The Difference between Accounts Receivable Financing and Factoring
Today, it’s not as easy for businesses to access finance as it was in past years, and more companies are being forced to look for alternative, non banking financing options in order to access the capital they require to help their business grow.
Two of the more popular tools available to cash strapped business owners are Accounts Receivable Financing (A/R Financing) and factoring. Some business owners believe these two are the same, but there are, in fact, some small yet significant differences.
What Is Factoring?
Factoring is when a commercial finance company, also known as a factor or factoring company, purchases a business’s outstanding accounts receivable. At that time, the factor will typically advance the business somewhere between 70% and 90% of the invoice’s value. Then, once the invoice is collected from the customer, the remaining balance – minus a factoring fee – is released to the business. The factoring fee could range from between 1.5% and 5.5%. It’s calculated on the total face value of the invoice and depends on how many days the funds are in use and other aspects, like the collection risk.
When a business has a factoring contract they can usually choose which invoices they want to sell to the factor: it’s not generally an all or nothing process. Once the factor has purchased an invoice they become responsible for managing the receivable until the account has been paid. Essentially, the factor becomes the business’s accounts receivable department and credit manager, analyzing credit reports, performing credit checks, mailing invoices, and documenting payments.
What Is Accounts Receivable Financing?
Accounts Receivable Financing is more similar to a traditional bank loan, however there are some key differences. Bank loans are secured with collateral; which might be real estate, the business owner’s personal assets, or plant and equipment; whereas Accounts Receivable Financing is backed by the business’s assets related to the Accounts Receivable. When a business has an Accounts Receivable financing agreement, a borrowing base is established at each draw against which the business is able to borrow money: this would typically be between 70% and 90% of the qualified receivables.
Between 1% and 2% is typically charged as a collateral management fee against the outstanding amount, and interest is only calculated as and when the money is advanced. An invoice must be less than 90 days old in order to count towards the borrowing base, and the finance company must deem the business credit worthy. There may also be other conditions to fulfil.
So, you can see that there are many similarities between Accounts Receivable financing and factoring; however, one is the sale of an asset (receivables or invoices) to a third party, while the other is actually a loan. In many ways, though, they do act similarly. Below we’ve listed the main features of each so you can determine which would be the best fit for your company.
Accounts Receivable Financing
• Generally, Accounts Receivable Financing is not as expensive as factoring;
• It can be easier to move from this type of financing to a traditional bank line of credit once a business becomes bankable again;
• Typically, a minimum of $75,000 per month is required in sales to qualify, so this type of financing may not be available to small companies;
• Due to the fact that the business will be required to submit all of its Accounts Receivable to the finance company, this type of financing can be less flexible than factoring.
Factoring
• It’s quite easy to qualify for factoring, and factoring is the ideal solution for start ups and financially challenged companies;
• Because businesses can decide which invoices they want to sell to the factor, factoring offers more flexibility than Accounts Receivable Financing;
• The company is able to track total costs on an invoice by invoice basis because factoring has a simple and straightforward fee structure.
In Conclusion
Today we see both Accounts Receivable Financing and factoring as traditional sources of financing; effective when traditional bank financing is not an option. Factoring can carry a business through a period when an immediate cash input is required.
Somewhere between 12 and 24 months most companies are generally able to repair their financial situation and once again become bankable. However, some companies in certain industries continue factoring their invoices indefinitely.An example of this is the trucking industry, which relies heavily on factoring for cash flow injections.