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What’s the difference between an Overdraft and an Invoice Finance Facility?

I have been getting asked recently ‘What is the difference between an Invoice Finance Facility and an Overdraft?’

Well, here is the answer. An Overdraft is the most commonly used form of short-term finance, with 16% of SMEs in the UK having one. An overdraft has an arrangement fee to put in into place, you pay interest when you’re using it (no interest when you’re not), and it’s a short-term facility – generally 12 months and renewed at the end of the year.

So if you’re constantly at the limit of your overdraft facility, then there is always the danger that it could be construed as a long-term debt rather than a short-term facility and the bank could ask you to repay that, potentially by putting it into a term loan. At
which point, the benefit of having the overdraft, in terms of no capped repayment requirement and no monthly cost, is superseded because the loan now has a monthly repayment.

The alternative to that, as is often put forward and is a very different kind of facility, is the Invoice Finance Facility.

The Invoice Finance Facility provides you with money upfront on your invoices, before you get paid by your customer.

There is a monthly management fee which needs to be paid on the facility, and you pay interest as and when you are required to borrow money against the invoice. So, if you’re not borrowing against an invoice, then you’re not paying any interest.

I guess the best way to look at it is to compare two companies. So, if we’ve got two companies that are look to grow – company 1 has an overdraft and company 2 has an Invoice Finance Facility.

Now, company 1, when it grows, will grow using its overdraft facility, which is a set amount of money, and it will get to the overdraft limit and find that it starts to run out of cash as it tries to grow through that glass ceiling. So, it will need to go back to the bank and renegotiate the overdraft facility or potentially take out a loan in order to get to the next level of growth.

And then it may use up that finite amount of money as it continues to grow, and once again, it will have to do the same thing again and go back to the bank and try to renegotiate a new deal.

Whereas company 2, they have an Invoice Finance Facility. As they start to grow, they raise more invoices. The invoices then have money provided against them by the lender providing the Invoice Finance Facility which allows them to continue to grow, because the facility grows with them. It’s not the case of needing to renegotiate the facility every time the company grows, or needs more cash.

So an Invoice Finance Facility is a much more powerful way of actually growing your business without having to constantly worrying about reaching a predetermined limit set by the bank.

All that needs to happen is the business keeps growing, keeps selling, and keeps making a profit and the facility will grow with it. It’s a very powerful way of using the cash within a business in order to grow.

I’ve talked a lot about these facilities being very good for the survival of a business, which they absolutely are, but they are also very good for growth. I also think that they are very misunderstood in the market. The reason that I say that is that less than 1% of all UK businesses have an Invoice Finance Facility in place.

If you would like to get in front of other businesses by using an Invoice Finance Facility, if you have any questions, or would like the Financial Health of your business assessed, get in touch today and we can open a conversation.

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Security Guard Companies and their funding gap – how are they going to fill it?

Some of my Security Guard company clients have been asking me how they can bridge the financial gap between the downturn of trade and when things return to normal.

 

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas.

I help Scottish Security Guard Companies who are having problems with their cash flow, to release cash from their sales invoices.

I’ve been in business for over 30 years and one of the questions that my customers have been asking me lately is ‘how do I get my cashflow moving now that other businesses are having trouble paying their bills?’.

Here’s my best advice:

If you’re a Scottish firm operating in the business-to-business sector, you’ll be raising invoices for your products or services. At the moment, your normal payment terms for those invoices will most likely be 45 to 60 days. You may have seen a drop-off in trade and the amount of money that you’re going to have over the coming months will be significantly reduced.

You may well have enough to get you through until the point where you can begin trading at normal levels again, but when you need cash to pay the bills as you return to normal trading levels, you’re going to have to wait another 45-60 days for payment. Therefore, the actual funding gap is going to be longer
than the business interruption.

How are you going to plug that gap?

This is where Invoice Finance and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) guarantee may be able to help. As soon as you raise an invoice you could have access to 85-90% of its value within 24 hours instead of having to wait the 45-60 days to get paid.

This will give you ready cash flow to allow you to meet your costs and thrive as we get back to normal.

This is something that I specialise in and my role is to make sure that you don’t need to go to lots of different providers. You only need to provide your information once and we will access the most suitable providers based on the sector that you’re in, your turnover, and how your business is doing.

It is a straightforward process to apply and it doesn’t cost you anything, my fee is covered by the provider.

For more information and to see how a flexible Invoice Finance orFactoring Solution can benefit your business, please call us today or submit an enquiry and we will contact you.

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Recruitment companies have options available to release cash from their sales invoices.

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas.

I help Recruitment Companies who are having problems with their cash flow, to release cash from their sales invoices.I’ve been in business for over 30 years and one of the questions that my customers have been asking me lately is ‘how do I get my cashflow moving now that other businesses are having trouble paying their bills?’.

Here’s my best advice: If you’re operating in the Business to Business sector, you’ll be raising invoices for your products or services. At the moment, your normal payment terms for those invoices will most likely be 45 to 60 days. You may have seen a drop-off in trade and the amount of money that you’re going to have over the coming months will be significantly
reduced.

You may well have enough to get you through until the point where you can begin trading at normal levels again, but when you need cash to pay the bills as you return to normal trading levels, you’re going to have to wait another 45-60 days for payment. Therefore, the actual funding gap is going to be longer than the business interruption.

How are you going to plug that gap? This is where Invoice Finance and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) guarantee may be able to help.

As soon as you raise an invoice you could have access to 85-90% of its value within 24 hours instead of having to wait the 45-60 days to get paid. This will give you ready cash flow to allow you to meet your costs and thrive as we get back to normal.

This is something that I specialise in and my role is to make sure that you don’t need to go to lots of different providers. You only need to provide your information once and we will access the most suitable providers based on the sector that you’re in, your turnover, and how your business is doing.

It is a straightforward process to apply and it doesn’t cost you anything, my fee is covered by the provider.

If you think this may work for you, or have any questions, fill out the ‘Contact Us‘ page on this website and we can have a discussion about how we can help.

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Invoice Finance facilities for the Scottish Transport and Haulage industry

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas and I help Scottish Transport and Haulage companies to improve their cash flow by releasing monies from their sales invoices.

I’ve been in business for over 30 years and the question I’m getting asked most often at the moment is ‘How do I improve my cash flow now that my customers are finding it harder to pay their bills?’

So, here is my best advice. If you are in the Scottish business to business sector you will be raising invoices for your goods or services and you’ll probably be waiting 45-60 days to be paid for those invoices. As a result of the Coronavirus you may well have seen a downturn in trade. It’s not always the case with transport but certain sectors and companies certainly have, so
that will mean that you’re raising less invoices and as a result, the amount of money that you will have coming into your bank account over the next few months will be significantly reduced.

Now, you may well have enough money to get you through to when you return to normal levels of trade again, but when you get back to normal levels of trade you will have dwindled away your cash reserves and you will still have to wait 45 to 60 days to get paid for your new sales invoices.

So you’re going to have a funding gap, potentially, so how do you plug that funding gap?

This is where an Invoice Finance facility will be useful because if you have an Invoice Finance facility, as soon as you raise a sales invoice you can receive 85-90 percent of the value of that sales invoice into your bank account within 24 hours.

Now, with the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme you may well qualify for a guarantee to be provided, by the government, to the lender in order to put that facility into place.

This is something that we specialise in and my role is to make sure that you do not have to go to lots of different providers in order to find the best deal.

You apply solely to us and then we then take your application to the market and find the most suitable lender based on your sector, your turnover, and how your business has been trading. Once we find the most suitable lender, we then get
the best deal possible for you.

The best part of it is that this service does not actually cost you anything. The fee that we receive for doing this is paid for by the lender.

So, if you are a Scottish Transport or Haulage company and you are wanting to put into place an Invoice Financing facility then please fill out the Contact Us’ page on this website and we will work out what we can do to improve your cashflow.

 

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Construction Industry and need assistance with your cashflow?

If you are in the Scottish Construction business and having problems with your cashflow due to unpaid invoices, we have a solution for you.

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas and I help Scottish Construction businesses who are having problems with their cashflow to release cash from their sales invoices.

I’ve been in business for over 30 years and one of the questions that my customers have been asking me lately is ‘how do I get my cashflow moving now that other businesses are having trouble paying their bills?’.

Here’s my best advice: If you’re a Scottish firm operating in the business-to-business sector, you’ll be raising invoices for your products or services. At the moment, your normal payment terms for those invoices
will most likely be 45 to 60 days. You may have seen a drop-off in trade and the amount of money that you’re going to have over the coming months will be significantly reduced.

You may well have enough to get you through until the point where you can begin trading at normal levels again, but when you need cash to pay the bills as you return to normal trading levels, you’re going to have to wait
another 45-60 days for payment. Therefore, the actual funding gap is going to be longer than the business interruption.

How are you going to plug that gap? This is where Invoice Finance and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) guarantee may be able to help. As soon as you raise an invoice you could have access to 85-90% of its value within 24 hours instead of having to wait the 45-60 days to get paid. This will give you ready cash flow to allow you to meet your costs and thrive as we get back to normal.

It is a straightforward process for the application and there are no fees for me to do that, as they are covered by the provider.

This is something that I specialise in and my role is to make sure that you don’t need to go to lots of different providers. You only need to go to me and I will access the most suitable providers based on the sector that you’re in, your turnover, and how your business is doing.

I can save you time and get you the deal that will work for you.

I hope you found that useful. If you’re a Construction business based in Scotland and you need help with Invoice Financing, you can reach me on 07776 257 342, graeme@playfairfinance.co.uk or fill in the ‘Contact Us’ page on this website.

 

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Scottish Engineering business who has unpaid sales invoices?

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas.

I help Scottish Engineering businesses who are having problems with their cash flow to release cash from their sales invoices.

I’ve been in business for over 30 years and one of the questions that my customers have been asking me lately is ‘How do I get my cashflow moving now that other businesses are having trouble paying their bills?’.

Here’s my best advice: If you’re a Scottish firm operating in the Business-to-Business sector, you’ll be raising invoices for your products or services. At the moment, your normal payment terms for those invoices will most likely be 45 to 60 days.

You may have seen a drop-off in trade and the amount of money that you’re going to have over the
coming months will be significantly reduced.

You may well have enough to get you through until the point where you can begin trading at normal levels again, but when you need cash to pay the bills as you return to normal trading levels, you’re going to have to wait another 45-60 days for payment. Therefore, the actual funding gap is going to be longer than the actual business interruption.

How are you going to plug that gap? This is where Invoice Finance and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) guarantee may be able to help. As soon as you raise an invoice you could have access to 85-90% of its value within 24-hours instead of having to wait the 45-60 days to get paid. This will give you ready cash flow to allow you to meet your costs and thrive as we get back to normal. It is a straightforward process for the application and there are no fees for me to do that, as they are covered by the provider.

This is something that I specialise in and my role is to make sure that you don’t need to go to lots of different providers. You only need to go to me and I will access the most suitable providers based on the sector that you’re in, your turnover, and how your business is doing.

I can save you time and get you the deal that will work for you.

I hope you found that useful. If you’re an Engineering business based in Scotland and you need help with Invoice Financing, you can reach me on 07776 257 342, graeme@playfairfinance.co.uk or fill out the ‘Contact Us’ section on this website.

 

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Scottish commercial lending and releasing cash from unpaid sales invoices

Hi, my name is Graeme Shevas.

I help Scottish businesses who are having problems with their cash flow, to release cash from their sales invoices.

I’ve been in business for over 30 years and one of the questions that my customers have been asking me lately is ‘how do I get my cashflow moving now that other businesses are having trouble paying their bills?’.

Here’s my best advice: If you’re a Scottish firm operating in the Business to Business sector, you’ll be raising invoices for your products or services. At the moment, your normal payment terms for those invoices will most likely be 45 to 60 days. You may have seen a drop-off in trade and the amount of money that you’re going to have over the coming
months will be significantly reduced.

You may well have enough to get you through until the point where you can begin trading at normal levels again, but when you need cash to pay the bills as you return to normal trading levels, you’re going to have to wait another 45-60 days for payment. Therefore, the actual funding gap is going to be longer than the business interruption.

How are you going to plug that gap? This is where Invoice Finance and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) guarantee may be able to help. As soon as you raise an invoice you could have access to 85-90% of its value within 24 hours instead of having to wait the 45-60 days to get paid. This will give you ready cash flow to allow you to meet your costs and thrive as we get back to normal.

There are other ways of raising cash in the short-term, such as bridging loans or refinancing assets, but in my view at the moment, the longer-term solution would by your Invoice Financing provision. It is a straightforward process for the application and there are no fees for me to do that, they are covered by the provider.

This is something that I specialise in and my role is to make sure that you don’t need to go to lots of different providers. You only need to go to me and I will access the most suitable providers based on the sector that you’re in, your turnover, and how your business is doing. I can save you time and get you the deal that will work for you.

I hope you found that useful. If you’re a business based in Scotland and you need help with Invoice Financing, you can reach me on 07776 257 342, at graeme@playfairfinance.co.uk, or fill in the ‘Contact Us’ page on this website.