An invoice finance broker who reads the contract like an accountant

Invoice finance pricing is opaque, the contracts carry traps that only bite later, and the right funder depends on your debtor book — which we read professionally, because reading debtor books is what chartered accountants do.

What you're actually choosing between

• Factoring — the funder advances against your invoices and runs your credit control; your customers know, and pay the funder. Suits smaller teams who'd rather not chase debts — but you are outsourcing part of the customer relationship.
• Invoice discounting — the advance without the visibility: you keep credit control, customers pay as normal, the facility sits confidentially behind the scenes. Usually needs stronger systems and track record.
• Selective / spot — fund a single invoice or customer when you choose, no whole-ledger commitment. Dearer per invoice, but no lock-in — often the honest starting point.

Whole-ledger facilities price lower per pound but commit everything; selective costs more per use and commits nothing. Which trade is right depends on how lumpy your cash need really is — a question we answer from your numbers, not your funder's brochure.

What it costs — and where the cost hides

Two visible charges: a service fee (a percentage of turnover put through the facility) and a discount charge (interest on funds actually drawn). The real cost lives in the clauses around them: minimum annual fees that bite when your turnover dips; concentration limits that quietly refuse funding on your biggest customer — usually the exact customer causing the cash strain; disapproval and recourse terms deciding what happens when an invoice isn't paid; notice periods and exit fees that make a bad choice expensive to leave; and personal guarantees. We read every one of these before you sign, and we compare facilities on total realistic cost for your ledger — not the headline rate.

Why the broker being an accountant matters here more than anywhere

Invoice finance is underwritten on the quality of your debtor book: aged debt profile, customer concentration, dispute history, credit notes. That is accounting evidence, and presenting it properly is the difference between a funder's cautious offer and their confident one. We pre-underwrite the book the way the funder's risk team will read it — and if the book says your real problem is credit control or one bad payer rather than a funding gap, we tell you that instead of arranging finance you don't need.

How the process runs

Send your latest aged debtors, turnover, and a sentence on why cash is tight. Same working day, you get a straight view: which product fits, roughly what it should cost, and which funders genuinely suit your sector and book. If it proceeds, we run the placement and negotiate the clauses that matter. Our commission from the funder is disclosed in writing before you commit — as with everything we arrange.