Confidential invoice finance

Quick facts

Invoice finance is a way of borrowing money using your unpaid invoices. If you’ve issued invoices to your customers and these haven’t yet been paid, invoice finance unlocks this money early. It’s like a u003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/business-loans/u0022u003ebusiness loanu003c/au003e, but instead of using a physical asset like a building as security, invoice finance uses your accounts receivable.u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eInvoice finance is a type of u003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/asset-finance/u0022u003easset financeu003c/au003e that enables you to borrow money based on what your customers owe to your business (accounts receivable).u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eUnpaid invoices of course represent money that will be paid to you. You might offer your customers payment terms of 30, 60, 90 or even 120 days. Assuming your customers pay.u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/confidential-invoice-finance/u0022u003eConfidential invoice financeu003c/au003e is a suitable funding option if you prefer your customers to remain unaware that you’re securing finance against their invoices. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eConfidential invoice finance refers to forms of invoice finance that aren’t disclosed to your customers. We’ve already described invoice discounting, but confidential invoice factoring and CHOCs (Customer Handles Own Collections) are other examples of this type of finance. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eAs you’d expect from the name, confidential invoice finance refers to all invoice discounting and invoice factoring facilities that remainu003cemu003e confidential – u003c/emu003eyour customers are not made aware that you’re using invoice finance.

u003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/confidential-invoice-finance/u0022 data-rich-text-format-boundary=u0022trueu0022u003eConfidential invoice financeu003c/au003e is a suitable funding option if you prefer your customers to remain unaware that you’re securing finance against their invoices. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eConfidential invoice finance refers to forms of invoice finance that aren’t disclosed to your customers. We’ve already described invoice discounting, but confidential invoice factoring and CHOCs (Customer Handles Own Collections) are other examples of this type of finance. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eIf confidentiality is important to you, you might consider the three main types of confidential invoice financing:u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-discounting/u0022u003e(Confidential) invoice discountingu003c/au003e -u003cemu003e Invoice discounting is arguably the simplest form of u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-finance/u0022u003eu003cemu003einvoice financeu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e – it’s a way of borrowing money using your unpaid invoices. Invoice discounting is aimed at larger, established companies with a relatively high revenue, and is designed to finance your entire sales ledger (i.e. all of your invoices). It’s usually confidential, so your customers and suppliers won’t be aware of the arrangement.u003c/emu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003e u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/confidential-invoice-factoring/u0022u003eConfidential invoice factoringu003c/au003e -u003cemu003e Confidential factoring is a type of u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-finance/u0022u003eu003cemu003einvoice financeu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e. It offers the cash advance and credit control aspects of a normal u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-factoring/u0022u003eu003cemu003efactoringu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e facility – but with the confidentiality of u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-discounting/u0022u003eu003cemu003einvoice discountingu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e.u003c/emu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003e u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eConfidential CHOCs (‘Customer Handles Own Collections’) -u003cemu003e CHOCs (‘Customer Handles Own Collections’) is a hybrid of u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-factoring/u0022u003eu003cemu003einvoice factoringu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e and u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-discounting/u0022u003eu003cemu003einvoice discountingu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e. It’s a disclosed (non-confidential) facility, like u003c/emu003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-factoring/u0022u003eu003cemu003efactoringu003c/emu003eu003c/au003eu003cemu003e, but with a CHOCs facility you continue to handle your own credit control, like invoice discounting.u003c/emu003e

Smaller businesses with a minimum revenue (e.g. from £30,000) who want to keep their factoring arrangement confidential – some providers will work with new businesses.

u003cstrong data-rich-text-format-boundary=u0022trueu0022u003eInvoice discounting u003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-discounting/u0022u003eInvoice discountingu003c/au003e is the simplest type of invoice finance. It involves a lender advancing you money against unpaid invoices and charging a fee based on the value. This form of finance is suitable for bigger companies with a relatively high revenue as it allows them to secure funding against their entire sales ledger. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eInvoice discounting is confidential, so your customers don’t know you’re using their invoice as collateral. Your company remains in charge of its own credit collection. It’s also considered riskier so your lender may require evidence that your customers pay promptly and you have in-house capacity to chase outstanding payments. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cstrongu003eInvoice factoring u003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/invoice-factoring/u0022u003eInvoice factoringu003c/au003e also lets bigger companies borrow money against their sales ledger, but it’s different to invoice discounting because the process is disclosed. The lender takes control of your credit collection and deals directly with your customers. They pay the lender, who then forwards you the balance less their fee. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eInvoice finance can benefit smaller businesses as it means they don’t have to chase their outstanding payments, although they have to prove to the lender they generate a reliable revenue. However, it may not be cost-effective for SMEs with fluctuating cash flows.  u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cstrongu003eSelective invoice financing u003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/asset-based-lending/u0022u003eSelective invoice financingu003c/au003e lets your company borrow against specific invoices, rather than your entire sales ledger. This form of invoice finance is suitable if your company generates a significant proportion of its income from large, steady customers, and you only want to finance those invoices. Selective invoice financing can also help SMEs raise working capital if they have fluctuating cash flows, as borrowing against their sales ledger may not be cost-effective. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eSelective invoice financing comes in two forms: selective invoice discounting and spot factoring. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cstrongu003eSelective invoice discounting u003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/selective-invoice-discounting/u0022u003eSelective invoice discountingu003c/au003e works in the same way as invoice discounting, where a lender advances you money against outstanding invoices. The main difference is you choose the invoices you’d like to finance rather than your company’s whole sales ledger. As such, it’s useful for companies seeking to borrow against invoices issued to a few big customers instead of a lot of smaller customers.  u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eSelective invoice discounting is also similar to regular invoice discounting because it’s confidential, so it could be the right option if your company would prefer to hide from your customers that you’re securing finance against their invoices. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cstrongu003eSpot factoringu003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/spot-factoring/u0022u003eSpot factoringu003c/au003e allows you to borrow money against specific unpaid invoices rather than your sales ledger, so it’s also suitable for companies with at least a few large customers. The main difference with selective invoice discounting is that spot factoring is disclosed. You hand over control of the invoices you choose to finance to the lender who collects payment from your customer and forwards your company the balance less its fee. Spot factoring may suit SMEs that don’t have the resources to chase outstanding payments and are happy to let a lender take the responsibility on their behalf. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003cstrongu003eConfidential invoice finance u003c/strongu003eu003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eu003ca href=u0022https://swoopfunding.com/ca/knowledge-hub/confidential-invoice-finance/u0022u003eConfidential invoice financeu003c/au003e is a suitable funding option if you prefer your customers to remain unaware that you’re securing finance against their invoices. u003cbr data-rich-text-line-break=u0022trueu0022 /u003eConfidential invoice finance refers to forms of invoice finance that aren’t disclosed to your customers.

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