Guides to Debt Factoring and Invoice Finance
Eleven guides and three comparison pages, written for company directors who want the costs, risks and mechanics explained before they speak to a provider.
Read in this order if you are new to the subject
Most readers want to know three things: what factoring is and whether it is a good idea, what it will cost, and what happens when something goes wrong. The four groups below follow that order, then step back to the cash flow fundamentals that decide whether you need invoice finance at all. Each guide carries worked examples, and none of the figures is an offer.
Understanding factoring
What the product is, whether it is right for you, and how it compares with the alternatives.
Debt factoring advantages and disadvantages
An honest account of where factoring helps, where it costs more than it saves and the businesses it does not suit.
Read guideFactoring vs invoice discounting
Who collects, whether customers are told, the cost difference and which structure providers steer each business towards.
Compare optionsInvoice finance vs business loans
Funding that grows with sales against fixed borrowing and overdrafts: cost, security, flexibility and what each does to the balance sheet.
Compare optionsInvoice factoring for small businesses
Minimum turnovers, the products built for smaller ledgers and how to avoid paying for a facility you cannot fully use.
Read guideCosts and eligibility
What a facility costs in practice and what providers check before offering one.
Invoice factoring costs
Service fee, discount charge, arrangement, minimum, audit, refactoring and termination fees, with published ranges and a worked example.
Read guideCan start-ups use invoice factoring?
Why new businesses can be fundable from their first invoices, what providers want to see and the conditions to expect.
Read guideInvoice factoring eligibility
Turnover, customer quality, concentration, sector and the paperwork a provider will ask for at assessment and survey.
Check eligibilityRisk and providers
What happens when a customer fails, how the industry is regulated, and how to choose or change a provider.
How to choose an invoice factoring company
The questions to ask, the contract clauses to check and the warning signs, without a fabricated league table.
Read guideWhat happens if a customer does not pay?
Recourse periods, refactoring fees, bad debt protection and the practical steps providers and businesses take.
Read guideRecourse vs non-recourse factoring
Who carries the bad debt risk, what non-recourse cover actually includes and when paying the premium is worth it.
Compare optionsIs invoice finance regulated?
The FCA position for limited companies, the consumer credit rules for sole traders, and the UK Finance Standards Framework.
Read guideHow to switch invoice finance provider
Notice periods, termination fees, the inter-member transfer process and how to avoid a funding gap between facilities.
Read guideCash flow fundamentals
The underlying arithmetic: payment terms, working capital and the levers that reduce the need for external funding.
How to improve business cash flow
Practical steps on invoicing, credit control, supplier terms and stock, and where invoice finance fits among them.
Read guideInvoice payment terms explained
Net 30, 60 and 90, end of month, statutory late payment interest and the Fair Payment Code tiers.
Read guideHow to calculate working capital
The formula, the working capital cycle, debtor days and how releasing cash from invoices changes the numbers.
Read guideRead enough to know what to ask?
Tell us about your business and your enquiry is passed to a provider who can set out indicative terms.
Find Out Whether Invoice Factoring Could Work for Your Business
Tell us about your business and funding requirements to explore your next steps.