Stop waiting 60 days to get paid.
Get most of an unpaid invoice's value within days, not whenever your customer gets round to paying. Tell us about your invoices and we'll match you with one specialist who funds businesses like yours.
- Facilities from £25k to £5m, or fund a single invoice
- Can be kept confidential from your customers
- No hard credit check to start, and free to use
A rough guide at 85% of invoice value. Funders typically advance around 80 to 90% of eligible invoices. The real figure depends on your customers and the funder.
See my real optionsYou're busy, profitable, and still short of cash.
Your cash is sitting in your customers’ bank accounts. Invoice finance gets most of it to you now.
You can’t change their terms, but you can stop waiting for them.
Invoice finance grows with your sales, so more work means more funding available.
What is invoice finance?
Invoice finance lets you borrow against money your business customers already owe you. You keep trading as normal; the funder advances most of each invoice now and settles the rest when your customer pays.
Unlike a loan, there are no fixed monthly repayments. The amount available grows as your sales grow, which is why it suits businesses that are busy but waiting on slow payers. You might also hear it called receivables finance, debtor finance or factoring.
How a £50,000 invoice could work
How it works
You invoice as normal
Your customers stay on their usual 30, 60 or 90 day terms.
Share the invoice
Upload one invoice, a few, or connect your whole sales ledger.
Get the advance
Typically 80 to 90% of the invoice, often within a day once set up.
Your customer pays
Either to you (discounting) or to the funder (factoring).
Receive the balance
The rest comes to you, minus the agreed fees.
Types of invoice finance
The right one depends on how many invoices you want funded, and whether you want to keep chasing payments yourself.
Invoice discounting
You keep your own credit control and it can stay confidential. Usually suits established businesses with someone chasing payments.
Invoice factoring
The funder chases your customers for you. Useful if you don’t have the time or staff, but your customers will know.
Selective invoice finance
Pick which invoices or customers to fund, when you need to. Usually pay as you go.
Single invoice finance
Fund one invoice for a one-off gap, such as a big job or a slow payer, without a longer commitment.
| Discounting | Factoring | Selective / single | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who chases payment | You | The funder | Usually you |
| Do customers know? | No, can be confidential | Yes | Usually not |
| Typical advance | Around 80 to 90%, sometimes more | Around 80 to 90% | Around 80 to 90% |
| Commitment | Often a minimum term | Often a minimum term | Usually pay as you go |
| Often suits | Established firms with credit control | Smaller firms short on admin time | One-off gaps or one slow customer |
A rough guide only. Every funder sets its own terms.
Is invoice finance right for your business?
Usually a good fit if you
- Are a UK limited company or LLP
- Sell to other businesses, not the public
- Invoice on credit terms, typically 30 to 120 days
- Have creditworthy business customers
- Turn over around £100k a year or more (less can work for single invoices)
Probably not the right tool if you
- Mostly sell to consumers or take payment upfront
- Are a sole trader or partnership
- Have lots of disputed or part-delivered invoices
- Rely on one customer for almost all your sales (possible, but harder)
Not sure? That's what the call is for. If invoice finance isn't right, your specialist will say so, and may suggest a business loan instead.
Where it helps most
Typical gaps between money going out and money coming in. Yours may differ.
What invoice finance costs
There are usually two charges. Ask for both, and for the total in pounds, before you sign.
Service fee
Covers running the facility. Usually a small percentage of your turnover, lower for confidential discounting, higher for factoring because the funder does the chasing.
Discount charge
Charged on the money you actually draw, a bit like interest. Usually set as a margin above the Bank of England base rate.
Questions to ask any provider
- What will it cost in pounds over a year, at my likely usage?
- Is there a minimum monthly fee, a minimum term or a notice period?
- Are there setup, audit or exit fees?
- Is it recourse or non-recourse? What happens if a customer never pays?
- Are there limits on how much one customer can make up (concentration limits)?
- Which of my invoices won’t be funded, and why?
The honest pros and cons
What works well
- No fixed monthly repayments like a loan
- Funding grows as your sales grow
- Usually quicker than going to your bank
- Doesn’t need property as security
- Factoring can take credit control off your plate
What to watch
- Can cost more than a secured loan
- Customers will know if you use factoring
- Whole-ledger facilities often have minimum terms
- Not for businesses that sell to consumers
- With recourse, you carry the risk if a customer never pays
What you'll need
Nothing to send to start. For the specialist's call, it helps to know:
About your invoices
Roughly how much you invoice each month, your typical invoice size, payment terms, and how many customers you invoice.
About your business
Your Companies House number, annual turnover, recent bank statements and latest accounts or management accounts.
About your sales ledger
An aged debtor report if you have one, any bad debts in the last year, and whether you’d prefer it kept confidential.
What happens after you enquire
Two minutes online
A few questions. We find your company on Companies House as you type.
A text from us
Straight away, with the name of the specialist who'll call you.
A short call
Usually within a working day. About 15 minutes on how your business trades.
Options in plain English
What is available, the full cost in pounds, and what they would need.
You decide
No obligation. Saying "not right now" is fine.
How it can look in practice
Illustrations of common situations, not real customers.
A recruitment agency
Places 40 temps, pays them weekly, and invoices clients monthly on 30 day terms. A whole-ledger facility funds each week’s payroll from the invoices raised, so wages never wait on clients.
A construction subcontractor
Wins a £400k package with 45 day payment terms and needs to pay labour and materials up front. A funder that understands applications for payment and retentions advances against each certified valuation.
A wholesaler with one slow payer
Most customers pay on time, but one national retailer takes 90 days. Selective finance funds just that customer’s invoices, with no long contract.
Invoice finance questions
You raise an invoice to a business customer. Instead of waiting 30, 60 or 90 days for them to pay, a funder advances most of its value now. When your customer pays, you get the rest, minus the funder’s fees.
Other ways to fund your business
Business loans
A lump sum with fixed repayments for growth, stock, equipment or a tax bill.
Asset finance (coming soon)
Spread the cost of vehicles, plant and equipment.
Merchant cash advance (coming soon)
Repay from card takings, so quiet months cost less.
Get paid for work you've already done.
Two minutes. Free. No hard credit check. One specialist, not ten calls.