Accounts Receivable Factoring for Small Businesses in the Oil and Gas Industry

As a business owner, or advisor, it is important to consider various alternatives and oftentimes the most obvious path is the one pursued. Many times when a company is in need of cash flow the immediate thought is to pursue a credit line from a Bank or other financial institution. The first impression is to “get a loan” and use Accounts Receivable as collateral. This may be a possible solution; however, there may be an easier way and that is to “obtain factoring”. Let’s look at the reasons it may be easier and more efficient.

An accounts receivable is a transaction between two businesses whereby one business sells to another on terms. Payment terms can vary depending on the party’s agreement, but net 30 is typical. An accounts receivable (invoice) is sent to the buyer once the seller delivers the product/service. This invoice becomes an asset of the sellers business and can be sold in exchange for cash. Accounts receivable financing allows the seller to get a high advance in the form of cash, immediately by selling the receivable to a third party. This is called Accounts Receivable financing.

Every business needs capital to operate. There are a lot of small business bootstrapping it with personal savings, credit cards and loans from friends and family members. There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but at some point you will hit a limit. The problem is many businesses hit this limit and get stuck. They’ve tapped all of their resources and aren’t able to get a bank loan for one reason or another.

Fast A/R Funding is a well-established factoring company which has managed to retain the enjoyable customer service qualities often attributed to smaller organizations, while serving businesses of a wide variety of sizes and needs. As a result of our drive for long-term quality relationships with our clients, we provide a set of factoring services and benefits which we believe to exceed the value and benefits of the services provided by our competitors. These services go beyond simple invoice factoring or accounts receivable factoring.

Our drive for quality relationships is the very reason for the wealth of information available to prospective clients on our website and the full suite of tools available to our clients in their client portal. Such is the context for this week’s blog post and our discussion of factoring services.

The secret is out!  Businesses large and small alike have found the overwhelming benefits of Accounts Receivable Factoring.  Accounts Receivable Factoring, or “factoring”, is a form of asset based lending that can boost a company’s short term cash flow.  It is not a loan; no debt is assumed by factoring, and the funds are unrestricted.  Companies from large 500 Fortune Companies to small businesses averaging only a few employees make up the growing number who have had successful experiences with Accounts Receivable Factoring.  These businesses have found that being able to pay off debt, purchase new technology, increase business growth by leaps and bounds, make payroll – virtually anything related to their business – has allowed for business opportunities in areas once thought weren’t possible to become increasingly attainable.

Factoring is a way to finance a business that is in need of cash flow and/or experiencing growth. Factoring provides immediate cash in exchange for invoices. Factoring is the purchase of accounts receivable giving businesses control over how and when they can grow without creating debt on their balance sheet. Usually taking 7-10 business days for the initial funding, factoring can be set up for a business in a few simple steps.   

When a business owner considers the need for a loan, many times the initial thought process begins something like this: “I need money for ____. How much do I need? How fast do I need it? Can I qualify for the amount I need? Do I want to go through the process of finding out if I’m even approved, little less the time it takes to actually get the money? How much is it going to cost me?”

Finding a factoring facility can be a daunting task. If you’ve never factored before, you’re going to hear terms and numbers and calculations that sound completely foreign. While a good factoring company should be able to explain everything in a way that makes sense, there’s one piece of the puzzle that you should have a very clear understanding of – the invoice factoring rates.

I read recently that the Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obama Care, may unintentionally help spur a boon in the staffing industry. The impact of the Affordable Health Care Act is, of course, highly debated, and will likely continue to be debated long into the future. While I believe the trend towards more part time workers and temporary workers was already set in motion after the recession began in 2008, the outcome remains the same. The staffing industry as a whole has been given a bullish outlook by many market analysts. In fact, we’ve already seen a steady growth pattern over the last few years.

The Staffing Industry Is Growing. Will You?