Construction Industry Improving

Posted on 02/14/2012 by admin

Good news for the construction industry. Construction spending jumped 1.5% in December, over triple the consensus estimate.

This is an indicator that a recovery may have started in the hard hit construction industry. This is good news for the economy as improved construction activity will lead to higher employment and increased supplier activity.

Many sub-contractors will need access to funds to help pay for labor and materials but there continues to be reluctance in the financial industry to lend for construction.

Invoice factoring can play a major role in providing funding for construction activities. Small construction businesses can benefit along with larger businesses from receivables factoring. It is a “use it as you need it” service that can provide fast funding to assist in paying costs during the duration of a project. The Interface Financial Group can provide that funding today!

Factoring

Posted on 01/19/2012 by admin

The holidays are behind us but for many small businesses, the production demand will not subside alongside the season; instead, with spring will come new construction projects, landscaping endeavors and home renovations. To begin preparing for this surge, businesses can use Factoring to meet their financial needs. Factoring companies such as the Interface Financial Group provide services by advancing working capital based on the value of accounts receivable, or invoices; unlike a bank loan, the focus is not on the credit worthiness of a business but on the financial assets.

How can factoring help your business grow this season? Instead of getting paid on your invoices later on, get paid today by selling your accounts receivable through invoice factoring. If you have a large order of grass seed to send out this spring, why not use factoring to get paid on those invoices now? It increases the capacity for production and presents an opportunity to flourish.

Laura Jojic
The Interface Financial Group

Manufacturing is Growing

Posted on 01/09/2012 by admin

Recently good economic good news has been hard if not impossible to come by. So it’s surprising that according to the ISM index, manufacturing has been growing for 25 consecutive months. Although experts consider manufacturing to still be weak, at least it is in positive territory.

Concurrently we have seen an increase in the number of small manufacturers that are looking for business financing to support growth or even just to operate their businesses. Their challenge is that few if any financial institutions are issuing business loans. In the meantime, they are bridging their financial needs using accounts receivables factoring.

Accounts receivable factoring helps manufacturing companies by providing an upfront payment for their slow paying invoices. Instead of waiting up to 60 days to get paid, they get an advance from the account receivable factoring company and get immediate use of those funds. The transaction is settled once the customer pays in full.

The big advantage of accounts receivable factoring in this case is that it’s easier to obtain than a conventional business loan. This helps the company bridge their cash flow gap and improve their financial stability. Ideally, this will help them qualify for a business loan later on. In this scenario, The Interface Financial Group would be the ideal solution for these manufacturers since there is no contractual commitment of time so the client is welcome to leave as soon as they qualify for a bank loan or LOC.

Sabeen Ahmed
The Interface Financial Group

Wishes for New Year

Posted on 01/02/2012 by admin

TD Bank surveyed their small business customers asking for the top wishes of the small business owners for 2012. The responses are interesting and provide some insight into many of the issues of 2011.

The bank surveyed 300 customers from Main to Florida, the banks primary US market area. The top response (61%), wish for increased sales for 2012. This has been the number one issue for most small businesses since the beginning of the economic downturn. Sales do appear to be increasing based on other small business surveys but there is much room for improvement and without increased sales there is no growth.

Other wishes for 2012 included eliminating debt, raises for employees, new equipment and/or software and a new or larger facility.

No one knows for sure but 2012 may be a year for growth. Companies that start growing will need capital to assist with cash flow. Invoice factoring can provide needed cash when required for growth in the business. It is simple to obtain and it it is fast providing cash when it is needed.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Good News?

Posted on 12/02/2011 by admin

Though the stock market has been down during October and November there are signs of improvement in small business confidence, consumer confidence, home sales, construction and employment. Is this news to cheer about?

As we have stated in prior posts, the economy will go through fits and starts on its way to recovery. One month there will be good news and everyone will be cheering, the next month will be bad news and confidence indicators will drop. The economy continues in this mode but it does appear without doubt that the trend is upwards.

New businesses are being started, businesses that survived over the past three years and have re-invented themselves are growing, some banks are providing capital to select small businesses and overall the signs are positive. So, what happens now?

As businesses are started or are growing again, there is going to be a need for capital. For most, it will not be coming from there local bank. These businesses can strategically use invoice factoring to provide capital to the business when required. No fees and no contracts, just cash as needed and when needed.

Cooperating With Due Diligence

Posted on 10/31/2011 by admin

While securing factoring companies that would process your accounts receivable invoices, just know that it is a relatively simple process. The factoring services company will have a due diligence process that it needs to complete before funds can be transferred to you. They will look at a couple of things: mainly your customers and their credit.

An invoice factoring company will use public databases to research your company looking for priority liens on its assets. If your company has liens from other finance companies or banks, federal and state tax liens or lawsuits and judgments against it, this may affect your ability to factor your invoices as these liens can garnish income your company receives.

The factoring company will then review your customer’s credit using the major credit reporting bureaus just to make sure that they can take a credit risk on them. This is one of the benefits of factoring, as it is the customers whose credit is run, not your credit.

But factoring companies will also focus on you, the owner of the company. Most of this research is to check whether you have any criminal activity in your past and the amount of expertise you have in your respective business or industry.

You should be as cooperative with your factoring company as possible during this process of due diligence and verification. As long as your factoring company receives favorable results from its research, your application will proceed smoothly and quickly. As the client of a factoring company, you should be comfortable with the fact that your factor will have contact with your customers. This is a normal part of the process that provides you access to quick financing.

Kristin Gabriel

Green Shoots for Some Small Business

Posted on 10/13/2011 by admin

There is no doubt that small business continues to suffer even though the recession was officially over two years ago. Small business confidence indicators are down and the most current surveys paint a bleak picture through the remainder of the year.

There is one area that appears to be improving and that is the construction industry. There is an uptick in construction projects related to infrastructure along with municipal, state and federal governments.

Most construction contractors suffered serious declines in capital over the past three years and are unable to obtain traditional financing when taking on new projects to pay for supplies and wages.

Invoice factoring of construction receivables can provide the needed working capital to cover cost through a project. The service is fast, there are no contracts and can be used when needed. This valuable service can help construction businesses through the rough spots and allow the businesses to continue taking on new projects knowing that there is cash available when needed.

Lack of Sales Continues to Plague Small Businesses

Posted on 10/03/2011 by admin

It is the beginning of the last quarter of 2011 and the National Federation of Small Business reports, “Sales remain the largest problem for small firms—a full quarter identifying “poor sales” as their top business problem. The net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months lost 1 percentage point, falling to a net negative 9%, with more firms with sales trending down than up. Not seasonally-adjusted, 27% of all owners reported higher sales (last three months compared to prior three months), down 2 points from the prior month, while 28% reported lower sales (unchanged). Expectations for future sales are also in decline, with the net percent of owners expecting higher real sales falling 10 points in August, to a net negative 12% of all owners (seasonally adjusted), 25 points below January’s reading. Not seasonally adjusted, 21% expect improvement over the next 3 months (down 6 points) and 34% expect declines (up 7 points). Owners appear to have lost confidence in the economy and the government’s ability to assist the recovery.”

Few firms reported that obtaining credit is a problem, the result of lackluster sales. When companies are not growing there is not much need for expanded capital. The lack of sales continues to be a problem for small businesses. We expect this to be a continuing problem until confidence is restored.

Small business that are seeing growth have financing options available through invoice factoring. A service where receivables are sold at a discount providing immediate cash to the business. The service is fast and personal. New clients can be funded in as little at 24-48 hours and for repeat transactions, in as little as 2-4 hours. This “use it as you need it” service can help those companies that are growing or have short term cash flow needs.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Small Business Confidence Wanes

Posted on 09/27/2011 by admin

(Reuters) – “Small business confidence fell to a two-year low in the third quarter on increased economic uncertainty that could keep growth on a slow path and unemployment elevated through 2012. Vistage International said on Tuesday its confidence index dropped to 83.5 from a reading of 92.9 in the second quarter. The index is compiled from a survey of more than 1,700 small business chief executives.”

Once again we see small business confidence falling. In prior posts, we commented on the fact that this recovery will be slow and will go through periods of two steps forward and one back. It appears that currently it is one back based on the small business confidence indicators for the past quarter.

IFG experienced an increase in business through the summer months with a large increase in new clients searching for funding sources. These new clients sold receivables to generate cash for expanding business. Using IFG’s invoice factoring solution helped these businesses continue to grow during a difficult recovery.

Invoice factoring allows businesses to obtain cash quickly and easily. Once a client is setup, repeat fundings can occur in as little as 2-6 hours providing cash when needed. It is a “use it as you need it” service with no contract and no additional fees.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group

Two Steps Forward and One Back

Posted on 08/31/2011 by admin

The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, gained 13 percent in July from a year earlier, PayNet said on Wednesday. That followed a revised 22 percent gain in June, and a 27 percent gain in May.

As measured from a month earlier, the index declined 7 percent, and is now just above the level reached in April. “It’s two steps forward, one step back,” Phelan said in an interview. “It’s really an indication of the slow growth of activity.”

As we have seen recently, business lending is improving for many businesses but for some like construction, new businesses or business with no credit it will be impossible to obtain bank financing. Invoice factoring provides a workable solution for business that are unable to qualify for traditional financing. The service is fast and efficient and can get capital into the hands of the business owner for use in helping to grow the business.

Jan J. Cunningham
The Interface Financial Group