Factoring in Canada provides Canadian business owners and financial managers with an alternative method of financing working capital and cash flow needs. A classic situations in which your firm would utilize this method of financing is when you are experiencing strong growth, or unable to finance daily working capital needs when you have significantly larger orders or contracts with either a new or existing customer . Factoring in Canada is the financing of good accounts receivable. The business model is simple to understand, but requires extra diligence on your behalf in choosing which technical method of factoring would work best for your firm.
We recommend non notification factoring to our clients, although that is only one of several methods available to your firm. Under the non notification method of factoring you are in total control of your receivables and working capital. You bill and collect your receivables in the normal manner that you always have, but at the same time, due to the way in which factoring benefits business, you receive instant cash flow and working capital as soon as you are able to generate a valid invoice to your customer.
The higher cost of this type of financing can in many cases easily be offset by smarter buying on your firms part, or taking advantage of discounts not previously available to yourself when you carried large receivable and inventory positions based on traditional customer payment habits of 30, 60, and yes even 90 days sometimes . If you have a customer that is paying in 60-90 days you can generate all the cash due from those sales 2-3 times via factoring, as opposed to getting paid once in the customers 60-90 day payment time to yourself .
Factoring is simply all about working capital turnover. Is factoring the panacea of total goodness for your firm. We tell clients that no one type of financing is always going to be the best long term solution for your firm , but quite frankly factoring is an excellent ' bridge ' to your next level of growth . That bridge is there because your firm is new, has financial challenges, or, as we noted, is growing too quickly to allow you to negotiate traditional bank financing.
So how do we 'cross the bridge 'our clients ask? The answer is to simply understand the following facts:
- Factoring is a solid immediate cash flow and working capital solution for Canadian business
- Factoring has a higher cost than traditional financing
- More often than not it should be viewed as an interim financing facility
- There are different types of factoring in Canada offered by different firms – Don't choose the wrong facility!
Factoring and receivable financing, (also known as invoice discounting) differs from traditional bank lines of credit. Depending on which type of factoring facility you use you in effect can have unlimited access to working capita. That is simply because this type of financing focuses on your assets themselves, not your balance sheet and income statement. In negotiating a bank line of credit the total focus is on yourself as owner, your balance sheet, your income statement, your industry, and your years in business.
Factoring places a much smaller reliance (in some cases none!) on those guidelines, and focuses solely on the following:
You have assets (receivables)
They are financeable today for immediate cash flow!
It's as simple as that.
So, in summary is it that easy? Yes. And no. We say no because the challenging in setting up a proper factoring facility in Canada is simply understanding the differences in the types of facilities that are set up on your behalf, how they work, how they are priced, determining if you wish to lock in to a contract or leave it open ended, and your overall comfort level with the day to day business model of factoring receivables as you generate sales. Speak to a credible, trusted and experienced business advisor in this area and ensure you understand how the benefits of this type of financing can be crafted into a facility that works for your Canadian firm.
