Member Article

What flexible enterprise lending really looks like

Getting the right finance deal for your business isn’t only about interest rates and how much you can borrow

There are a host of other factors to consider:

• Is the finance package right for our business?
• Will it solve the challenges we face?
• Is it the best way to support our growth and expansion plans?

Then there are questions to ask about the lender:

• How quickly will we be able to access cash?
• Will the amount we can borrow increase as our business grows?
• Could our funding be cut – or withdrawn entirely – at short notice?
• Does the lender have more to offer than just credit? Business expertise? Day-to-day support? A strong strack record?

So what is flexible enterprise lending?

It’s all about:

• Dynamic finance
• The right service
• A solid reputation
• Vital support and protection

Dynamic finance

An inflexible lender will

• Treat you as a number on a spreadsheet
• Offer finance on a take-it-or-leave-it basis
• Have a cumbersome, long-winded application process
• Review finance only once a year

But a flexible, dynamic lender will

• Get to know your business to ensure you get the right package
• Work out what your business needs are
• Work quickly to get you the finance you need
• Make credit available as soon as your business needs it

The right service

An inflexible lender will

• Deal with you through call centres
• Take little interest in your company, provided you meet repayments
• Have little expertise or industry knowledge to offer
• Have no interest in supporting your business’s wider goals

But a flexible, dynamic lender will

• Have staff dedicated to working with you, available at all times
• Recognise that understanding how your business operates is key to a successful relationship
• Be able to share knowledge gained from working with firms in similar positions to yours
• Act as a collaborator rather than simply a provider of finance

A solid reputation

An inflexible lender will

• Have shifted its focus to larger customers
• Have customers who are unhappy with service levels

But a flexible, dynamic lender will

• Have a record of successful partnerships with businesses like yours
• Have customers which have positive things to say about working with them

Vital support and protection

An inflexible lender will

• Consider cutting credit if you suffer from bad debts
• Refuse to lend to you if your customers persistently pay late
• Not offer advice and support when it comes to deciding who to do business with

But a flexible, dynamic lender will

• Offer you the chance to protect against bad debts if this is a serious concern
• Take over responsibility for collecting unpaid invoices if you wish
• Credit-check potential customers on the borrower’s behalf to identify possible trading risks

The power of “YES“

A combination of the right finance package and the right lender can be the key to helping your business meet the challenges it faces and take advantage of new opportunities to grow.

Can you afford to pick the wrong deal?

Key takeaways:

• What difference would it make to your business if you could raise finance as soon as it is needed?
• How often can you review your funding needs with your lender? The traditional annual review may not be suitable if you have short-term rises in demand.
• Is your credit at risk of being withdrawn at short notice with little or no explanation?
• Does your lender share their expertise to help you meet your business goals and help you with day-to-day tasks such as credit control?

See how landscape for business funding is changing. Get Business Barometer: Emerging Trends in funding for cash flow and expansion. Copy and paste this link into your browser: http://content.closeinvoice.co.uk/business-finance-today

This post first appeared on the Close Brothers Invoice Finance blog

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Thomson .