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What Is Invoice Factoring?
Invoice factoring is a financing arrangement where a business sells its unpaid invoices to a third-party company — called a factoring company — in exchange for an immediate cash advance. The factoring company then takes responsibility for collecting payment from the business's customers.
For small businesses with long payment cycles, invoice factoring offers a way to access cash without waiting 30, 60, or 90 days for customers to pay.
How Does Invoice Factoring Work?
The invoice factoring process typically works in four steps:
- You issue an invoice to a customer for goods or services delivered.
- You sell the invoice to a factoring company, receiving an advance — typically 70–90% of the invoice value.
- The factoring company contacts your customer directly to collect payment when the invoice falls due.
- Once paid, the factoring company remits the remaining balance minus their fee.
A key feature of traditional invoice factoring is that your customers know a third party is involved — this is called disclosed or recourse factoring.
What Does Invoice Factoring Cost?
Invoice factoring fees vary by provider but typically include:
- A factoring fee of 1–5% per month on the invoice value
- Service fees for ledger management
- Minimum monthly volumes or annual commitment fees
Total costs can be significant, especially when combined with admin fees and minimum contract requirements.
Pros and Cons of Invoice Factoring
Advantages
- Immediate access to cash from outstanding invoices
- The factoring company handles collections
- Approval based on your customers' creditworthiness, not yours
Disadvantages
- Your customers are notified and may be contacted by the factor
- You typically must factor your entire debtor ledger
- Lock-in contracts and monthly minimums are common
- Fee structures can be complex and expensive
Invoice Factoring vs. Fundtap Invoice Financing
Fundtap offers a modern alternative to traditional invoice factoring. Unlike factoring, Fundtap does not notify your customers, does not require whole-ledger assignment, and has no lock-in contracts or monthly minimums. You choose which invoices to fund and when — and receive the cash within hours.
Invoice factoring is when a business sells its unpaid invoices to a factoring company in exchange for an immediate cash advance. The factoring company then collects payment from the business's customers.
Invoice factoring typically costs 1–5% of the invoice value per month, plus service fees and potential minimum volume charges. Fundtap invoice financing charges a single transparent fee from 4% with no monthly fees or lock-ins.
With traditional invoice factoring, yes — your customers are usually notified and may be contacted directly by the factoring company. With Fundtap, your customers never know and continue paying you as normal.
Traditional factoring often requires you to factor your entire debtor ledger. Fundtap lets you choose individual invoices with no minimums or commitments.
Invoice factoring suits businesses that have consistent invoice volumes and are comfortable with customer notification. If you prefer privacy, flexibility, and no lock-ins, Fundtap invoice financing may be a better fit.