Category: Blogging

What Are Your Financing Options?

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

  • It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
  • Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
  • Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
  • It may provide the business with access to more capital.
  • It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.

It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?

Pros and Cons In Home Finance

Home finance is a type of financing provided by the company which either manufactures or sells the product or investment which is being purchased. A good example of this type of financing would be a car manufacturer offering the financing to a person who is buying a car. Financing any form of purchase in this method has some advantages and some disadvantages.

The most obvious advantage of in-home financing is how easily it can be done. Since the company which is offering the financing is also selling the product there is no issues in regards to proving the value of the purchase. While typically it is taken as fact that the loan request is equal to or less than the actual value of whatever is being purchased there are some exceptions.

Most mortgage lenders require a property appraisal to verify that a home or condo which is being purchased is worth at least as much as the loan amount. With in home financing this is not required since the lender set the sale price on the home or condo. In some situations this type of financing can also be easier to get than traditional lender financing. This is often associated with the fact that the company making the sale stands to lose less if a person defaults on a loan than a standard lender. This is due to the fact that the company selling whatever is being financed usually has a certain amount of markup built in. This sometimes leads to this form of financing being more readily available to people with slightly lower credit scores.

There are also some disadvantages to in-house financing. The most obvious factor is the fact that in most cases this type of financing offers a slightly higher than average interest rate. This is important to look into however since in some circumstances the manufacturer may offer lower interest rates to buyers with a good credit score. It is also important when looking at this type of financing to consider the size of the manufacturer and their lending department.

There are manufacturers which offer in house lending which have a large lending department. Automobile manufacturers are a good example of this. In some cases however smaller companies may attempt to offer in house lending. While this can be successful there is a high probability that the loan is sold off to another lender. In this type of situation it can sometimes become confusing to the borrower.

In-home finance is an excellent option for some people, and in certain circumstances. Automobile loans are one of the most common areas to see this type of financing. It is also one of the only areas where this type of financing can be a good alternative to another lender. In any circumstances where in house financing is being considered as an option it is important to pay close attention to the details and terms which are written into the loan contract. This will help to avoid future problems as a result of a missed condition.