Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance in which a business sells its accounts receivable (i.e., invoices) to a third party (called a factor) at a discount.[1][2] A business will sometimes factor its receivable assets to meet its present and immediate cash needs.[3] Forfaiting is a factoring arrangement used in international trade finance by exporters who wish to sell their receivables to a forfaiter.[4] Factoring is commonly referred to as accounts receivable factoring, invoice factoring, and sometimes accounts receivable financing. Accounts receivable financing is a term more accurately used to describe a form of asset based lending against accounts receivable. The Commercial Finance Association is the leading trade association of the asset-based lending and factoring industries.[5] In 2019, the Commercial Finance Association rebranded to the Secured Finance Network (SFNet).[6]
In the United States, factoring is not the same as invoice discounting (which is called an assignment of accounts receivable in American accounting – as propagated by FASB within GAAP).[7][1] Factoring is the sale of receivables, whereas invoice discounting ("assignment of accounts receivable" in American accounting) is a borrowing that involves the use of the accounts receivable assets as collateral for the loan.[1] However, in some other markets, such as the UK, invoice discounting is considered to be a form of factoring, involving the "assignment of receivables", that is included in official factoring statistics.[8] It is therefore also not considered to be borrowing in the UK. In the UK the arrangement is usually confidential in that the debtor is not notified of the assignment of the receivable and the seller of the receivable collects the debt on behalf of the factor. In the UK, the main difference between factoring and invoice discounting is confidentiality.[9] Scottish law differs from that of the rest of the UK, in that notification to the account debtor is required for the assignment to take place. The Scottish Law Commission reviewed this position and made proposals to the
Overview
There are three parties directly involved: the factor who purchases the receivable, the one who sells the receivable, and the debtor who has a financial liability that requires him or her to make a payment to the owner of the invoice.[1] The receivable, usually associated with an invoice for work performed or goods sold, is essentially a financial asset that gives the owner of the receivable the legal right to collect money from the debtor whose financial liability directly corresponds to the receivable asset.[11] The seller sells the receivables at a discount to the third party, the specialized financial organization (aka the factor) to obtain cash.[1][11] This process is sometimes used in manufacturing industries when the immediate need for raw material outstrips their available cash and ability to purchase "on account".[12]
Rationale
Factoring is a method used by some firms to obtain cash. Certain companies factor accounts when the available cash balance held by the firm is insufficient to meet current obligations and accommodate its other cash needs, such as new orders or contracts; in other industries, however, such as textiles or apparel, for example, financially sound companies factor their accounts simply because this is the historic method of financing. The use of factoring to obtain the cash needed to accommodate a firm's immediate cash needs will allow the firm to maintain a smaller ongoing cash balance. By reducing the size of its cash balances, more money is made available for investment in the firm's growth.
Debt factoring is also used as a financial instrument to provide better cash flow control especially if a company currently has a lot of accounts receivables with different credit terms to manage. A company sells its invoices at a discount to their face value when it calculates that it will be better off using the proceeds to bolster its own growth than it would be by effectively functioning as its "customer's bank."[14] Accordingly, factoring occurs when the rate of return on the proceeds invested in production exceed the costs associated with factoring the receivables. Therefore, the trade-off between the return the firm earns on investment in production and the cost of utilizing a factor is crucial in determining both the extent factoring is used and the quantity of cash the firm holds on hand.
Many businesses have cash flow that varies. It might be relatively large in one period, and relatively small in another period. Because of this, businesses find it necessary to both maintain a cash balance on hand, and to use such methods as factoring, in order to enable them to cover their short term cash needs in those periods in which these needs exceed the cash flow. Each business must then decide how much it wants to depend on factoring to cover short falls in cash, and how large a cash balance it wants to maintain in order to ensure it has enough cash on hand during periods of low cash flow.
Process
The factoring process can be broken up into two parts: the initial account setup and ongoing funding. Setting up a factoring account typically takes one to two weeks and involves submitting an application, a list of clients, an accounts receivable aging report and a sample invoice. The approval process involves detailed underwriting, during which time the factoring company can ask for additional documents, such as documents of incorporation, financials, and banks statements. If approved, the business will be set up with a maximum credit line from which they can draw. In the case of notification factoring, the arrangement is not confidential and approval is contingent upon successful notification; a process by which factoring companies send the business's client or account debtor a Notice of Assignment. The Notice of Assignment serves to
Once the account is set up, the business is ready to start funding invoices. Invoices are still approved on an individual basis, but most invoices can be funded in a business day or two, as long as they meet the factor's criteria. Receivables are funded in two parts. The first part is the "advance" and covers 80% to 85% of the invoice value. This is deposited directly to the business's bank account. The remaining 15% to 20% is rebated, less the factoring fees, as soon as the invoice is paid in full to the factoring company.
- 1) inform debtors that a factoring company is managing all of the business's receivables,
- 2) stake a claim on the financial rights for the receivables factored, and
- 3) update the payment address – usually a bank lock box.
Accounts receivable discounting
Non-recourse factoring should not be confused with making a loan.[13][1] When a lender decides to extend credit to a company based on assets, cash flows, and credit history, the borrower must recognize a liability to the lender, and the lender recognizes the borrower's promise to repay the loan as an asset.[13][1] Factoring without recourse is a sale of a financial asset (the receivable), in which the factor assumes ownership of the asset and all of the risks associated with it, and the seller relinquishes any title to the asset sold.[13][1]
Common factoring terms
Discount rate or factoring fee
The discount rate is the fee a factoring company charges to provide the factoring service. Since a formal factoring transaction involves the outright purchase of the invoice, the discount rate is typically stated as a percentage of the face value of the invoices. For instance, a factoring company may charge 5% for an invoice due in 45 days. In contrast, companies that do accounts receivable financing may charge per week or per month. Thus, an invoice financing company that charges 1% per week would result in a discount rate of 6–7% for the same invoice.
Advance rate
The advance rate is the percentage of an invoice that is paid out by the factoring company upfront. The difference between the face value of the invoice and the advance rates serves to protect factors against any losses and to ensure coverage for their fees. Once the invoice is paid, the factor gives the difference between the face value, advance amount and fees back to the business in the form of a factoring rebate.[20]
Reserve account
Whereas the difference between the invoice face value and the advance serves as a reserve for a specific invoice, many factors also hold an ongoing reserve account which serves to further reduce the risk for the factoring company.
Treatment under GAAP
In the United States, under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), receivables are considered "sold", under FASB ASC 860-10 (or under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 140, paragraph 112), when the buyer has "no recourse".[21] Moreover, to treat the transaction as a sale under GAAP, the seller's monetary liability under any "recourse" provision must be readily estimated at the time of the sale. Otherwise, the financial transaction is treated as a secured loan, with the receivables used as collateral.
When a nonrecourse transaction takes place, the accounts receivable balance is removed from the statement of financial position. The corresponding debits include the expense recorded on the income statement and the proceeds received from the factor.[22]
History
Factoring as a fact of business life was underway in England prior to 1400, and it came to America with the Pilgrims, around 1620.[23] It appears to be closely related to early merchant banking activities. The latter however evolved by extension to non-trade related financing such as sovereign debt.[24] Like all financial instruments, factoring evolved over centuries. This was driven by changes in the organization of companies; technology, particularly air travel and non-face-to-face communications technologies starting with the telegraph, followed by the telephone and then computers. These also drove and were driven by modifications of the common law framework in England and the United States.[25]
Governments were latecomers to the facilitation of trade financed by factors. English common law originally held that unless the debtor was notified, the assignment between the seller of invoices and the factor was not valid. The Canadian Federal Government legislation governing the assignment of moneys owed by it still reflects this stance as does provincial government legislation modelled after it. As late as the current century, the courts have heard arguments that without notification of the debtor the assignment was not valid.
Modern forms
In the latter half of the twentieth century the introduction of computers eased the accounting burdens of factors and then small firms. The same occurred for their ability to obtain information about debtor's creditworthiness. Introduction of the Internet and the web has accelerated the process while reducing costs. Today credit information and insurance coverage are instantly available online. The web has also made it possible for factors and their clients to collaborate in real time on collections. Acceptance of signed documents provided by facsimile as being legally binding has eliminated the need for physical delivery of "originals", thereby reducing time delays for entrepreneurs.
Traditionally, factoring has been a relationship driven business and factoring transactions have been largely manual and frequently involving a face to-face component as part of the relationship building process or due-diligence phase. This is especially true for small business factoring, in which the factoring companies tend to be locally or regionally focused. The geographic focus helps them better mitigate risks that because of their smaller scale, they otherwise couldn't afford to take.[30]
To make the arrangement economically profitable, most factoring companies have revenue minimums (e.g. at least $500,000 in annual revenue) and require annual contracts and monthly minimums. More recently, several online factoring companies have emerged, leveraging aggregation, analytics, automation to deliver the benefits of factoring with the convenience and ease afforded by the internet.[31] Some companies use technology to automate some of the risk and back-office aspects of factoring and provide the service via a modern web interface for additional convenience.
Specialized factoring
With advances in technology, some invoice factoring providers have adapted to specific industries. This often affects additional services offered by the factor in order to best adapt the factoring service to the needs of the business. An example of this includes a recruitment specialist factor offering payroll and back office support with the factoring facility; a wholesale or /distribution factor may not offer this additional service. These differences can affect the cost of the facility, the approach the factor takes when collecting credit, the administration services included in the facility and the maximum size of invoices which can be factored.
Real estate
Since the 2007 United States recession one of the fastest-growing sectors in the factoring industry is real estate commission advances. Commission advances work the same way as factoring but are done with licensed real estate agents on their pending and future real estate commissions. Commission advances were first introduced in Canada but quickly spread to the United States. Typically, the process consists of an online application from a real estate agent, who signs a contract selling future commissions at a discount; the factoring company then wires the funds to the agent's bank account.
Medical factoring
The healthcare industry makes for a special case in which factoring is much needed because of long payment cycles from government, private insurance companies and other third party payers, but difficult because of HIPAA requirements. For this reasons medical receivables factoring companies have developed to specifically target this niche.
Invoice payers (debtors)
Large firms and organizations such as governments usually have specialized processes to deal with one aspect of factoring, redirection of payment to the factor following receipt of notification from the third party (i.e., the factor) to whom they will make the payment. Many but not all in such organizations are knowledgeable about the use of factoring by small firms and clearly distinguish between its use by small rapidly growing firms and turnarounds.
Distinguishing between assignment of the responsibility to perform the work and the assignment of funds to the factor is central to the customer or debtor's processes. Firms have purchased from a supplier for a reason and thus insist on that firm fulfilling the work commitment. Once the work has been performed, however, it is a matter of indifference who is paid. For example, General Electric has clear processes to be followed which distinguish between their work and payment sensitivities. Contracts direct with the US government require an assignment of claims, which is an amendment to the contract allowing for payments to third parties (factors).
Risks
Risks to a factor include:[37]
- Counter-party credit risk related to clients and risk-covered debtors. Risk-covered debtors can be reinsured, which limit the risks of a factor. Trade receivables are a fairly low-risk asset due to their short duration.
- External fraud by clients: fake invoicing, misdirected payments, pre-invoicing, not assigned credit notes, etc. A fraud insurance policy and subjecting the client to audit could limit the risks.
- Legal, compliance and tax risks: large number of applicable laws and regulations in different countries
- Operational risks, such as contractual disputes
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC-1) securing rights to assets.
- IRS liens associated with payroll taxes, etc.
- ICT risks: complicated, integrated factoring system, extensive data exchange with client
Reverse factoring
In reverse factoring or supply-chain finance, the buyer sells its debt to the factor. That way, the buyer secures the financing of the invoice, and the supplier gets a better interest rate.[38]
See also
- Capital formation
- Invoice discounting