It’s a scenario that plays out all too often when you’re involved with B2B commerce: Your client begs for more time to pay on their invoice, and because you’ve worked together for a long time or just don’t want to lose their business in the future, you agree to extend the due date.
The problem with extending credit in B2B commerce is that it threatens to interrupt your own cash flow and disrupt–or even jeopardize–your business. Many companies have wondered if there’s a better way to offer credit extensions, often considered a massive gesture of customer service, and it turns out that making a small change to the way in which they’re offered, processed, and delivered can make a big difference in the lag between credit extension and final repayment.
The Commercial Finance Group in Burbank is dedicated to helping businesses of all shapes and sizes find their way to more robust financial health. If you’re experiencing cash flow problems for any reason, and have started to feel the pressure of overdue invoices, our asset-based lending services may be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Keep reading to learn more about the smart way to give your clients more time, and if you’re already having cash flow problems, contact The Commercial Finance Group in Burbank to learn how asset-based lending can help.
Understanding The Needs Of A B2B Business
Just because you deal with businesses as clients doesn’t mean you can slack on the customer service. Business buyers are well aware of how to go above and beyond for the customer–they do it for their own clients on a daily basis–and they’re not afraid to seek a new supplier or service provider if they feel they’re being treated coldly.
As such, many B2B commerce companies expect that they’ll be give at least 30 days, if not more, to pay their invoices. The only problem is that this puts a serious dent in your daily cash flow. If your business is small enough or already experiencing financial stress, it only takes one or two of these “credit hogs” to put your accounts receivable department in serious peril.
American Banker looked at the future of B2B e-commerce transactions and concluded that “shorter clearing windows provide businesses with greater control over cash flow.” So how does a company engaged in B2B commerce ensure that windows are as short as possible while also avoiding the time- and resource-intensive process of credit management? After all, financing customers is the bank’s responsibility, not yours, right?
How Online Credit Processing Can Help
For many in the B2B commerce world, online credit processing has become a welcome solution to this conundrum. By streamlining the credit management process, the act of providing good customer service by extending credit to your customers becomes easier to handle, while also helping you to get paid back faster.
Benefits Of Online Credit Processing:
Here, according to credit management platform Apruve, are some of the biggest advantages to extending longer-term payment options to your B2B customers:
- Online applications are available to customers when and where they need them — no more traveling to obtain paper forms.
- Completing the credit application online can be done at the customer’s convenience and at the time of purchase.
- Digitally processing the credit application is quick and easy for the seller.
- Processing times go much faster than paper applications, which have to be processed manually.
- Online processing costs less and saves money.
- Your customers will have the ability to make quicker repeat purchases due to faster processing times.
Already Having Cash Flow Problems? Asset-Based Lending May Be The Solution
This information is all well and good if you’re a B2B commerce enterprise exploring your options for payment processing and credit extension, but what if being “nice” to your clients has already gotten you in a jam?
If you’re ready to pull your hair out because you’ve got customers who are 15, 20, or even 30 days overdue and you can feel your accounts receivable department dragging the entire operation down, The Commercial Finance Group in Burbank can help.
We specialize in creating custom financing solutions to companies who can’t (or don’t want to) turn to traditional commercial loan providers for one reason or another. Our asset-based lending and other custom lending solutions have made the difference for hundreds of struggling businesses across the country, and we’d love to remove the burden of late payments from your shoulders as well.
