Invoice finance: the hidden source of business cash

What is invoice finance? Permjit Singh Treasury Consultant finds out

Cinema owners are exposed to immediate streaming of new film releases and to those new releases being box office flops.  On top of that, they are under pressure from Wall St pressuring film studios to stream immediately on release (FT).

Just like other cash-based consumer-facing sectors such as High street retailers and hospitality, companies cannot fall back on invoice finance to generate cash when the revenue dries up, says Cash for Invoices Limited - the single invoice buyer.  

Invoice finance is a readily-available source of cash, but only for businesses that trade on credit, meaning they issue invoices to their customers for future payment of goods and services sold.  

Cash for Invoices Limited explains how single invoice finance works:

What is invoice finance?
Cash for Invoices Limited of Chiswick London is an invoice finance company that specialises in buying single invoices.  An SME can sell one or more of its trade invoices to Cash for Invoices Limited for cash.  Unlike other providers, Cash for Invoices Limited only charges ONE fee, and gives the SME these other benefits:

NO commitment on the SME to sell further invoices  NO charge over assets NO debt NO arrangement exit, maintenance or other fees other than a simple single charge for the cash paid in advance of the invoice payment date  and NO financing facility  

Cash for Invoices Limited of London offers a simple, transparent and flexible invoice finance service that helps the SME or sole trader get the essential cash they need.

What is an invoice?
Invoices are a form of trade receivable, i.e., they are an asset on a company's balance sheet representing money to be received by that company at some future date - at the time the debtor pays the invoice.   At that time, the debtor (payer of the invoice) will no longer appear on the company's balance sheet and instead it will be replaced by an equal amount of cash (which is also an asset).  There is no net increase or decrease in assets, merely conversion from one to another.  

Bad debt?
If that debtor does not pay the invoice bought by Cash for Invoices Limited, then the asset (the invoice) will be written off as a bad debt (a cost in the profit & loss account) and invoice assets (trade receivables) will then reduce ( because no cash came in from the invoice debtor).  Granting time (credit) to buyers (by the SME) to pay for their purchases is therefore an example of credit risk for the SME that gives customer time to pay for goods or services.

If later - perhaps through credit collection procedures - the debtor pays the invoice, then the bad debt is added to the profit & loss account as a profit (income) and cash increased by the amount received.  The assets (cash) increase and are offset by an increase in profit (equity on the balance sheet).  All is well again.

Selling an invoice to Cash for Invoices Limited
Cash for Invoices Limited is a provider of cash and is not a debt collector, so it only buys SME invoices that are not in default, i.e., where the debtor has failed to pay the invoice.

Before the debtor defaults, the SME can sell the invoice to a single invoice finance buyer - such as Cash for Invoices Limited.  The SME wants to exchange an invoice for cash - perhaps it needs the cash sooner than the invoice payment date.  Cash for Invoices Limited will consider the offer and if accepted will provide a Quote of the terms and conditions of the invoice that the SME wants to sell.  

There is no commitment for the SME to sell, and no commitment for Cash for Invoices Limited to buy the invoice on offer for sale.  

Cash for Invoices Limited will make an offer after conducting due diligence on the selling company and on the debtor especially.  The debtor is a key concern for Cash for Invoices Limited because if there is a subsequent default in payment of the invoice, then Cash for Invoices Limited will not require the seller to buyback the invoice.  The invoice sale is therefore non-recourse (except where the SME's owner or director(s) and so Cash for Invoices Limited has to suffer the consequences of a default.

Cash for Invoices Limited has the right to commence steps to recover the debt.  These can include issuing letters for payment, appointing a solicitor, making a court claim, or making a claim under a credit insurance policy.  

Personal Guarantee in the event of invoice default
Cash for Invoices Limited might require a personal guarantee of the director(s) of the SME who is selling the invoice, in case the invoice sold is not repaid by the debtor.  

Retention to mitigate credit risk
To mitigate the potential costs of trying to recover payment on an invoice that Cash for Invoices Limited purchased but which goes into default, Cash for Invoices Limited will retain up to 10% of the value of that invoice from the purchase price.  If there is no default (the debtor pays the invoice on time and in full) then Cash for Invoices Limited will pay the full amount of the retention to the seller when the debtor pays the invoice.

Features of single invoice finance offered by Cash for Invoices Limited
In addition to being non-recourse (except where a personal guarantee is provided), Cash for Invoices Limited does not require a commitment from the seller to sell all its invoices, nor will Cash for Invoices Limited charge an arrangement fee for a purchase.  

Cash for Invoices Limited will not ask for ongoing fees because there is no facility between the seller and Cash for Invoices Limited. The transaction is entered into whenever the SME needs cash and Cash for Invoices Limited agrees to purchase the single invoice or multiple invoices.  Compared to bank factoring facilities, Cash for Invoices Limited's single invoice finance service is far more simple and has no tie-ins and far fewer fees, in fact, just one fee.

Cash for Invoices Limited's single invoice finance service therefore helps companies (sole traders, SME, charity, social enterprise, and limited partnerships) who have trade invoices and need cash.

To find out more about Cash for Invoices Limited's single invoice finance service, contact Cash for Invoices Limited here

Cash for Invoices Limited will consider buying invoices where the SME and its debtor are located in Ealing, Hounslow, Hammersmith, Richmond, Kingston, Harrow, Acton, Brentford, Chelsea, Kensington, Holland Park, Barnet, and the north, south, centre, and east of London.  Cash for Invoices Limited will also consider invoice purchase from other parts of the UK.