Finance Company

Sometimes choosing a finance company can feel like something of a lottery. You look at all the deals available, choose the one you like the sound of and hope that it is a good deal and that the company offering it are sound.

But by applying a few set criteria you can actually shop around and reduce the risk of going with a company that isn’t what you are looking for in a car finance company. But what criteria should you be using?

5 Things To Look For in a Car Finance Company

Price. No matter what you read about choosing companies for finance, price has to be an important aspect of your consideration. It is a simple fact of life that no matter how good the approved auto loan offers are, we have a budget that we can’t afford to break. Stick to your budget and you’re avoid problems. So shop around and make sure that you are only dealing with companies that can give you approved car finance deals that are within your budget. Getting a good car is important, and applying for credit may help you get a better car today, instead of saving money gradually. Still you don’t want to break the bank.
Trust? Can you trust the company that are offering you approved car finance? And before you answer yes or no have you looked around and compared the deals? Every company develops a reputation, whether good or bad, so it is important that you find out what that reputation is. Ask people that you know, ask on car forums, Google their name (and remember that all companies get some complaints – and what’s even worse, many companies get fake negative ratings from competitors).
Age. You want to know that a company that is offering you approved car finance is not some shifty company that will end up going bust next month and forcing you to repay all the money you borrowed over night. So make sure that they are a company in it for the long haul… and a good indicator of this is how long they have been around.
People. Can you get in touch with actual people? It’s all well and good being offered a good deal by a company but if you can’t speak to anyone when you have a problem then that can be a huge issue. Make sure that there are REAL people involved in the company. A tell-tale sign is the presence (or a lack) of a phone number on their website.
The Fine Print. It is amazing how few people read the fine print after they sign their documents. They get too excited about the money and the car. But the fine print can be vital to any deal.
Such things as changing interest rates, fines for late payment, what control they have over the deal etc can make a massive difference to what you thought was a basic auto loan offer. So apply your due diligence and check out what they are really offering you by reading the fine print and asking questions.

Your company carries it. You need to finance it. We’re of course talking about inventory. Discussions with clients reveal a lot of misconceptions around inventory financing in Canada. Let’s try and resolve some of those myths around the financing of your inventory, who the players are, who they are not ( that’s the most common myth ) and we’ll also try and provide some straight forward direction on next steps in your inventory financing challenge.

The overall quality of your inventory management will play a large part in your ability to finance your products, which are a part of the current assets component of your balance sheet. You cannot overlook the importance that an inventory lender will place on your ability to report and count your products. The reality is that most firms are either carrying a ‘ continuous’ or ‘ ‘periodic’ system of inventory control.

So here is solid tip # 1 – be aware that inventory lenders prefer a continuous type of inventory accounting, for all the obvious reasons. Essentially you are counting and monitoring inventory (with the use of software of course!) at all times. That’s a good thing when it comes to a lenders valuation on an ongoing basis and their ability to lend.

You’re company is growing. Unfortunately so is your inventory! And that places a huge drain on your cash flow. The working capital cycle dictates that cash turns into inventory which turns into receivables and then we start all over… that lag can be anywhere from 60 – 120 days, sometimes longer. Never underestimate the problem that higher sales will bring to your inventory financing needs.

Clients typically are looking for inventory financing because the level of investment that you have in product and receivables drains your cash flow. As sales volumes increase your cash flow decreases based on your overall collection period of A/R and of course those inventory turns.

Your sales staff of course never wants to be in a position to tell a customer you don’t have the product they have worked so hard to sell.

Does your company have an inventory financing strategy? The majority of firms we talk to in Canada, certainly in the small and medium business sector do not have access to the inventory financing they need. Do true inventory financing companies exist in Canada? We feel that the answer is generally ‘ no ‘, they do not. However if your firm would consider an asset based lending scenario that in effect takes the place of inventory finance companies in Canada.

Under an asset based lending strategy your inventory is margined for what its worth, by experts who categorically know what its worth. You will enhance your ability to finance your product if you have the controls, reporting, and inventory accounting system in places that makes the inventory and asset based lender ‘ comfortable ‘.

Speak to a trusted, credible, and experienced business financing advisor with regards to inventory financing companies and asset based lenders who will give your product the financing it deserves!