Paying employees, rent and suppliers are the three biggest expenses that most business owners face. If you are a wholesaler / reseller and buy and resell goods, your biggest expense is likely to be supplier payments. On the other hand, if you provide services, your biggest expense is likely to be payroll. Either way, making sure that your suppliers and employees are paid on time is critical. The solution to these challenges is to obtain an infusion of working capital, and that is where trade finance can help you. Trade financing helps ensure that you always have the funds to pay employees and suppliers – and thus – have the resources to grow your company.

Do you have clients that take 30 or more days to pay their invoices? Or, if you are a distributor, do you have clients that have placed large orders, depleting your capital resources? There are two trade finance tools that can help you in these instances. The first tool is called factoring financing. The second one is called purchase order financing.

Factoring Financing

Factoring is an ideal financing tool for companies that can’t afford to wait up to 60 days to get paid by clients. A factoring company can provide you with an advance of up to 85% on your slow paying receivables, providing you with working capital to pay employees and business expenses. Factoring is quick and can provide you with a payment within a day or so after invoicing.

Purchase Order Financing

PO financing is ideal for companies that resell goods to government or commercial clients. It can provide you with financing you need to deliver on your large orders. Purchase order funding works by providing you with funds to pay suppliers, enabling you to close more and larger sales. The transaction is settled once your customer pays for the goods.

Conclusion

Companies that need either domestic or import export financing can benefit from factoring and purchase order financing. And as opposed to traditional bank financing, both are relatively easy to obtain and can be set up in a few days.

The word “hot” has over forty different meanings, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. As used in this article, the word “hot” is used to mean:

“6 a : of intense and immediate interest b : unusually lucky or favorable c : temporarily capable of unusual performance (as in a sport) d : currently popular or in demand e : very good ”. The words eager, zealous and fresh are second place synonyms for the hot idea of accounts receivable financing.

When a B2B business suddenly needs financing fast, it is hot. It is hot because it is on fire with potential business: money is needed to power this growth.

According to the Wikipedia, “”Money (That’s What I Want)” was a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed by Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy. It became the first hit record for Gordy’s Motown flagship label.” The song was hot. It has been recorded by over twenty different artists; it reached number 23 on the Rhythm and Blues Charts. The lyrics to “Money (That’s What I Want)”, as recorded by the Beatles, go like this:

“ The best things in life are free

But you can keep ‘em for the birds and bees

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want

Your lovin’ gives me a thrill

But your lovin’ don’t pay my bills

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want

Money don’t get everything, it’s true

What it don’t get, I can’t use

Now give me money (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want)

That’s what I want (that’s what I want), yeah

That’s what I want…”

The Beatles were hot. It is an interesting fact that it took the Beatles many years to personally make substantial money even though they were the hottest band on the planet. For years they sold more records than any other group, but the profits did not find their way into the individual Beatle bank accounts. When in the course of a B2B business’ development does the business get “hot”? Here are a few examples:

1) A video game developer labored for years to create novel technology and interesting new types of multi-player games for the internet. They were almost put out of business one year when a burglar broke into their office and stole all of their computers and office equipment. A major corporation in the video game business offered them a contract to develop a new game; substantial progress payments were offered for meeting the contract milestones; the challenge was to meet a very tight production schedule. All of a sudden, the business was hot; they needed to hire thirty new game developers. How could they meet the increased payroll requirements and accomplish the goals in the contract?

2) A small distributor of novelty products from Australia established a California corporation to sell their products throughout the United States. They introduced their product to many major department stores. After of several years of marketing they landed several new contracts for five times their previous year’s sales. All of a sudden, the business was hot. How could they pay for the product and provide the items to the department stores?

3) A manufacturer of products for the military struggled to survive for five years. They invented a terrific product. Unfortunately, they were involved in patent litigation and other disputes that burdened them with substantial attorney’s fees. After years of struggling, the disputes were settled and the attorney’s were paid. The manufacturer was “cash poor”. They negotiated an order for their products that was several times their previous year’s sales. All of a sudden, they were hot. How could they manage their cash flow to take advantage of the new opportunities?

If these businesses could sing, “Money (That’s What I Want)” could be their anthem. Accounts Receivable Financing may be the answer to their universal cash flow issues and requirements for substantial growth. Time is of the essence because these businesses, all of a sudden, are hot.

In five to ten working days, or less, accounts receivable financing may be obtained to make these businesses ready for prime time. The process is relatively simple. The business completes an application for financing. They give the appropriate accounting information and details regarding their customers to the finance entity. The finance entity conducts a due diligence review regarding their financial condition, and the strength of their customers. If there are no issues, a process is started whereby the businesses deliver their products or services to their customers and the finance entity advances 80% to 90% of the contract amounts. When their customer pays the finance entity it pays itself back the funds that have been advanced, deducts the agreed upon fees, and the business receives the difference. This accelerates their cash flow. It eliminates the wait of thirty to ninety days to receive payment from their customers.

Sometimes there are other complicating issues such as tax problems, UCC-1 lien priority matters, subordination of pre-existing financing, the need for purchase order financing to pay for costs of production, or letters of credit to guarantee international trade- all in addition to accounts receivable financing to make financing a hot business work correctly. Often these issues will be overcome successfully.

The bottom line: if your business is ready for prime time and your sales are hot, if you feel like singing “Money (That’s What I Want)” like the Beatles, Accounts Receivable financing may be the cash flow solution for your business’s success.

Copyright ©2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

Running an import company can be very exciting yet challenging at the same time. As demand for cheap produced goods has increased, so has the number of importers that are constantly growing their businesses.

To be a successful importer you need three things – good suppliers, solid customers and the right financing. As a matter of fact, having the right financing can make or break your company.

Importers always play a delicate balance with their financing. The idea is to have as much financing as possible that is active (in use), backing up active purchase orders from clients. However, this delicate balance of living on the edge with financing has its drawbacks. What happens when you get an order that exceeds or exhausts your bank financing? Unless you have a great track record, it is unlikely that the bank will extend you further financing.

Your best option is to use purchase order financing.

Purchase order financing can cover up to 100% of the necessary financing to deliver on a purchase order from a large client. The financing company handles the process of getting a letter of credit (or similar method of payment) and paying your supplier. This enables your supplier to deliver the product and allows you to book the sale.

Purchase order financing also allows you to increase your purchasing capabilities dramatically, enabling you to book orders that in the past may have been too big for your company. With it, you can take your company to the next level.

As a financing tool, purchase order funding is easy to use. The process of establishing an initial account with a financing company can take a week or two. All qualified orders after the account is established can be financed in days. And, qualifying for purchase order financing is much easier than qualifying for a bank loan or line of credit. The main requirement is a purchase order from a solid commercial customer.

Purchase order financing is commonly used in conjunction with factoring (invoice factoring). Generally speaking, factoring is cheaper that purchase order financing. So, by combining both financing tools, you can lower the total cost of financing.

Let’s say that your business suddenly gets a big order from your best client. However, it is an order that is clearly too big for you. What would you do? If your business has a good banking relationship perhaps you may be able to tap into a line of credit or a bank loan. But what happens if your business is small or new and you have no banking relationship? Do you turn the customer away? Fortunately, you don’t have to. Purchase order (PO) financing may be able to help you secure the sale and deliver the order.

What can purchase order funding do for you?

Purchase order funding is a tool that allows you to finance your big orders. It provides the necessary funding to fulfill orders that otherwise you could not afford to deliver. When used correctly, it can enable you to grow your company quickly

As opposed to bank financing, purchase order funding does not rely on your company’s financial strength. Rather, it relies on the financial strength of your customers. This means that if you sell products to large companies or to government entities, purchase order funding can be the ideal option to finance those sales.

Who is a good candidate for purchase order financing?

To qualify for purchase order financing, your company must sell products rather than services. An ideal candidate for this type of financing would be a product re-seller or distributor who is buying products from a supplier and then shipping the products to the client. Purchase order financing can also work in instances where products are sold in conjunction with services (e.g. maintenance), however, the product part of the order must be separate from the services component.

The business case for PO financing

PO financing is simple to use. The po financing company buys the products from your suppliers in your name, using a letter of credit or similar instrument. It then ensures that the products are properly delivered to your client. Once the order is delivered and approved by your client, the funds from the letter of credit are released to your supplier.

At this point, the order has been delivered and an invoice is issued. Most invoices take 30 to 60 days to pay. Once an invoice is paid, the transaction between the parties is settled. It is common to combine po financing with receivables factoring because this enables you to reduce the total cost of the transaction.

Receivables factoring is a type of financing that provides you with financing based on your receivables (or invoices) for delivered products. Usually, once an invoice is generated, the invoice is factored and the funds are used to close the po financing facility. This is done because the rates for po financing tend to be higher than the rates for factoring receivables. This little trick can help you save money and realize greater profits.

Although po financing is a great tool, it does not work for every company. However, if you have margins of at least 20% and good paying customers, you should be able to benefit from it.

Forget Bad Credit, Buy Your Car Now

Everyone wants to own a car in his name. It doesn’t matter whether the car is a new one or a used car. This need arises because of the comfort one gets by traveling in his own car. If he has a car, he doesn’t need to wait for a bus or train on different stops to go to his office or any other place. But, the problem arises when he is not having sufficient funds to buy the car. Car loans are the most popular alternatives for raising finance to buy a car. You can get enough money to buy a car without any trouble.

Different car loans have different features. But the online car loans have many features altogether. This is because of the use of fast technology in these loans. Internet is the fast medium which is used in these loans. The car seekers are assisted in many ways by these loans. A loan amount sufficient to buy the car can be raised by them. They are not even required to give any guarantee of the repayment. The interest rate is also low as compared to other loans.

Car loans online is perfect example of modern day technology. The whole process is electronically done starting from filling up of application form, submission of various documents and then approval of loan amount and in the end of payment of he debt. Thus you can deal with these loans by sitting in your bedroom. This not only saves you from physical harassment but also not kills your precious time and money. In order to avail these loans you have to satisfy following prerequisites:

a) You must be an U.K. citizen.
b) You must be residing at your current address since 6 months.
c) You must have a full time paid job.
d) You must have a bank account on your name.

The borrower can take up the secured or the unsecured form of these loans. The secured form of the loan will require the borrower to pledge his car or any other asset with the lender as collateral with the lender. However the unsecured form does not require anything similar. The rates of interest differ between these two options available. Due to pledging of assets with the secured form, the rate of interest is very low as the repayment of money is assured. The term of repayment for these loans is 5-7 years.

The advantage of going for these loans is that the process is very simple. You either bring in a quotation from external car dealer or from one of their dealers. Then all you have to do is to fill in the application form provided in their respective web portals. In case you opted for partial finance, you also get some time to arrange the remaining amount of money. Meanwhile the car you selected is not shown to others as on sale.

Loan 2 Loan UK is one of the best online loan arranger; just to fill up it’s a simple application form and within few hours of his applying loan amount credited direct to his account in a very least time span.

Nobody wants to be the dumb buyer in a car buying deal. You have to be smart or you end up losing more money than you ought to. It is a very common scheme among car buyers to first get money in order to buy a new car.

The term is called “auto financing” and it simply means how you pay for a vehicle. You can finance a car by taking out an auto loan to own a car, in which case, you have two options: You either use the money from the loan to buy the car, or use it for lease.

If this isn’t your first time buying a car, you might already know that the salesman or your car dealer will be checking your credit report before starting with the negotiations. But this is not the only way you can go to get that new car of yours. The seller will try to sweeten the deal and offer you special car finance situations in exchange for throwing yourself totally at his mercy. That is not a path you have to choose.

The key is preparation. Knowing what auto financing options you have before you get to the dealership will mean that you can take charge of your credit and take charge of your car loan.

Just remember, when you negotiate with the salesman for the most favorable auto loan, nothing is permanent until you have it in writing. So haggle and then haggle some more. Once negotiations seem to be over, that’s when the sales contract is prepared.

Inflated Interest Rates

To have the deal agreed upon by you and the salesman be put in writing in a binding contract is top on the list of the things you must do involving auto financing. Often involved at this part of the procedure is to determine monthly auto loan payments based on an interest rate. Now, as you well know, the interest rate varies from car buyer to car buyer. Your credit is only one of the factors and if the interest rate a car buyer qualifies for is inflated, then the dealership can make extra profit off your loan. That’s just one of the pitfalls in auto financing.

Independent Auto Financing

When you have the approved auto financing option on hand, you can then proceed with the deal as a “cash buyer” so to speak as you already have the cash in hand from the loan and you are just buying the car from the dealer with that money. Car salesmen prefer customers to be “monthly payment” buyers as this makes it easier for them to obscure the total cost of the vehicle, to the detriment of your savings. So wizen up and take that independent auto financing option available.

Set a Price Range

Having a budget is the sensible thing to do. If you set a sensible price range for yourself, then you have less reason to go beyond that range and succumb to the temptation of overspending. If you’re really firm on that budget, no amount of sales talk can sway you. One good tip is to ensure that your monthly car payments and related expenses do not exceed about 20% of your monthly net income.

Discounted Financing vs. Rebate

Here’s the dilemma to car buying: Many dealers offer an option between discounted financing or a rebate, but not both. Discounted financing means that you get zero-percent financing while rebate means that you get a certain amount of cash some time after purchase. The common error many car buyers make is that the zero-percent loan will deliver the most savings. But will it really?

Get the Cash Rebate

In most cases, it’s better to get the cash rebate and apply it against the purchase price of the vehicle. If you already have a pre-approved car loan, then that’s even better because you have positively no need of extra financing from your dealer. Just use your car loan to finance the car and let the rebate handle some of the charges.

You will have to choose how long you want your lease to be and how much you’re willing to pay upfront. The obvious choice, of course, would be to pay as little as possible, but be sure to weigh other options as well. After that, the car is yours for the period stipulated in the lease contract.

There are several other different plans those car buyers like you can adopt in order to make the most out of your money and reduce costs at the dealership. Understanding the credit process is just one way of being a smart buyer.

For more information on auto financing and car loans, visit:

http://www.financeguide101.com/finance-reports/money-for-a-car-a-guide-to-auto-financing.html

Benjamin Zander and his wife wrote a book entitled: “The Art of Possibility; Transforming Professional and Personal Life”. Their idea is that “you can create a passionate energy permeating The Art of Possibility that will be a true force in your life. You can make your own rules.” Their book is inspirational. You will be inspired if you buy and read it. The question is: how does this pertain to accounts receivable financing?

It’s all about attitude, enthusiasm and point of view regarding how to conduct your business. Can you make your own rules regarding how banks, commercial finance companies and other financial entities operate? Of course not. Can you make your own rules regarding how you utilize the financial recourses that are available to finance your business? Absolutely!

Here are three examples how to harness the power of accounts receivable financing sometimes with other types of financing to grow your B2B business.

Case Study One:

A Solar Energy Company that designed and supervised the installation of renewable energy systems was unable to obtain bank financing. They were one of the area’s lowest cost providers of solar panels, system design and supervision. One of their biggest assets was State Solar Tax Credits that are paid to homeowners who install the solar energy systems. An obligation from a State to a consumer is not within the definition of an account receivable. In other words, it could not be financed because it was not an obligation to a business. Using the art of possibility, the homeowners were persuaded to assign their solar tax credits to the Solar Energy Company. This transformed a consumer receivable into a commercial accounts receivable. Voila! The Solar Energy Company received accounts receivable financing it needed to grow.

Case Study Two:

An individual purchased an Importing Company that had been financed with a bank’s SBA loan. As collateral for the loan, the bank placed a UCC1 filing on the accounts receivable and inventory of the business. UCC refers to the Uniform Commercial Code in effect throughout the United States of America. In some respects, it simplifies the process of lending, selling and borrowing nationally. In other ways it is very complex. A UCC1 filing by a bank usually prevents any further financing because there is no collateral left to be financed. It is similar to a first mortgage loan on a house. If you have a 95% loan on your house, no other financing is available on the house because there is no equity to lend on. Using the art of possibility, the Importing Company was successful in convincing the bank to subordinate their UCC1 filing to another commercial lender’s UCC1. The Importing Company convinced the bank that it would be mutually beneficial to lower the bank’s UCC1 lien to a secondary position to allow a commercial finance company to offer new accounts receivable financing and inventory financing. Voila! The Importing business has a new credit line available for growth. It is now more profitable and the bank is more likely to be repaid. This is a win-win situation.

Case Study Three:

A start-up Clothing Company involved in manufacturing, distributing and designing T-shirts landed a substantial purchase order for their product. The product was to be made in China, and the Clothing Company lacked sufficient funds to pay for the costs of manufacture and distribution. Using the art of possibility, the Clothing Company obtained a letter of credit to guarantee the Chinese factory of payment, purchase order financing to pay for the T- shirts upon delivery, and accounts receivable financing to pay the purchase order company upon delivery of the goods to the customer in the US.

Accounts receivable financing can help your B2B business realize the art of possibility for growth and profits. Voila!

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

This business financing strategy article will describe the importance of avoiding “problem commercial lenders”. The article will NOT name specific lenders to avoid, but key examples will be provided to illustrate why prudent commercial borrowers should be prepared to avoid a wide variety of existing commercial lenders in their search for viable business financing strategies.

I have been advising business owners for over 25 years, and I have encountered many business financing situations which have involved commercial lenders that I would not recommend as a result. These problematic situations have especially involved commercial mortgage loans, business cash advance situations and unsecured working capital loans. As a direct result of these experiences and daily conversations with other commercial loan professionals, I do in fact believe that there are a number of commercial lenders that should be avoided. This conclusion is typically based on more than one negative experience or an obvious pattern of lending abuses.

I have published many commercial loan articles which are designed to assist commercial borrowers in avoiding business loan problems. One of the most serious business financing situations is a commercial lender that causes business loan problems for their commercial borrowers on a recurring basis. It is particularly this type of commercial lender which prudent commercial borrowers should be prepared to avoid unless viable alternative business financing options do not realistically exist.

Here are a few examples of why certain commercial lenders should be avoided.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 1 – Yes or No?

I have published an article which discusses the tendency of many banks to say “YES” when they mean “NO”. Such banks will typically attach onerous business financing conditions to commercial loans instead of simply declining the loan. Business owners should explore other commercial loan alternatives before accepting business financing terms that put them at a competitive disadvantage.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 2 – The Commercial Appraisal Process

For commercial real estate loans, commercial appraisals are an unavoidable part of the commercial loan underwriting process. The commercial appraisal process is lengthy and expensive, so avoiding commercial lenders which have displayed a pattern of problems and abuses in this area will benefit the commercial borrower by saving them both time and money.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 3 – Think Outside the Bank

In smaller metropolitan markets, it is not unusual for a dominant commercial lender to impose harsher commercial loan terms than would typically be seen in a more competitive commercial financing market. Such commercial lenders routinely take advantage of a relative lack of other commercial lenders in their local market. An appropriate response by commercial borrowers is to seek out non-bank business financing options. It is neither necessary nor wise for commercial borrowers to depend only upon local traditional banks for working capital and business cash advance solutions. For most business financing situations, a non-local and non-bank commercial lender is likely to provide improved commercial financing terms because they are accustomed to competing aggressively with other commercial lenders.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 4 – Meaningless Pre-approvals

Commercial borrowers frequently want a commercial lender to approve their commercial loan at the earliest possible point. The assumed benefit to this early business loan approval is that it will enable the commercial borrower to make other business plans which depend on the business financing being finalized.

Because an ethical commercial lender will treat any form of an approval very seriously, commercial borrowers should expect that a meaningful version of such an approval will not be realistically possible in just two or three days. Nevertheless there are commercial lenders who provide their own special version of a pre-approval within just a few days of receiving preliminary application information. Because this abbreviated approach to pre-approvals almost always produces unexpected surprises for the commercial borrower as the business financing process goes forward, commercial borrowers need to be extremely wary of any commercial lenders that take this approach.

Why do some commercial lenders provide such meaningless pre-approvals? There are two likely reasons. (1) To motivate the commercial borrower to stop considering other potential commercial lenders. (2) To provide a pre-approval that is similar to a structure prevalent with residential mortgage loans. Since many business loans are arranged by residential mortgage brokers who are frequently unfamiliar with common business financing procedures, this reason will be especially applicable when dealing with commercial lenders that specialize in dealing with residential mortgage brokers.

Copyright 2005-2007 AEX Commercial Financing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Borrowing money is as American as apple pie. Americans borrow money to purchase houses, to finance automobiles, and to pay for luxury items on their credit cards every day. It is a rare individual that can pay all cash for their house, their car, or their credit card bill every month. The U.S. economy thrives on credit because of the recycling of cash when these purchases occur. America is an economic powerhouse, partly because collectively we borrow so much money to have things today, instead of saving the cash to buy these items some day, if ever, in the future. Economic theorists are of the opinion that when you purchase a house, the cash recycles about seven times: to the realtor, to the title company, to the mortgage broker, to the lender, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, and so forth.

We live in the land of opportunity. You do not need a college degree or pedigree to become an entrepreneur. All you need is the ability to organize, manage, and assume the risks of a business with a sufficient amount of cash to fund the business.

Borrowing money is the American paradigm for success for individuals and for businesses. According the American Heritage Dictionary, a “paradigm is:

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.

2. A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.

3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Usage Note: Paradigm first appeared in English in the 15th century, meaning “an example or pattern,” and it still bears this meaning today: Their company is a paradigm of the small high-tech firms that have recently sprung up in this area. For nearly 400 years paradigm has also been applied to the patterns of inflections that are used to sort the verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech of a language into groups that are more easily studied. Since the 1960s, paradigm has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework, as when Nobel Laureate David Baltimore cited the work of two colleagues that “really established a new paradigm for our understanding of the causation of cancer.” Thereafter, researchers in many different fields, including sociology and literary criticism, often saw themselves as working in or trying to break out of paradigms. Applications of the term in other contexts show that it can sometimes be used more loosely to mean “the prevailing view of things.” The Usage Panel splits down the middle on these nonscientific uses of paradigm. Fifty-two percent disapprove of the sentence The paradigm governing international competition and competitiveness has shifted dramatically in the last three decades.”

For more dictionary information please see: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

What does this have to do with accounts receivable financing?

Banks exist primarily to loan money to people and businesses, on a safe and sound basis according to federal banking regulations. The banking paradigm for businesses involves offering checking and savings accounts to take money in, and offering various types of business and personal loans to “get the money out”. Their goal is to make a profit on your cash for the bank. To qualify for these loans you have to prove, to the bank’s satisfaction, that you have the clear and present ability to repay these loans. If you are a startup company, a company that is growing very rapidly, or an established company that is affected by a sudden negative event, the banking paradigm may not work for you. Perhaps, you need to think differently; perhaps your perspective is “inside the banking paradigm box” and you need an alternative.

What is inside the box thinking? According to ‘Thinking Outside the Box’? By Ed Bernacki Published April 2002:

“Thinking inside the box means accepting the status quo. For example, Charles H. Duell, Director of the US Patent Office, said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” That was in 1899: clearly he was in the box!

In-the-box thinkers find it difficult to recognize the quality of an idea. An idea is an idea. A solution is a solution. In fact, they can be quite pigheaded when it comes to valuing an idea. They rarely invest time to turn a mediocre solution into a great solution.”

Mr. Bernacki distinguishes “inside the box” thinking vs. “thinking outside the box” as follows:

“Outside the Box

Thinking outside the box requires different attributes that include:

• Willingness to take new perspectives to day-to-day work.

• Openness to do different things and to do things differently.

• Focusing on the value of finding new ideas and acting on them.

• Striving to create value in new ways.

• Listening to others.

• Supporting and respecting others when they come up with new ideas.

Out-of-the box thinking requires openness to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore. Out-of-the box thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support. They also know that having an idea is good but acting on it is more important. Results are what count.”

If your B2B business does not have enough bank credit to expand at the rate you need, or if your B2B business cannot take advantage of growth opportunities because of lack of funds, you may need to think differently: think outside the box. Think of using the virtually unlimited financing that is available from accounts receivable financing.

To think differently, you may need to overcome the two most common “inside the box” concerns regarding accounts receivable financing.

Objection: “Our customers will not want do business with our company if they know we are dealing with a commercial financing company to finance our accounts receivable”.

Think Differently: Accounts receivable financing allows you to offer credit terms, like the bank. Many businesses prefer to resell your products or services and earn a profit before they have to pay you for your product or service. Accounts receivable financing generally involves notification to your customers of the arrangement to “manage” your receivables; and verification from your customers that your product or services were “satisfactory”. From your customer’s point of view, someone in their account’s payable department is changing the “pay to” portion of their check to the address of a commercial finance company. Usually the check is cut payable to you and sent to a P.O. Box of the commercial finance company. In certain situations, notification may not be required at all; this is called non-notification factoring.

Objection: “Accounts receivable financing is too costly”.

Think Differently: Accounts receivable financing is a paradigm for success; you will have the necessary working capital you need to fulfill larger orders by accelerating your cash flow. You will need a gross margin of 20% or more, in general, for this type of financing to make economic sense. There is an inverse relationship between the cost of financing and the size of your credit facility: the larger the credit facility, the lower the cost. In other words, the fees and rates will be less for $500,000 per month than for $25,000 per month.

The bottom line: Accounts Receivable Financing- Think Differently! is intended to help you think “outside the box” and become more profitable. One tried and true paradigm for achieving this result as an entrepreneur with a B2B business is accounts receivable financing.

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

This real estate and business financing article discusses a concept which is referred to here as “Thinking Outside the Bank”. It is meant to be a variation of the well-known “thinking outside the box”. Despite the prominence of traditional banks, they are not the only viable source which should be considered for a commercial mortgage or commercial loan. There are many reasons why a commercial borrower might not go to a traditional bank for a commercial real estate loan or other business finance circumstances.

Business borrowers have more commercial mortgage and commercial loan alternatives than they realize. As noted above, I refer to these business financing alternatives as “Thinking Outside the Bank” because a typical commercial borrower probably believes that a bank is the best source for a business loan in business investing situations. Non-traditional business lenders are usually viewed as having the competitive edge for many common commercial financing and commercial real estate investment property financing scenarios.

In some cases a traditional bank will offer to provide a business loan but will attach excessively stringent terms and covenants. In other cases a traditional bank will decline the commercial mortgage outright, perhaps because they do not even provide business financing to the commercial borrower’s particular industry. In either case, the commercial borrower is likely to benefit by “Thinking Outside the Bank” for their business investing efforts.

Commercial loan borrowers might feel that a bank is their most likely source for business financing. However, since traditional banks usually focus on a few types of businesses and commercial real estate investing, non-traditional business lenders should be emphasized for any business loan situation. Therefore the recommended business finance and commercial mortgage strategy discussed in this article is to “Think Outside the Bank”.

As I reported in a previous business financing and investing report, in many commercial mortgage situations it is common for a local bank to assess stricter commercial loan conditions than would typically be seen in a competitive business loan scenario. Such banks can often take advantage if there are few business lenders in their market.

A prudent response by business borrowers is to consider non-traditional commercial mortgage options. It is not necessary for borrowers to depend upon traditional banks for business loan strategies. For typical commercial loan scenarios, a non-bank lender can often provide better business financing terms because of the competitive market situation.

There are at least three business financing situations in which business borrowers will typically experience that non-traditional lending sources can provide conditions that are best for the borrower: (1) commercial real estate investment property loan programs; (2) credit card factoring and business cash advance programs; and (3) working capital management programs for credit card processing.

Business Loan Investing Options – Commercial Real Estate Investment Property Loan Programs -

Two of the most common commercial mortgage difficulties experienced by commercial borrowers can be avoided if they “Think Outside the Bank”. The first business financing situation is the prevailing practice of traditional banks to avoid most special purpose investment properties (such as funeral homes and golf courses).

A second business loan possibility is the frequent practice of many commercial banks to add recall and balloon conditions to their commercial loans. The bank can then require early payoff of the commercial real estate loan under stipulated conditions. Both business financing situations can easily be prevented by a non-traditional lending source.

Business Financing Choices – Business Cash Advance Programs -

Most businesses that accept credit cards will qualify for a business cash advance with their credit card receivables. Traditional banks will typically be very poor candidates to consider if a business needs assistance with credit card factoring and business cash advances.

Because successful business owners typically need more working capital than they can obtain from a bank, it is important for a business to “Think Outside the Bank” with non-traditional lenders to help with this working capital management function.

Credit Card Processing Programs – Working Capital Management Choices -

The selection of a credit card processing service can be critical in improving the cash flow of a business with significant credit card activity. Credit card processing providers can be combined with the credit card financing process mentioned earlier.

In coordinating a business cash advance and working capital business loan program, it is usually possible to achieve improvements in the business owner’s credit card processing services. Traditional banks are usually not competitive in providing assistance with a business cash advance using credit card receivables. So it is likely that a non-traditional lender will be the major source of competitive help with credit card processing improvements.

A closing business financing and commercial real estate investment property financing thought: I have written an earlier business loan article about commercial lenders to avoid. It should be noted that there are in fact both traditional and non-traditional (non-bank) lenders which should be avoided.

When business owners are “Thinking Outside the Bank”, they should be ready to avoid troublesome non-traditional business lenders in their investment quest for worthy working capital management dealing with commercial real estate loans, credit card financing and credit card processing.