Thursday, November 17, 2011

Accounts Receivable Factoring

Image via Income-outcome.com

Many companies are choosing accounts receivable factoring as a way of restructuring their organizations, increasing cash flow and improving their financial statements. If you own a company, and feel a cash crunch, accounts receivable factoring might be right for you.

Accounts receivable accounts are debts that your customers owe and are often called receivables. Accounts receivable factoring works by selling your accounts receivable accounts and balances to a financial organization, or investor, who is willing to purchase them. When this occurs, you sell the balances at a discounted amount, and receive immediate cash for them. An investor is likely to use a certain percentage as a way of calculating what these debts are worth.

Investors choose to purchase these receivables, because of the future value they have. Organizations are often willing to sell these collectibles at a discount, by thinking of the fee as a cost of generating revenues and cash.

One primary purpose for using accounts receivable factoring is to improve your cash flow. Businesses with little or poor cash flow often suffer problems continuing their operations. By using accounts receivable factoring, you will improve your cash flow. You will not have to wait to collect these accounts, and you give the burden of collecting them to a third party.

A common alternative to accounts receivable factoring is taking out a loan. Many people are opposed to this, because with a loan, you will pay interest on the borrowed money; which can often amount to more than what a company will purchase the accounts for. In tough economic times, you might not even be able to obtain a loan, and if you do, the loan rate might be extremely high. Another reason why you should choose factoring over a loan is the effects on your company’s financial statements. A loan increases your liabilities on your company’s balance sheet, while factoring swaps one asset for another. So before your company experiences cash flow problems, consider accounts receivable factoring.

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