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Invoice Factoring
Factoring Companies in Canada: 8 Best Options for Business Funding
When it comes to securing fast and flexible funding for your business, invoice factoring is a great option as it unlocks capital that’s tied up in slow receivables for work you’ve already completed. Factoring can be a reliable source of funding and way to ensure predictable cash flow for your business. There are a number of factoring companies in Canada that can meet the needs of new, growing, and established Canadian businesses. Before we look at the different factoring companies in Canada, let’s take a quick look at what invoice factoring is, and what to look for in a factoring company.
What Is Factoring?
Invoice factoring is a form of financing where a business owner sells unpaid invoices to a factoring company for fast access to funds. The business owner receives cash for the invoice amount, usually less any fees, ahead of the payment terms. The business owner’s customer, who is responsible for paying the invoice, instead pays the invoice amount to the factoring company according to the original payment terms.
Invoice factoring also goes by the terms accounts receivable factoring or receivable financing. (It’s important to note that this is different from invoice financing, where a factoring company still gives a business owner cash for their invoice, but the business owner pays back the invoice amount themselves, plus a fee. Find out how to choose between invoice factoring vs invoice financing.)
How does factoring work?
Every factoring company, business, and their customers are different, so these steps are generalized accordingly. This is more or less what you can expect when you factor an invoice.
- Business owner submits outstanding invoices for funding. Traditional invoice factoring companies often require a business to factor all their invoices for the duration of a contract. With many newer companies, you can choose which invoices you want to fund. (Full disclosure: FundThrough lets you pick which invoices to fund with no minimum, no maximum amounts, and no long-term contracts.)
- Factoring company does due diligence. Oftentimes this will include checking that a business is legally established, is up-to-date on taxes, and doesn’t have liens on their accounts receivable and/or the specific invoice. (Many invoice factoring companies will find ways to work with businesses if they have these issues.) During this step, the factoring company will also verify that the invoice is real.
- The business’ customer is asked to sign an NOA. Having the customer owing the invoice sign a Notice of Assignment means they understand that the factoring company now owns the invoice so they can redirect payment. While a lot of business owners get concerned about their customers being involved, many large companies are used to this process.
- The business owner gets funded. The business owner receives cash in their bank account, less a fee (or, the invoice factoring cost). They can now have peace of mind that they have cash available to grow their business or cover any other cash flow gap. (This is our favorite part!)
- The customer pays the factoring company according to the invoice terms. When the invoice is due, the customer pays the factoring company, and the funding process is complete.
Types of factoring
There are a couple of different ways factoring is classified. The first is based on how you use factoring as a financing tool:
1. Whole turnover: You sell your invoices to a third-party that advances you a percentage (typically 70-80%) and pays you the rest, minus their service charge, when they collect from your client.
2. Selective: You have an ongoing relationship with the third-party factoring company that allows you to choose which invoices to fund and when.
3. Spot factoring: You need to access funds from an invoice factor infrequently but as quickly as possible to cover a cash flow emergency.
The second way invoice factoring is classified refers to the structure of your agreement with the factoring company:
1. Factoring with recourse: With this form of factoring, you are responsible for paying back the advance even if the invoice remains unpaid to the factoring company.
2. Factoring without recourse: With non-recourse factoring, the liability of an unpaid invoice transfers to the factoring company. This means you are not responsible for unpaid invoices.
Pros of factoring
There are a wide variety of advantages of factoring, including:
- Debt-free funding (invoice factoring is not a loan!)
- Non-dilutive capital.
- Unlimited access to capital.
- Much faster turnaround time than bank financing.
- Save time without having to chase accounts receivable.
Cons of factoring
Like any financing method, factoring isn’t perfect. Here are the main perceived disadvantages of factoring invoices:
- Invoices need to be verified, so customer contact is sometimes required. (See how we work to maintain your relationships with customers if this worries you.)
- Can be complicated to account for in bookkeeping. (Here’s how to record factoring transactions, step by step.)
- Some factoring companies charge hidden fees, such as a service fee or minimum volume fee. At FundThrough, we don’t charge any hidden fees. See our pricing page for more on what you can expect to pay for invoice funding.
Get more info on invoice factoring advantages and disadvantages.
What does factoring cost?
While every company uses their own factoring accounts receivable formula, we can only speak for FundThrough. With us, funding rates range between 2.5% per 30 days or 6% over 12 weeks, depending on which option you choose. Unlike other factoring companies, with FundThrough, what you see is what you get. There are no hidden fees like account set up fees, ACH fees, or processing fees. There’s also no minimum (or maximum) funding requirements, and no long-term commitments after the invoice is paid.
This is why it’s so important to do your research when comparing accounts receivable factoring companies. You should understand overall total costs, and be aware of any additional charges beyond the discount rate or factoring fee. At FundThrough, our AI-driven technology allows us to offer highly competitive invoice factoring rates.
What Businesses Qualify for Factoring?
Businesses of all kinds and sizes qualify for factoring – it’s not reserved for one specific industry. Small businesses use invoice factoring, as well as larger corporations. Factoring is a common practice in the staffing industry, oil and gas industry, and other industries.
What Is a Factoring Company?
An invoice factoring company – also sometimes called a factor – is a company that provides invoice factoring services. They’ll advance the invoice amount (minus any fees) and wait to collect on the original invoice terms from the original customer.
What to Look for in a Factoring Company
The best factoring company gives you access to quick, convenient funding when you need it, with a transparent fee structure that’s easy to understand. There are a number of factoring companies in Canada, so it’s important to compare your options to ensure you’re getting the right fit for your unique situation.
Factoring Companies in Canada
When it comes to evaluating factoring companies in Canada, you should consider a company’s reputation, fee structure, credit requirements, and speed of funding. It’s also important to consider their invoice management features, accounting software integration, funding minimums and maximums, as well as their repayment terms. Here are 8 factoring companies in Canada to consider. (Also see our page on invoice factoring Ontario for more specific info.)
FundThrough
FundThrough is an AI-powered invoice funding platform that gives Canadian business owners flexible access to working capital on their terms. As a factoring company in Canada, FundThrough provides unlimited working capital based on the size of your outstanding customer accounts – so your funding grows as you grow. FundThrough offers amazing customer service – with the highest customer satisfaction rate in the industry, and works with businesses across North America. (If you’re looking for factoring elsewhere, see our pages on Texas invoice factoring, Houston factoring companies.)
Funding Amounts
Our Invoice Factoring solution provides an unlimited funding amount.
Pros
- Unlimited funding based on the size of your invoices
- 100% advance rates, minus a single fee. One up front price with competitive terms
- Receive funding for outstanding invoices within days
- Leverage artificial intelligence to make fast funding decisions
- Highly reviewed support team, and a partner in your success
- Flexible access to cash. Fund any invoice to any customer you want
Cons
- Technology requirements
Riviera Finance
Riviera Financing offers invoice financing and factoring to businesses across a variety of industries, including transportation, staffing, energy, oil & gas companies, telecommunications, utilities, and more. Riviera Finance offers financing services to most B2B businesses, regardless of how long they’ve been in business or their monthly revenue.
Factoring agreements are tailored to each business, and are managed by local offices. However, even businesses that aren’t close to a physical office are still eligible for Riviera Finance.
Funding Amounts
Riviera Financing has a credit facility size of $5K – $2M, and provides an advance rate of up to 95%. Their discount rate typically starts at 2%, and there is an early termination fee.
Pros
- Ideal for startups and small businesses with little credit history
- No credit score requirements
- Flexible financing options
- No monthly minimums, competitive fees
- Bankruptcy protection via non-recourse invoice factoring
- Ease of application process
Cons
- Unsuited for B2C businesses
- Not inexpensive
- Advance amounts listed on site but not factoring fees
1st Commercial Credit
1st Commercial Credit is a factoring company in Canada that works with businesses across North America. It offers supply chain financing solutions, including A/R financing, P/O financing, and trade payable financing.
Funding amounts
1st Commercial Credit offers funding for small and large companies ranging from as little as $10,000 a month to $10 million in credit line facilities. Financing rates range from 0.69%-4%. Businesses can access up to $350,000 with no financials needed.
Pros
- No setup fees
- Customized rates
- Setup in just 3-5 days
- Access to free invoicing software
- Once approved, funds are advanced in 24 hours
Cons
- Online portal slightly outdated
- No dedicated account representative
eCapital
eCapital – which acquired Accutrac Capital in 2019 – provides a wide range factoring solutions and lending services for businesses of different sizes with varying needs. It offers invoice factoring in addition to freight factoring, payroll funding, asset-based lending, lines of credit, and other services.
Funding amounts
With eCapital, there’s no predetermined funding amount. The more invoices you produce, the more funding becomes available. You will, however, need to have at least $30,000 in monthly sales in order to qualify. It offers credit facilities up to $30 million.
Pros
- Non-recourse factoring
- Purchase order financing
- Funds released same day
- No hidden fees
Cons
- Must have $30,000 in monthly sales minimum to qualify
- No fee transparency
JD Factors
J D Factors has been providing non-recourse receivables factoring since 1989, and boasts its superior customer service and support. They work with businesses in the manufacturing, staffing, oil and gas, and trucking industries.
Funding amounts
J D Factors provides invoice factoring services from $5,000 – $2,000,000. Their fee starts at a 2% discount rate per invoice.
Pros
- Non-recourse factoring
- Provides customized solutions
- Flexible terms
- Upfront, transparent pricing
Cons
- Advances up to 95%
Express Business Funding
Express Business Funding is a factoring company in Canada that is a leader in non-notification factoring to Canadian companies. They work with businesses in the staffing, trucking companies, oil and gas, manufacturing, and business services industries. They have both east and west coast offices to serve businesses in all time zones across the country.
Funding amounts
With factoring amounts of $100,000 – $5,000,000, EBF is best suited to large scale businesses. Their fees use a daily rate based on the value of your invoices. Dependent on the risk – this can be somewhere between 0.03% per day to 0.075% per day.
Pros
- Non-notification factoring
- Upfront, transparent pricing
- Also offer construction factoring
Cons
- Advances only 80%
- Daily rate can be confusing to calculate
- Requires two years of financial statements
Accord Financial Corp.
Accord Financial is a leading finance company that provides an array of working capital solutions to small and medium-sized companies across the United States and Canada. In addition to accounts receivable financing, they also offer asset-based lending, small business loans, and equipment financing.
Funding amounts
Accord has credit facilities between $500,000-$2 million, and provides an offer letter within 48 hours. Unfortunately, it does not publish its factoring fees on its website, and the customer support representatives we spoke to would not share rates without an application.
Pros
- No setup or application fee
- No financial covenants requirements
- Single debtor factoring available
- Available credit facilities for those with capital requirements greater than $2M
Cons
- Advances only 75-90%
- Requires 30-days cancellation notice
- No fee transparency
REV Capital
REV Capital is a leading provider of full-service factoring services in Canada and the United States, with eight offices across North America. It supports thousands of businesses with its invoice management, credit underwriting, and collection services.
Funding amounts
Fees range from 1% to 3%, and they offer facilities up to $25 million.
Pros
- Online portal for 24/7 monitoring
- Customized financial solutions
- Dedicated client relationship manager
- Full service facilities
- Advance rates of 100%
Cons
- No liens on A/R
Interested in Funding an Invoice With FundThrough?
If you’re ready to factor an invoice, or just want to have the option in your back pocket, see if you qualify for our invoice funding solution today.