Supporting the UK’s small businesses

18 months ago, none of us could have foreseen what lay ahead. COVID has affected us all in so many ways and throughout the various lockdowns, small business owners have demonstrated their ability to react quickly and adapt, in order to keep trading. We have witnessed the resilience and creativity of British businesses – restructuring entire operations almost overnight, finding new ways to sell and look after customers and generally doing whatever was necessary to ensure that they survived.

Throughout the crisis, the Government’s support has been phenomenal, both in terms of the scale of financial assistance provided and the speed with which the various schemes were delivered. CBILS and Bounce Back Loans kept liquidity in the system, while the Furlough scheme ensured that we avoided mass unemployment. HMRC have remained lenient when dealing with arrears and the suspension of court action against overdue creditors has given businesses the best possible chance of riding out the storm.  

However, this support could not continue indefinitely and as we emerge from the crisis, business owners are now facing a new set of challenges: supply chains in some sectors are stretched to breaking point, labour and raw materials costs are spiralling and debt accumulated over lockdown now needs to be addressed and repaid.

Of course, it’s not all bad news; the economy is showing real signs of recovery and order books are growing. However even that can bring its own set of challenges as growing sales can mean a need for greater working capital funding, at a time when business cash flow is already stretched.

Invoice Finance could play a part in addressing these challenges, delivering a flexible and cost-effective source of working capital finance. Furthermore, an Invoice Finance facility is designed to increase in line with a business’s sales growth, so with order books improving generally, now may be an ideal time to explore how it may be able to help your business.

What is Invoice Finance?

Put simply, Invoice Finance allows you to release the cash locked up in outstanding B2B invoices – often a company’s biggest asset. A lender will typically advance 85% of the gross value of an invoice, although this can be higher or lower, depending on the circumstances.

The flexibility of Invoice Finance

Unlike traditional loans, the funding available through an Invoice Finance facility typically grows in line with your sales. With many businesses experiencing an upturn in orders, this form of working capital finance could assist in funding growth and in a world where company losses over the last 18 months are commonplace, most Invoice Finance lenders are more interested in where the business is headed, rather than looking at historic accounts, when assessing a borrowing request. This makes Invoice Finance particularly suitable for companies that find themselves wrestling with the challenges of funding cashflow, post Covid.

What do FlexABL offer?

We provide a full range of invoice finance solutions, which can be tailored to meet the individual needs of your business. If you sell goods or services on a Business to Business basis then we can usually find a solution to your requirements. Our systems link to most of the cloud-based accounting systems, but we can also deliver a more traditional, hands-on service – the choice is yours. Either way, our aim is to release cash from your outstanding invoices quickly and easily.

Why are FlexABL different to other lenders?

We appreciate that no two businesses are the same and so we take the time to understand your business and goals. We are agile enough to react quickly to your changing needs and we offer a level of personal service that most of our competitors simply can’t match. For example, every one of our clients has direct access to a decision-making director, so they have the comfort of quick decision-making when required. We can also offer confidential facilities (where your customers are unaware of our involvement) to smaller businesses. Indeed, we are so confident in the quality of our service, we don’t insist on locking our clients into long-term contracts, unlike our competitors, where 12 months, or even longer, is the norm.

What should I do if I’m considering Invoice Finance?

Please get in touch. We want to make sure that Invoice Finance is right for you, so please contact Paul Stokes or Eric DeArmitt (details below) who will discuss your requirements and talk you through your options.

At this stage we can also provide you with a quote and give you an indication as to whether we will be able to assist you. Assuming that you are happy to proceed to the next stage, you will have the option of linking your cloud-based accounting package to us so that you can apply online, or you can send financial information to us via email, if you would prefer. Either way, we will be back to you within 24 hours with a decision.

Eric DeArmitt                     edearmitt@flexabl.co.uk              07436 037234

Paul Stokes                       pstokes@flexabl.co.uk                  07557 303333