Earn money or reduce debt with our advice and tips.

If you run your own business theres no reason to wait thirty days or more to get paid – you can now have the money paid within 24 hours.

When you run a small business which depends on your customers making timely payments, you may find certain times of the year to be hard going. Even with your business being a really solid going concern, at times you may not be able to find the necessary cash for running your operations.

This can lead to some vicious cycles: your suppliers are discontent with your payment delays, so you may lose out on some good deals. Your employees get frustrated if they dont receive their wages on time, and this can lead to a loss in productivity and higher staff turnover rate. So when you do finally get paid and you want to pick up activity again, you may have no one to supply you and no one to get the work done!

You need cash up front. What are the alternatives?

There are a number of ways for you to get more cash into your business:

* Inject personal funds. This is not usually an ideal solution.
* Find a new investor, if you are prepared to give away equity in your business
* Use an overdraft. A solution that usually implies a great deal of time and a lot of conditions your business has to comply with. Overdrafts can be recalled at any time and can be restrictive on your business.
* Apply for a bank loan. In this case you may be spending a lot of time only to find out that you are not eligible. Small businesses aren’t usually banks’ favorites when it comes to loaning them money.

The good news is that you don’t actually have to wait. A good way to avoid these cash flow gaps and not enter the vicious cycle is to set up an agreement with a factoring company.

How to use your own money?

If youre thinking that the money you’ve honestly earned is all locked up in outstanding or aging invoices, think again. A factoring facility can really work for you and help you to unlock the cash in your business.

Your invoices can be as good as any other assets from a factoring companys point of view. Through factoring you can capitalise on your largest asset, your sales ledger today as opposed to waiting for payment from your customers.

How do you put an invoice through a factoring company?

The process is simple. When you invoice a customer you also send an electronic copy of that invoice to your factor. Then, within 24 hours or less, the factor advances you up to 90% of the invoice value. The factor usually takes on the responsibility of collecting the money from your customer the day the invoice is due to be paid. After that step is accomplished, the factor pays you the rest of the money, minus a small fee for the service.

For small to medium companies outsourcing the sales ledger management function can be of great benefit because it saves you the burden of managing invoices and undertaking the collections activity. By contracting out that element, you can effectively distance yourself from that function and concentrate on the relationship with your customers and focus on sales.

An additional service offered by such companies is protection against bad debts, which would typically cover up to 90% of the outstanding balance on any customer, where you have a designated protection limit in place.

Why should you use factoring?

Factoring is a complementary solution to be used alongside your standard banking facilities. You should look for the right factoring solution for your business.

Here are a few reasons why factoring should be another source of cash to consider:

* Because you’ll never run out of cash again as a consequence of extending the payment terms to your customers.
* Because the facility will grow in line with your business growth
* Because the facility will allow you to take up opportunities available to you. to propel your business forward
* Because you can grow your business at the right pace without worrying about how long it takes your customers to pay you.
* Because you want the competitive edge against your competition.

Factoring is a financial tool that will allow you to obtain cash advances by capitalising your invoices, while at the same time easing your workload.

Most people are involved in some type of financial transaction or decision every day. Sometimes they can get way behind in their debts and financial obligations with no clear way to pay them off. Some resort to debt management plans, which can help if you are careful in setting up the plan. Do you know how to avoid the pitfalls?

Credit and debt issues are critical life altering realities for almost everyone. The daily decisions we make in handling the balance between the two determines our credit worthiness in the eyes of financial institutions. As we all know, if you have a bad credit rating, then borrowing funds or purchasing many items will become difficult or impossible. But what happens when you get so far in debt that you have no clear way to pay it all off? Many people resort to a debt management plan (DMP). These are payment plans structured in a way so that the borrower is better able to pay off their debts, and is agreed to by the borrower and creditors. The benefits can include lower interest rates and fee waivers.

Once you and the creditors have accepted the DMP, it is important to:

make regular and timely payments

always read your monthly statements to make sure your creditors are getting paid according to your plan

contact the organization responsible for your DMP if you will be unable to make a scheduled payment, or if you discover that creditors are not being paid

If the payments are not made to your DMP and creditors on time, you could lose the progress you’ve made on paying down your debt, or the benefits of being in a DMP, including lower interest rates and fee waivers. The creditors may not forgive any more late payments and you will incur more ‘late’ marks on your credit report as well as more late fees, increased debt and a longer pay off period. So, once you are on a debt management plan, make sure that you are never late on any payments.
DMPs are not for everyone. You should agree on a DMP only after a certified credit counselor has spent time thoroughly reviewing your financial situation, and has offered you specific advice on managing your money. You may be able to work out a payment plan directly with your creditors. But if you decide that you need to work with a credit counselor and get additional advice and assistance, ask questions like these to help you find the best counselor for your situation and make sure you get full and complete anwsers.

Some Important Questions to Ask When Choosing a Credit Counselor to Handle your DMP:

1. What services do you offer? Look for an organization that offers a range of services, including budget counseling, savings and debt management classes, and counselors who are trained and certified in consumer credit, money and debt management, and budgeting. Counselors should discuss your entire financial situation with you, and help you develop a personalized plan to solve your money problems now and avoid others in the future.

2. Are you licensed to offer your services in my state? Many states require that an organization register or obtain a license before offering credit counseling and debt management plans.

3. Do you offer free information?

4. Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you?

5. What are the qualifications of your counselors? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? If so, which one? If not, how are they trained? Try to use an organization whose counselors are trained by an outside organization that is not affiliated with creditors.

6. Have other consumers been satisfied with the service that they received? Once you’ve identified credit counseling organizations that suit your needs, check them out with your local consumer protection agency, and Better Business Bureau.

7. What are your fees? Are there set-up and/or monthly fees? Get a detailed price quote in writing, and specifically ask whether all the fees are covered in the quote.

8. How are your employees paid? Ask them to disclose what compensation it receives from creditors, and how they are compensated.

9. What do you do to keep my personal information confidential and secure? They should have safeguards in place to protect your privacy.

Get the information you need to make an informed decision.