As a government contractor it is critically important that you have the necessary access to capital to perform on an awarded contract. As you well know, the agency will be tracking your performance closely and the inability to finish the work will remain a stigma on your ongoing chances to win more awards.
This is why it is a smart idea to put together a commercial financing strategy before you get the award. Of course small contracting firms have a sort of catch-22 when they think about going to the bank for a loan. They cannot show historical revenue that matches the great expectations around the corner.
Here is where invoice factoring can me a tremendous tool to get from point A up to point C,D,E. There are three main benefits to consider about factoring receivables;
1. Credit: The decision to fund a borrower is based on the creditworthiness of their customers (in this case a government agency or large Prime contractor.) They are the ones writing the check that pays off the advance and closes out each transaction. So the borrowers Financial Statements (or lack of any) is not an impediment to getting access to working capital.
2. Speed: With a minimal amount of paperwork, a factoring account can be set up usually in a week to 10 days. Once the factoring agreement is in place you can wait for the contract to start and have the ability to make payroll.
3. Availability: Unlike qualifying for a line of credit from a bank, a factoring relationship does not have a top end. You do not have to come back and re-qualify for a larger line. The factoring relationship grows as your company’s revenues grow.
Often misunderstood and more commonly unheard of, invoice factoring can be just the mechanism you need to build a company with additional employees. At the end of the day, after using factoring for a while you will be able to transition to an institutional bank loan that will mark the ongoing success of your company.