Scaffolding and construction companies of all shapes and sizes need consistent support in terms of valuable business help. Running any business carries financial implications and problems from time to time. For starters, there’s the age old problem of ‘invoices’. And in many cases it would seem, ‘the cheque is still in the post’.
It’s a fact if everyone paid when they should life would be easier, but it often does not work like this in the real world. Those working in a finance department spend much of their time chasing up payment for a whole range of items and services. With this in mind, lots of companies employ financial experts to help with the problem.
The Expert Viewpoint
Paul Minaur, Managing Director of Minaur Corporate Finance Ltd, told us: “Many of our clients are frustrated by slow payments which tends to become a bigger problem the larger the client is. Immediately getting paid the majority of an invoice or application for payment, with a Factoring or Invoice Discounting facility, frees up cash flow, saves valuable time chasing payment and enables any additional work and investment to be made as soon as it is possible. It saves significant time and, in many cases, saves overdraft interest, bank charges and fees.”
Recent Research Is Key
Research points to the fact clients often do not pay within the agreed terms of contracts or have some contracts offering 30, 60 or even 90 days to pay. As an example, an online invoice factoring forum recently commented: “We have several invoice factoring clients who operate in the scaffolding industry. They have always found it difficult to find invoice factoring companies who want to lend to them because of the industry they operate in. However, as an industry scaffolders require cash flow finance because the house builders are slow to pay yet wages need paying weekly. On top of that funding for tubing is hard to come by and often has to be hired in at high rates or bought for cash which only compound the problem.”
State of The Art Software
There is of course, state of the art software also available for scaffolding companies created to maximize profit and reduce administration overheads. The idea is so you can get on with running your business. It can take customer’s details, send quotes, estimates and invoices to clients – and even take payments. Some software is actually aimed at scaffolding companies.
The Personal Approach
With the more personal approach in mind, there are many financial companies out there who can provide invoice factoring or invoice discounting. This process provides funding to grow with your turnover instead of extending any overdraft you have. It allows you to unlock the capital trapped in unpaid invoices, freeing up monies for business expansion or for servicing debt repayments. It can help eliminate credit control totally and help your business to focus on what it does best. An invoice factoring facility can release up to 90 percent against the face value of outstanding invoices. To find the most appropriate Factoring provider from household names to private niche lenders, contact MCF, as help could be closer than you might think.
Specialist Independent Brokerage
Minaur Corporate Finance Ltd, MCF, have provided all manner of Scaffolding and Construction companies with a range of different finance facilities to support their businesses since 1999, and have won several awards from Funders for the services they provide.
“Clients approach us more and more, very frustrated by having used larger Brokerages or specific Funders,” added Paul, “They may not have given the full range of options due to limited products or lack of knowledge of the Scaffolding Market. We’d be very happy to talk to anyone about their specific requirements.”
Moving Forward Positively
For some scaffolding firms the invoicing problem is minimal, but for others, it can have a serious effect on the overall success of the business. It may be worth having a serious re-evaluation of your current system. In the fast-moving 21st century, any help scaffolding companies can get can be worth it’s weight in gold.
The message to all scaffolding companies is clear – Whether you are just starting out or a long-established organisation, make sure you have looked at all the options and carried out lots of research before committing.
Paul can be contacted at: [email protected]