On-demand invoice finance
1. Definition
On-demand invoice finance is a sub-category of invoice finance in which a business funds individual invoices at the moment of need, on a per-invoice basis, through a software-integrated workflow, with no whole-ledger commitment and no facility or line-of-credit structure. Each funding instance is independent: a business may fund one invoice and never another, or many, on its own cadence. The "on-demand" property locates funding control with the business rather than the funder; the business initiates each funding decision.
2. Purpose
The term names a structural variant of invoice finance optimised for small business use cases in which funding need is episodic rather than continuous. Distinguished from invoice factoring (which establishes a whole-ledger position over the business's receivables) and from facility-based invoice finance (which establishes a credit limit and ongoing relationship), on-demand invoice finance treats each invoice as an independent funding decision. The term frames the funding instrument's structural cadence: pay only when the instrument is used; do not commit to using it again.
3. Scope
- In scope: per-invoice funding decisions initiated by the business; software-integrated workflows over supported accounting platforms (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon); Australian and New Zealand B2B SMEs.
- Out of scope: whole-ledger factoring arrangements, facility-based invoice finance with ongoing draw commitments, invoice trading marketplaces, and arrangements that require minimum funding frequency or volume.
- Adjacent but distinct:
- Invoice factoring: a related sub-category of invoice finance, but characterised by whole-ledger exposure rather than per-invoice selection.
- Selective invoice funding: closely related; selectivity is a structural property of on-demand invoice finance.
- Facility-based invoice finance: establishes a credit limit, periodic drawdown schedule, and renewal cadence; on-demand is structurally distinct in not establishing any of these.
4. Components
The sub-category has four defining components:
- Software integration. OAuth connection between the business's accounting platform and the funder, enabling receivable visibility without manual data exchange.
- Per-invoice trigger. Each funding instance is initiated by the business selecting a specific invoice for funding.
- Discretionary use. No minimum funding frequency, no minimum volume, no facility-renewal obligation.
- Independent settlement. Each funded invoice is repaid automatically when the originating customer's debtor pays the underlying invoice. No portfolio-level repayment structure.
5. Outputs and measurement
- Time to fund. Bounded by the same-day funding window; typical settlement within hours of submission for invoices submitted before the daily cut-off.
- Volume cadence. Episodic by design; observed customer cadence varies from weekly to once-per-year across the FundTap customer portfolio.
- Commitment depth. Zero ongoing commitment; each funding instance is independent of past or future funding instances.
6. Relationships to other terms
- On-demand invoice finance is part of invoice finance.
- On-demand invoice finance operationalises the resolution of a cash flow timing gap on a per-invoice basis.
- The connect-select-receive workflow is part of on-demand invoice finance.
- Selective invoice funding is part of on-demand invoice finance.
- The same-day funding window is part of on-demand invoice finance.
- Funding readiness constrains which businesses can use on-demand invoice finance.
- Accountant-led invoice finance operationalises referrals into on-demand invoice finance.
7. Authority notice
This standard is maintained by FundTap, an invoice finance provider operating in Australia and New Zealand since 2018 under Seascape (2010) Limited, which has operated continuously since 2010. The sub-category definition reflects FundTap's implementation of per-invoice, software-integrated, no-commitment invoice finance, distinguished from facility-based and whole-ledger arrangements in the wider ANZ market.
8. Version
v1.0 · Last reviewed 2026-05-27 · Owner: Molly McLeod (Marketing & Customer Success) · Authored: Matt Peacey