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HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW
Can Factoring Be Better Than A Bank Loan? By Steve Hansen
Steve Hansen is the Vice President of Summit Financial Resources. Mr. Hansen is a working capital lender providing accounts receivable and inventory financing to small and medium-sized businesses. Each week he discusses effective solutions for monitoring and improving your business cash flow. For more information about Mr. Hansen and his company, visit the Summit Financial Resources website; or check out his bio here.
What I have found that normally a business owner who needs financing for the growth of their business start their financing search by looking for a business loan or a business line of credit from a bank. The reason is that business loans and lines of credits from a bank are well known products. However, due to the regulations imposed on the banking industries loans are very hard to get. What I have found in the real world is few businesses actually manage to get them unless they are collateralized by equity in real estate or equipment.
As a result, the accounts receivable and inventory financing needed in a growth mode is the most difficult financing to obtain form a bank. There is an alternative for such growth needs, which is factoring. Factoring is offered by commercial finance companies, such as Summit Financial Resources. In the vast majority of cases, factoring may be a better and easier solution to obtain than traditional bank financing to fund the growth of a business.
To determine if factoring is a better alternative than a business loan you just need to ask yourself these questions:
- Does my company provide goods or services that are completed when I invoice my customers?
- Are my customers not paying within the credit terms I am offering?
- Are you turning away sales because you do not have the cash?
- With cash, is your business growth potential greater than 20%?
If your answers were yes to these questions, then factoring your accounts receivable invoices is better for you than a traditional loan that you can obtain from banks. Accounts receivable factoring provides a business with financing flexibility based on your sales. A properly structured factoring program eliminates slow payment cycles by providing your business with cash to grow your business.
As a business owner, you should be aware and open to all financing products available to you by either a bank or commercial financing company and choose the one that best fits your company’s needs.
To learn more about Steve Hansen, Tune into CNN 650 Monday at 1:00 pm.

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Steve Hansen Archive
- Factoring Facts: Can Factoring Be Better Than A Bank Loan? (March 2006, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- NAWBO Houston March Luncheon (March 2006, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- A Financing Success Story: Oil Well Servicing Company (February 2006, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- Frequently Asked Questions About Business Cashflow (December 2005, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- SUCCESS IS YOUR BUSINESS (September 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- What Does a Lender Want to Know? (August 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- Finding The Right Lender (July 2005, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- Don’t Tell Your Lender Everything (July 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- The Relationship With Your Lender (July 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Where's The Cash (June 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- Steps To Track Money In And Out Of A Company (June 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Another Way To Look At Factoring (May 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Is it Time to Find a New Lender? (May 2005, Issue No. 2, Monday Edition)
- Improve Your Credit Score (May 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- The Dilemma of Financing a Start Up Company (April 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Why Don't I Have Cash? (April 2005, Issue No. 3, Monday Edition)
- How Factoring Can Make or Save Money (April 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- What Do Lenders Really Look At? (March 2005, Issue No. 5, Monday Edition)
- Factoring Is Not For My Company (March 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- The Dreaded “F” Word (March 2005, Issue No. 2, Monday Edition)
- Categories of Banks (March 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- Due Diligence on Lenders (February 2005, Issue No. 5, Monday Edition)
- Is It Time to Find a New Bank? (February 2005, Issue No. 3, Monday Edition)
- Which Bank to Choose? (February 2005, Issue No. 2, Monday Edition)
- External Sources of Cash (February 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- Cash Is In Your Business (January 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Banker's Lanuage Is Financial Jargon (January 2005, Issue No. 3, Monday Edition)
- Who Is Steve Hansen? (January 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
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