How to Finance an IT Company

Aug 11
06:59

2010

Marco Terry

Marco Terry

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Learn one way to finance your new or growing IT company.

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The field of Information technology (IT) is full of small and medium sized companies that are vying for customers and for position. Surviving in this cutthroat industry requires that owners manage their businesses,How to Finance an IT Company Articles especially their cash flow, very carefully.

The IT industry is known for having heavy expenses. Payrolls tend to be high since technical employees command high wages. Also, if the company also resells hardware, if not unusual for equipment and inventory expenses to grow quickly, especially if the firm is involved in large projects.

On the revenue side, clients usually pay their invoices in 30 to 60 days. Because of this, the firm must usually cover its overhead and other expenses for a time before being able to recoup their investment. Waiting to be paid can be a challenge for many small or medium sized IT firms. Furthermore, few small firms have enough capital to handle payment delays. That means that the firm could be at risk of missing supplier or employee payments, if a few clients delay their invoice payments.

If the company has funds in the bank, a few late invoices will not affect things at all. However, if the firm is running lean, there are only three things you can do. You can delay your supplier payments until you get paid, you can try and arrange for quicker payment or you can get business financing.

Negotiating payment schedules with clients and suppliers can be tricky and seldom produces predictable results. Most small and medium sized firms will probably be better of getting formal financing. One emerging financing solution called factoring is ideal for this type of situation. Invoice factoring eliminates having to wait for your clients to pay by providing you with a funding advance on your invoices. You get stable and predictable cash flow, which enables you to focus on running your company, rather than on collecting invoices. The transaction is settled with the factoring company once your client pays the invoice.

Invoice factoring is relatively easy to qualify for and available to small and medium sized businesses. The biggest requirements to qualify are that your clients must have good commercial credit scores and your business must be free of encumbrances.

Factoring can be a great solution for small and midsized IT companies that can't afford to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid by their clients.

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