The absolute beginners’ guide to single invoice finance

17/06/2020

More and more businesses are taking advantage of innovative business funding solutions such as invoice finance.

Over the years the invoice finance market has developed in line with the needs of UK businesses to offer funding solutions that help businesses grow and reach their potential.

Single invoice finance is an excellent example of how the market has developed to cater for even more businesses. While traditional invoice finance provides funding against a business’s entire sales ledger, single invoice finance allows you to release cash from individual invoices as and when you need to.

Here is a beginners’ guide to single invoice finance to answer all your questions about the product and how it can help boost your cash flow.

What is single invoice finance?

Single invoice finance, also known as spot factoring, allows businesses to release up to 90% of an invoice’s value within 24 hours to avoid the delays in getting paid commonly experienced with trading on credit. By boosting your cash flow in just 24 hours, it allows you to bridge the cash flow gap between paying suppliers and receiving payment from your customer, giving you the necessary working capital to focus on fulfilling the order.

How does it differ from standard invoice finance?

Whilst traditional invoice finance facilities provide funding against a business’s entire sales ledger, single invoice finance allows you to release cash from individual invoices. This can be a good way to test and see if invoice finance will be a good fit for your business without getting tied into a long contract.

Single invoice finance can also be beneficial to businesses who only want to release funds against high value invoices, or those with long payment terms, that they would not necessarily have the ability to fulfil without access to funds.

Can my business use single invoice finance?

Although invoice finance is better suited to certain industry sectors, if your business is B2B and trades on credit terms you should be eligible for this method of funding. Single invoice finance is particularly popular with firms who have seasonal trading patterns or those who only want finance against one customer.

What are the benefits of single invoice finance?

There are so many reasons businesses are increasingly turning to single invoice finance. Here are just a few:

• Provides fast access to cash tied up in your sales ledger.
• No need to get tied in to a long-term funding facility.
• You do your own credit management, allowing you to maintain your customer relationships.
• Great for high value invoices or those with long payment terms that you would not necessarily have the ability to fulfil without instant access to the cash.

Are there any negatives?

If you plan to access funding against your sales ledger over the long term it may be more cost-effective to opt for a more traditional invoice finance facility.

Who offers single invoice finance?

An increasing number of invoice finance lenders are now offering single invoice finance to help businesses who only want to release cash from individual invoices.

How can I secure the right invoice finance solution for my business?

Knowledge is power so it’s essential to always do your research and know your options before committing to a facility. However, this is often easier said than done. With facilities structured differently from lender to lender, trying to compare providers can be extremely time-consuming. Fortunately, a good finance broker will be able to talk you through the different product offerings to discuss the benefits of each one and help you find the best solution for your business’s requirements.

Still have questions?

If you’re still not sure about how single invoice finance works, or if it will benefit your business, we could help. As an independent commercial finance broker Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions can discuss an array of funding options and funders available to your business.

To find out which funding solution would best suit your needs please call our team on 0800 9774833 or email info@hiltonbaird.co.uk. Alternatively request a call back now and one of our experts will be in touch.