While its suggested that the financial landscape has changed in the age of fintech, many of the challenges facing SMEs continue to persist.
According to recent reports, more than half of the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses are struggling to secure crucial funding, which in turn is preventing entrepreneurs from investing in the future productivity of their ventures.
In this respect, innovations such as invoice finance can provide a much needed financial boost to SMEs across the UK. The key is to leverage this source of capital effectively, while accessing brokers such as Touch Financial to achieve a competitive advantage when appraising the market.
The Benefits of Using an Invoice Finance Broker
If you’re unfamiliar with invoice financing, this refers to the process of selling your accounts receivable to third-party investors. This enables businesses to negate 30, 60 and 90-day repayment terms and receive instant payment for completed work, maximising their cash flow and helping them to remain productive in the process. This short-term debt is then settled once clients pay their invoice.
This marketplace is growing at a rapid rate, however, so partnering with a broker can immediately help you compare the full breadth of your options. It’s also fair to surmise that invoice financing can be relatively complex for newcomers, particularly with similar options such as factoring and invoice discounting confusing the proposition for SMEs. In this case, an independent broker can provide much-needed clarity for business-owners and enable them to make an informed decision that actively benefits their venture.
Similarly, as the invoice finance market has grown, new players have emerged on a regular basis. While some of these offer generic services to clients, others specialise in a single niche such as technology, recruitment or finance. Some companies may even have expertise in dealing with start-ups or small businesses, and liaising with a third-party broker can ensure that you target the best possible provider to suit your real-time circumstances. Without this guidance, you may miss out on the type of dedicated or discounted service that can benefit your firm in the future.
The Last Word
This leads us neatly onto the issue of special deals or promotions, as brokers tend to develop exceptionally close relationships with invoice finance providers over time. This makes them ideally placed to negotiate progressive deals on behalf of their customers, or at least be the first to know of any unique promotions that are being launched. This can save your start-up valuable capital, while also affording it the best possible start in its chosen marketplace.
