Don't Gamble With Your Business


by Tracey Tarrant - Date: 2006-12-06 - Word Count: 414 Share This!

Imagine…

A business owner scrambles to come up with money to make his payroll. As a last desperate measure, he gathers up every last penny he has and flies to Vegas. He gambles…and wins! Amazing isn't it? It happened to a now globally know company back in its beginning stages.

As a business owner, making ends meet can be stressful. Companies with whom you do business can take 30, 60 even 120 days to pay their invoices. In the meantime, you have to cover your expenses. There is a solution.

It's called Factoring. It is the selling of your accounts receivables. This year alone, thousands of businesses will sell billions of dollars worth of these receivables to finance growth and sometimes to eliminate cash shortages.

Factoring is a 4,000 year old form of financing. Dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, factoring has slowly evolved throughout the centuries. The early American colonists used factoring when shipping goods back to England. Merchant bankers advanced the colonist money against those materials long before they reached England. Before the 1930's, the most common industries to use factoring were the textile and garment industries. Today, it is quite common in all spheres of business-to-business commerce.

How factoring works is actually fairly simple. When a client submits invoices, the factor will verify their accuracy, sometimes even turning this into a customer service call. The Factor then pays an advance against these invoices (up to 90% in some cases) and the client receives their money the next day. When the invoices are paid, the factor recovers the original advance, plus its fees and the client is due the remainder.

One question I am asked often is, "Why should I factor?" What better way to grow your business than to have a constant and continuous flow of cash? Granted there are other ways to finance your business, but none that will provide a constant flow of money, with very little hassle. Most factors also provide other valuable services that allow the business owner to focus more on their business and less on the administrative tasks. Full A/R management is one of these services. Others provide Purchase Order financing, equipment financing, inventory financing and bookkeeping as well.

There is good reason to use factoring. It provides immediate working capital. Your financial statements are stronger and your worry about money is gone. As a business owner, you are able to focus your attention on running your business. And the best news is; you won't have to fly to Vegas to make payroll!


Related Tags: money, finance, loan, business, cash, financing, receivable, factoring

Tracey Tarrant is known in the Atlanta business community as the Queen of Networking. She has found a passion in the art of referrals and firmly believes in the theory, when you give…you get. She uses her networking skills to help businesses become successful. She joined forces with Jonathan Freedberg of Aberdeen Funding in February and provides businesses with the crucial ingredient of success; continuous cash flow. Tracey and Jonathan are the Expert Advisors in Receivables Financing for the H. J. Russell Sr. International Center for Entrepreneurship at Georgia State University. The Center was formed with the dedication goals of to improving the chances of success for 21st century entrepreneurs. Tracey is also the Foundation Coordinator for the eWomenNetwork, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the financial and emotional health of women. Tracey's nature is to nurture, and whatever your business ailments are, Tracey has a referral for your cure!

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