their services
- Access up-to-date credit reports on your customers
Satago is a finance solutions provider who offers services to businesses that are small to medium-sized. Their product range includes invoice finance, credit control, risk insights, cash flow management and accounting software
Satago offers invoice finance solutions that allow businesses to integrate their accounting software with Satago’s systems or load your invoices into their systems when you want to raise finance against it. Their invoice finance solution is an invoice discounting service that advances up to 85% of the value of the invoice. They offer their services to UK businesses that provide products or services to other UK businesses. Invoice discounting can start at a minimum of £500.
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FAQ
What is invoice finance?
Invoice finance is a collective term, including invoice factoring and invoice discounting, that a lender or other invoice finance companies offer businesses as a way to provide the business access to money that has not been paid to them yet by their clients.
Business cash flow typically operates as a cycle. When clients pay invoices, a business can then re-invest those funds into other areas or simply pay the bills that the business owes.
However, waiting for the client to pay the invoice can disrupt the business’ cash flow. Invoice financing is a way for businesses to access that money even though the client has not paid it yet.
The lender will permit the business to borrow up to a certain percentage of the unpaid invoice. Thus, when the client does pay the invoice, it is the client who is paying off the lender as well.
Who uses invoice finance?
Because of the flexibility that invoice finance provides and the quick access that a business can gain to funds, invoice finance is a good funding option for a variety of businesses, typically those that maintain a sales ledger in some form.
Invoice finance is used by the construction industry, logistics sector, manufacturers, printing and publishing businesses, professional services, recruitment, security firms, transportation and trucking companies, as well as the wholesale and distribution sector.
Is invoice finance regulated?
Unlike business loans, currently, in the UK, the invoice finance industry is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or anyone else for that matter.
Thus, those who are considering using invoice financing services need to be careful and conduct all the requisite due diligence on their own.
Be sure to thoroughly review the fee structures to ensure there are no hidden fees.
With that said, the primary reason that invoice finance cost is affordable is that it’s not regulated. So tread carefully and do your research to ensure that everything is as it seems.
Is invoice financing factoring?
Yes and No.
Invoice factoring is one of the various types of invoice finance. However, factoring puts a twist on normal invoice financing.
An invoice finance facility is essentially securing a loan against an unpaid invoice, and then, when the client pays the invoice, the client is paying both you and the lender back.
Invoice factoring is sort of like a collection agency. Factoring involves selling the unpaid invoice to the invoice finance provider, so your client now owes the lender the money instead of you.
It now becomes the invoice finance provider who is out the money and needs to get the invoice paid to recoup the debt, as you have been paid and are clear and free of the invoice.
Is invoice financing a good idea?
Whether or not invoice financing is a good idea for your business is a decision that you need to make concerning all the necessary information and factors.
Invoice financing provides:
– Reliable and stable cash flow
– The ability to remain confidential
– High approval rates
– An unsecured cash flow
– Reduces the amount of labour involved in tracking unpaid invoices
– Can improve your relationship with your customers.
With those in mind, there are also negatives to consider, such as:
– You are sacrificing part of your profit margin
– This can eventually result in having to chase down every payment
– The payment terms you now have could affect your relationship with your customers
– For unpaid invoices, you may turn an asset into a debt
– You end up losing a lot of control over your accounts receivable.
Is invoice financing risky?
There are always risks involved with any financial decision or investment. However, using invoice finance does have risks that a business loan does not. This issue genuinely comes down to whether the risks are acceptable to you and whether you can properly manage the risks involved.
Just some of the primary and most common risks that businesses take with invoice financing are:
– Becoming overly reliant to the point that the income from invoice financing is more central to the business than client payments are
– A business completely disrupts its relationship with its customers
– The company’s unpaid invoices begin to eat away at all the company’s working capital.
– The associated costs and fees completely diminish the profit margin.
Should I factor my invoices?
There are some benefits and advantages to invoice factoring that some businesses can genuinely maximise.
Invoice factoring can provide a lot more control over your accounts receivables as you are essentially guaranteed quick payment.
Additionally, you would save money by not having to attempt to secure payment of overdue and unpaid invoices.
If your business typically has a lot of outstanding invoices, factoring can remedy that immediately.
Also, selective invoice finance allows a business owner additional control over exactly what parts of the sales ledger to direct to the invoice finance providers.