The Business Dictionary online defines a business practice as, “the methods, proceedures, processes, and rules employed or followed by a firm in the pursuit of its objectives.” So it follows that financial processes including factoring, could be in a company’s business plan.

Since the economic downturn, many companies — especially small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) — have turned to the age old business practice of invoice factoring. In the old days, most factoring contracts were all or nothing , meaning you either factored all of your invoices or you didn’t. Recently, a new tactic, or financial “business practice” called single invoice factoring, otherwise known as spot factoring, has become popular. Why? Because SMEs can use a factoring company like the Interface Financial Group (IFG) to factor just one single invoice if that is preferred.

The difference is that when a company uses accounts receivable factoring to factor all of their receivables, IFG will first look at each of your customers’ credit (not yours) and then decide of those which ones they will factor. With spot factoring, only one customer need be qualified, so in most cases, a factor will pay you the majority of what’s owed to you within as little as 24 hours. Basically factroing enables the following:

Cash in 24 hours for first time applicants.
Enrolled customers can receive cash in less than four hours.
A contact management system that includes instant messenger.
No minimums and no maximums.
There are no obligations.
Factoring is not a loan.
There are no upfront fees, nor co-signers required.
There is no account to open.