SME's Prepare for Post-Christmas Cashflow Challenges
Announcement posted by The Interface Financial Group 30 Nov 2012
Sydney, NSW (PR Wire – 30 November 2012) – The Interface Financial Group (IFG), a growing source of alternative funding for Australian small businesses, announced that Australian small and medium-sized entities (SME's) should be preparing now for the inevitable slow down in payment timeframes following Christmas. IFG provides short-term financial resources including business invoice factoring to SME's in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Singapore.
According to recent data from credit repoting agency Dun & Bradstreet, payment time frames have actually fallen in the last quarter, however the time frame (52.5 days) still creates a challenge for SME's from a cash flow management perspective. Furthermore, D&B warned that payment times will generally increase by nearly two days in the first quarter of the calendar year. This can be explained by the generally slower pace in Australia in January and the likelihood that key people involved in the invoice sign-off and payment process will be away on holidays.
David Hechter, chief operating officer for IFG in Australia explains how proactive SME's are preparing. “Few things in business - particularly in small business - are predictable, but the post-Christmas slowdown in payment times is one of these. We work with a number of SME's who are seeking to bring forward their payments by factoring invoices in December so that they do not have to wait until after Australia Day - perhaps longer - to see some cash flow. The key is to get a facility setup in December as opposed to waiting until after the holidays to try and get something done; by then, it may be too late to get the invoices approved for the financing."
Invoice factoring - which belongs in the family of commercial credit products - involves the purchase of accounts receivable by a factoring company which provides cost effective business funding and allows small businesses to obtain the working capital required to support their business growth. With the financing of invoices, a credit facility can grow in line with the value of the accounts receivable as opposed to being capped when property is the security.
Invoice financing leverages the SME's strong customer base which is an often over-looked asset by the commercial banking sector. With selective invoice financing from The Interface Financial Group, there are no minimums, no maximums, no long-term commitments and no lengthy application process.
About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com.au)
The Interface Financial Group (IFG) provides short-term financial resources including invoice factoring (invoice discounting).IFG launched the Australia operation in 2006 following the success of its New Zealand businesses which commenced in 2004. IFG's innovative products also includes spot factoring – the purchase of a single invoice or number of invoices. IFG does not require the whole debtor book to be financed.
IFG Network is the funding arm of The Interface Financial Group providing capital and transactional support to IFG's international office network. IFG has grown to over (150) international offices in Australia, UK, the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Singapore. Each IFG office is managed on a local level, providing immediate service to clients with local knowledge and experience. This makes IFG unique to all other factoring companies in Australia.The IFG team has substantial business experience and expertise in numerous diverse areas, including accounting, finance, law, marketing, banking, etc.
Headquarters:
The Interface Financial Group
Suite 1, Level 3, 179 New South Head Road
Edgecliff, NSW2027
T: Toll Free: 1300 957 900