There might have been a difference once. Now there is not. The terms are interchangeable.  They all describe the process of raising funds by using unpaid sales invoices  to customers as security for funds.  Any differences tend to be between the companies that provide this service and the products they offer i.e. single invoice finance vs full book finance

As the name implies, single invoice finance allows you to sell the financier one invoice in exchange for a discount with no obligation to use any other invoices as security for funds, or to continue the arrangement beyond that single transaction.

On the other hand,  a full book facility occurs when you sell all your invoices to a financier on a long term basis – at least 12 months.  The facility is secured by all your invoices and the funder wll guarantee you a proportion of funds every month based on the value of your invoices

It depends on the nature of your business and your needs.

Single invoice finance is often project based.  In other words, you have a short term need of funds to get a job done, or solve a problem.  When the business and, more importantly, cash flow is back on track you can pause the funding until you need it again sometime in the future.

Companies that use full book factoring are in industries which traditionally have long periods between money going out and money coming, so cash flow is always stretched.  You can overcome this by entering into a long term arrangement to obtain funds against your outstanding invoices.

You can raise funds using  a single invoice or multiple as many times as you wish.  It’s up to you.

It’s a simple 3 step process. 

1. After you have delivered a service or goods to a customer you issue an invoice to them. 
2. You bring the invoice to us and we will advance up to 80% of its value.  Established customers are able to get the money within a few hours of issuing the invoice. 
3. Your customer pays the invoice into our account.  We forward the remaining 20% of the invoice value to you less our fee.

Absolutely. We don’t ask you to sign a contract committing to sell us all your invoices. In theory, you can use us once. However, most clients use us 6 – 7 times.

Firstly, there are no application fees, set up fees, account fees or legal fees.

Your cost is based on the number days from when we buy the invoice to when it is paid. So,  to a great degree you have control over how much it costs.   

For example, if your  customer  generally pays an invoice in 30 days and you sell it to us after 15 days have passed then you’ll save money.

Unfortunately, the responsibility falls to you. If payment is not forthcoming we will ask you to provide us with an exchange invoice or repay our funds. So, it is always important to check the credentials of your customers and have a good relationship with them.

In instances, where invoices are for large amounts we can insure your customer against insolvency. The insurance cover is ours. If you are considering insuring your customers let us know and we will refer you to an appropriate person.

The insurance will not provide cover for fraud or dispute.

Sixty days is the maximum age. We will not buy an invoice if it is past due regardless of its age.

Our client criteria is not too onerous and we look at every situation on a case by case basis. The first thing to do is to call and ask for an application form.

Profitability is desirable but not mandatory.

We will look at the circumstances on an individual basis.