Why invoices are not paid to SMEs
Here Dr P Singh from Cash for Invoices shares research and answers to why they say your invoices don’t get paid.
Several reasons have been revealed for invoices not being paid to SMES, but single invoice finance from Cash for Invoices Limited can provide essential cash, says Dr P Singh.
Research cited in CityAM showed an alarming state of affairs in recovering money owed to small businesses by debtors.
The research revealed several reasons cited by small businesses as to why they wrote off billions of pounds collectively owed by debtors. Top of the list was insolvency of the debtor, followed by doubt that the debtor had funds to pay.
Equal 3, 4, and 5th place reasons cited were lack of time to chase, risk of damaging the relationship, and no funds to pursue the debtor.
These are all concerning reasons for SMEs writing off collectively £6 billion of debts in 2015/16 according to Direct Line. The average write off was over £31,000 and a staggering 10% of companies each wrote off over £100,000 owed by bad debtors.
These alarming losses might have meant the company had a shortage of cash flow needed for running its business, such as: paying overheads, managing working capital, growth, or research and development. The shortages might have been made up by urgent loans but that solution will have led to further costs (of interest) and reduced bank funding capacity.
Cash for Invoices Limited in London buys single invoices for cash. It will pay up to 97.5% of the invoice amount less a 10% retention that is handed to the company provided its debtor pays the invoice. The fee is therefore just £2.50 per £100 of invoice for a 30-day invoice. A small price to pay to get cash into the business. If the debtor were to default then Cash for Invoices Limited will not sell the invoice back.
Unlike many bank and other factoring companies, a multitude of fees are not charged to benefit from Cash for Invoices Limited single invoice service. No arrangement fee for example and no service charges, exit charges. Nor are there annual renewal charges because no facility is set up with the selling company. There is no commitment for the small business to sell any invoices to Cash for Invoices Limited.
A significant advantage of the single invoice finance service from Cash for Invoices Limited is that it requires no security off the selling company: no debenture, no personal guarantees, or other charges. That is a substantial improvement over many bank and other factoring companies’ factoring facilities.
If a small business answers yes to either of the following questions, then it would benefit from Cash for Invoices Limited’s single invoice finance service:
1 Do you occasionally need more time to pay your supplier invoices?
2 Would you like invoices you send to customers to be paid sooner?
Cash for Invoices Limited’s single invoice finance service outperforms conventional factoring because:
a) it does not require security from the selling business (such as a debenture or guarantee)
b) just one invoice can be sold
c) there is no commitment to sell any invoices to Cash for Invoices Limited, and certainly not the business’s whole sales ledger
d) very small value invoices (from £250) may be sold, ideal for micro-businesses
e) one fee only is charged, plus a refundable retention. Unlike similar service providers, Cash for Invoices Limited does not charge: arrangement, servicing, renewal, or exit fees. The current fee is just 2.5% of the invoice. The refundable retention is 10% of the invoice. This is paid to the business if its debtor pays Cash for Invoices Limited in full and on time.
f) For supplier invoices, the payment date of the supplier’s invoice bought by Cash for Invoices might be extended, giving the business up to 60 days extra time to pay Cash for Invoices Limited.
To get a free no-obligation quote on how much cash you could receive from selling just one invoice, contact Cash for Invoices Limited or call 0208 987 0429
