Peace of mind, flexibility and supporting cashflow are the top three benefits of having an invoice finance facility, according to a survey of UK business owners from Time Finance.
In addition, 42% of UK business owners told Time Finance that invoice finance gives them more financial freedom, whilst one in four said it helps them to relieve valuable time wasted in chasing payments and more time to grow their business. A further 17% said they have better relationships with their customers as a result of this facility.
As an alternative finance solution that releases up to 90% of the value of unpaid invoices, invoice finance is an increasingly popular solution that helps business owners to access additional working capital and use the funds to support day-to-day cashflow requirements or support innovation and growth.
UK Finance reports that 42,000 businesses benefit from invoice finance in the UK. According to Time Finance’s survey, this figure has the potential to rise in 2022 with over half of financial intermediaries expecting their business-to-business clients to turn to invoice finance within the next six months.
Phil Chesham (pictured), head of invoice finance at Time Finance, said: “As the culture of late payment continues to rise here in the UK, the threat that this poses to businesses also grows. Our recent survey results highlight just how vital invoice finance is to businesses.
“Of the business owners surveyed, 67% reported that an invoice finance facility helps them to pay suppliers, HMRC, employees and other financial commitments on time. 50% told Time Finance that it helps to manage late payments from customers and over one third said it helps them to better combat the current economic challenges such as rising costs and inflation.
“With late payment debt as high as £200,000 for one in five UK SMEs, invoice finance solutions are as vital as ever and with the addition of our credit control service here at Time Finance, we can really take the strain away from chasing payments and protect our clients’ customer relationships.”