AR Cash Flow’s views on factoring
AR Cash Flow - Factoring
AR Cash Flow has outlined its views on factoring. Factoring is the purchase of accounts receivable at a discount.
This means that a factor is a person or business that pays immediate cash for business receivables.
A factor does this, because an unpaid invoice that will be paid by a financially strong company has value.
Factors pay cash for the right to receive the future payments on client’s invoices to their customers.
It must be noted that factoring is not a loan, where interest would be due, but it is the sale of an asset. This is an important distinction.
The work and cost of factoring varies significantly depending on the following reasons:
- The volume and size of the invoices
- The type of invoices
- Who the invoices are billed to and how financially strong they are
- How long it takes for the customer to pay the invoice
A typical transaction might look like this: An invoice for $100 might be sold to a factor. He will advance 80% against the invoice initially and then pay the balance of the invoice when the invoice is paid by the customer (less the small discount fee).
This means that initially the client would get $80 and even more money, once the invoice has been paid. The factor keeps a small fee in exchange for facilitating the transaction.
21-Jul-2008