Finance Company

The very mention of the term “bank loan” to a business owner is often enough to elicit a very strong and visceral response and the simple truth of the matter is that the average business bank loan is a fairly contentious and controversial subject within the business community. On one hand, a bank loan will provide the business owner with a source of capital that they otherwise would not have, which in turn can mean that bold ambitions of expanding and developing the business in a particular direction can be more fully achieved and accomplished with a minimum of disruption.

This is especially significant in highly competitive sectors of the market, as any measure of delay can ultimately result a business that chose to postpone any sort of development or alterations to the manner in which they do business being overtaken by a rival. The downside here however, is that the loan will be required to be paid back and so if the business is struggling to generate enough revenue, or worse yet, is already in debt, then the repayment maybe too much of a burden for its finances.

Furthermore, in order to actually gain access to a bank loan, a business will typically be required to secure assets that it owns as collateral, and so a noncompliance with the terms of the loan will ultimately mean that the assets secured as collateral maybe seized by the lender.

Thankfully, there is an alternative strategy for the struggling business owner who is looking to secure another external source of capital finance to provide their company with a much needed kick start: a receivable financing company.

A receivable financing company, or a factoring agency as they oftentimes referred to within business parlance, is a business entity that will purchase outstanding invoice accounts from a company and then provide the client company with a sum of money upon receipt of the invoices. The receivable financing company will then assume full, legal responsibility for the collection process of the money owed by the client specified on the invoice.

Once the client has paid the full balance owed to the receivable financing company, the factoring agency will then release the remainder of the funds owed to the client company….with a small deduction made from the funds received from the client in order to cover the expenses that they have incurred.

One of the major benefits of using a factoring agency is that the client company will be guaranteed to receive a fairly large amount of money in a very short space of time indeed which effectively eliminates and protects against the risks that an unpredictable and capricious degree of cash flow will pose to a client company.

Finance companies are designed to provide leasing or hire purchase contract to many business owners. They are there to help you achieve your business or investment opportunities. There are many things that you need to put into consideration when you are looking for one that will provide you with the services that you need. You will need to do research since there are many finance companies that have come up in the market, making it competitive. Some of them provide funding with the aim of marketing their products and/or services.

Others are part of major banks while there are those who are members of financing and leasing associations. Since there are many finance companies out there, it is only advisable that you search for one that has a reputable background. A good reputation and the fact that the company is a member of the finance and leasing association is the kind of company you want to deal with.

When you settle for a particular finance company it is also vital that you fully comprehend the contract you have with them. It should be in agreement with any verbal or written quotation. They should openly inform you of any penalties that may be incurred in every situation of the agreement. You should avoid companies that have hidden prepayment penalties. It is important that you are aware and understand the terms and conditions of the company before you sign on the dotted line.

If you are leasing equipment from the company, ensure that it is new or in superb condition. Be aware that once you select a finance company that you are in a long term agreement. It is advisable that you go for a company that can give you the flexibility to change between the fixed and floating rates without charging you extra.

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.