Difference between revisions of "Dealing with Factoring"

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==Summary==
 
==Summary==
Factoring is a process whereby you invoice a customer the full amount for a vehicle and also send a copy of that invoice to a relevant Finance Company (Factoring Company). That Factoring Company in return send you, on average, 85% of the total amount of that invoice the next business day. The customer then has an obligation to pay the Factoring Company the full amount stated on the invoice.
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Factoring is a process where you raise an invoice to a customer, but assign the debt to someone else - a factoring company. The factoring company pay you a large percentage of the total amount of that invoice once they have received a copy of that invoice. The customer then has to pay the Factoring Company the full amount stated on the invoice. Once the customer has paid the full amount to the factoring company, they will pay you the balance less their charges, which can be quite steep.
 
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The advantages of this arrangements are : a) you don't have to chase your debts - the factoring company do it all for you, statements, phone calls etc.; b) your cash flow is greatly improved.
The following outlines how this process is achieved with Platinum Accounts.
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The disadvantages are : a) it can be expensive ; b) not all your customers may have a good enough credit rating to be adopted by the factoring company.
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Generally speaking, if you deal with large organisations that don't pay all that promptly this can be highly advantageous. In other circumstances, it can be an expensive way of improving your cash flow.  
  
 
==Details==
 
==Details==
The first thing you need to do is to create a Nominal Code for the Factoring Company.
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You will need to create Nominal Codes for the amount that you have assigned to the factoring company, and for the charges that they make.
* Get into "Nominal Ledger" -> "Maintenance Options" -> "Centre Maintenance" -> "Insert/Amend/Delete Centres" and create a new centre in and around currently setup Control Accounts. (eg. 19700 onwards in the current Platinum Nominal structure) and call this "Factoring Control Account" and set is as a Current Asset on the Balance Sheet.
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* Go into "Nominal Ledger" -> "Maintenance Options" -> "Centre Maintenance" -> "Insert/Amend/Delete Centres".
*Also, setup a Nominal Code for "Factoring Charges" in and around the section in the Nominal for other charges (15300 onwards in the current Platinum Nominal structure)
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* Create a new centre called "Factoring Control Account" and set this as a Current Asset on the Balance Sheet. In the standard nominal structure for Platinum, a suitable code would be around 19700. This is for the amount assigned at any one time.
*Pay off the customers invoice to the Factoring Control Account.  This clears them as a debtor to you.
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* Create a new centre for "Factoring Charges" and set this as an Overhead on the Profit & Loss. In the standard nominal structure for Platinum, a suitable code would be around 15300.
*When the payment arrives from the Factoring Company, credit the Factoring Control Account, and Debit the Bank Account.
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* Pay off the customer's invoice to the Factoring Control Account.  This clears them as a debtor to you.
* For any Factoring Charges, Credit the Bank Account and Debit the Factoring Charges Centre.
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* When the payment arrives from the Factoring Company, credit the Factoring Control Account, and debit the Bank Account.
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* For the factoring charges, credit the Bank Account and debit the Factoring Charges Centre. Watch out because there may be some VAT involved, in which case, make sure you log this Vat in the appropriate manner.

Revision as of 12:58, 5 September 2008

Summary

Factoring is a process where you raise an invoice to a customer, but assign the debt to someone else - a factoring company. The factoring company pay you a large percentage of the total amount of that invoice once they have received a copy of that invoice. The customer then has to pay the Factoring Company the full amount stated on the invoice. Once the customer has paid the full amount to the factoring company, they will pay you the balance less their charges, which can be quite steep. The advantages of this arrangements are : a) you don't have to chase your debts - the factoring company do it all for you, statements, phone calls etc.; b) your cash flow is greatly improved. The disadvantages are : a) it can be expensive ; b) not all your customers may have a good enough credit rating to be adopted by the factoring company. Generally speaking, if you deal with large organisations that don't pay all that promptly this can be highly advantageous. In other circumstances, it can be an expensive way of improving your cash flow.

Details

You will need to create Nominal Codes for the amount that you have assigned to the factoring company, and for the charges that they make.

  • Go into "Nominal Ledger" -> "Maintenance Options" -> "Centre Maintenance" -> "Insert/Amend/Delete Centres".
  • Create a new centre called "Factoring Control Account" and set this as a Current Asset on the Balance Sheet. In the standard nominal structure for Platinum, a suitable code would be around 19700. This is for the amount assigned at any one time.
  • Create a new centre for "Factoring Charges" and set this as an Overhead on the Profit & Loss. In the standard nominal structure for Platinum, a suitable code would be around 15300.
  • Pay off the customer's invoice to the Factoring Control Account. This clears them as a debtor to you.
  • When the payment arrives from the Factoring Company, credit the Factoring Control Account, and debit the Bank Account.
  • For the factoring charges, credit the Bank Account and debit the Factoring Charges Centre. Watch out because there may be some VAT involved, in which case, make sure you log this Vat in the appropriate manner.