Can you relate to the following statement a client once shared with us: ‘Getting working capital financing for my orders and contracts actually is harder than getting the order itself?’
Your firm has the order and contract, now you just need to fulfill it to complete the job and get paid of course. It is the working capital and cash flow that come out of those contracts and orders that will of course help you grow sales and profits.
So how does purchase order financing and P.O. Factoring work in Canada? And is it actually available?! The answer to those two questions follows.
Purchase order financing or factoring provides you with capital for the key elements of your business, i.e. Product purchases, payroll, and working capital to carry receivables. Most clients we meet in the purchase order finance area have what can only be describe as the best and worst of problems – that is to say they have the order, they just don’t have access to the capital to complete the order or project. You also don’t want to strain your relationship with key suppliers, while at the same time you strive to deliver your product or service on an ‘on time ‘basis. Naturally your ability to accept larger orders enhances your overall competitiveness within your industry, and larger orders usually translate (hopefully!) into larger profits.
Canadian business owners and financial managers consider purchase order financing and the factoring of their purchase orders, but at the same time they don’t want to take on additional debt, or give up ownership of their business to an investor / partner.
So how does this type of financing work in the day to day real world. You have a P.O. and contract from a legitimate credit worthy company – More often than not some of these clients can actually be outside of Canada – we see that all the time. The purchase order finance firm provides you with the minimum amount of capital you need to complete the orders. Many times this simply involves making payments to your supplies on your behalf.
Therefore the benefits of this type of Canadian business financing are very clear – your company can complete orders/contracts it might otherwise have been forced not to accept – no business owner hates to turn down business. You can often also leapfrog a competitor of similar size to yours by simply the ability to finance orders the competition might not be able to.
You could enter into long term working capital or cash flow loans, but these typically involve payments that are fixed over 3-5 years. Although purchase order financing is generally quite a bit more expensive than bank financing it allows you to do short term financing without taking on additional debt on your balance sheet.
In some cases the PO finance or P O Factoring firm could be asked to issue a letter or credit to a supplier on your behalf – that is also a common p.o financing and factoring strategy that achieves similar objectives.
Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor who can provide you with information on how PO financing and factoring works, how you access it, and who can also assist you in determining if the cost of the financing meets your business and financial objectives.