Your Options for Funding Payroll

What Is Payroll Funding?

Payroll funding refers to the various financing options available to small businesses to help cover the costs of meeting payroll when cash flow is tight. Rather than taking out short-term loans each pay period, businesses can leverage dedicated payroll funding solutions to ensure employees are paid on time. These solutions allow small businesses to obtain funds through alternative lenders, merchant cash advances, invoice factoring, and other means to bridge payroll gaps.

These funding options allow small businesses to bridge the gap between when they have to pay employees and when customers pay their outstanding invoices. Payroll funding helps avoid disruptions impacting morale and operations when paychecks are delayed.

Options for Small Businesses Funding Payroll

Running payroll smoothly is crucial for any small business. However, many SMBs face cash flow problems and struggle to fund payroll, especially when customers pay invoices slower than normal. Thankfully, small businesses have several options to cover payroll when cash gets tight.

Traditional Bank Loans

One option is taking out a traditional loan from a bank. However, the Small Business Administration (SBA) application process can be lengthy, with approval taking two or three months in some cases. Many newer and smaller businesses also face eligibility barriers like minimum time in business, annual revenue requirements, or high minimum credit scores that disqualify them.

Exploring Small Business Administration Loans (SBA)

The SBA guarantees a portion of loans made by banks to small businesses. This reduces the bank’s risk, allowing them to offer better terms to SMBs with fewer barriers. SBA loans feature long repayment terms of up to 25 years and competitive interest rates.

Cons of Traditional Bank Loans

While SBA loans have advantages, the application process can be lengthy. Also, minimum credit scores and annual revenue requirements may disqualify some small firms. Overall, traditional loans work best for established businesses with strong finances. This leads many small businesses to explore alternative funding options.

Business Lines of Credit for Payroll Funding

A business line of credit allows businesses to borrow money up to a set limit. The funds can then be used for operating expenses like payroll, rent, supplies, and more.

Lines of credit are revolving, which means as money is repaid, it can be borrowed again up to the credit limit. This flexibility makes lines of credit useful for managing cash flow fluctuations and short-term funding needs.

How Lines of Credit Fund Payroll

Lines of credit allow businesses to fund payroll when expenses exceed revenues. For example, a seasonal business may use a line of credit to meet payroll obligations during slow months when sales are lower.

The business can draw money from the line of credit to cover net payroll until revenues increase again. The flexibility and on-demand access to funds helps businesses manage payroll smoothly despite uneven cash flows.

Disadvantages of Using Lines of Credit for Payroll

Lines of credit can seem convenient for payroll funding, but there are some potential pitfalls to consider. Interest costs on lines of credit are variable and can increase over time, driving up the overall expense of payroll. Businesses that lean too heavily on credit lines risk taking on excessive debt and overreliance. High credit line balances can also negatively impact a company’s ability to qualify for future financing if needed.

Qualifying for a line of credit requires bank underwriting and approval, which some businesses may not receive based on factors like credit history and time in business. Finally, tapping credit lines frequently can mask underlying problems with profitability, cash flow management, or high operating costs. While lines of credit have their uses, businesses should weigh these potential disadvantages before using them for recurring payroll funding.

Using Merchant Cash Advances for Payroll Financing

Merchant cash advances provide funds in exchange for a percentage of future credit card sales. Daily repayments come out until the balance is repaid, typically in 6 –12 months. Terms often include fixed daily payments of 5 – 20% of daily credit card receipts until repaid. MCAs quickly inject capital to cover immediate payroll needs when traditional financing falls short.

Drawbacks of Merchant Cash Advances

Merchant cash advances carry high costs since the balance grows with the discount rate applied. Slow revenue periods extend the repayment. While easy to qualify, MCAs are one of the most expensive funding options.

Invoice Factoring and Financing

With invoice factoring, you sell your accounts receivable to a factoring company to get immediate cash, often 70 – 90% of the invoice value. This outsourced service handles collections directly from your customers, following up on invoices and freeing up your time for core business priorities. The factoring company’s fee is deducted from the invoice payments collected.

Factoring instantly converts receivables into cash to cover payroll, inventory, and operating expenses. It lets you accept new business without jeopardizing cash flow. Invoice factoring works for B2B companies that invoice creditworthy customers. It offers an alternative to loans for businesses with limited lines of credit.

Advantages of Invoice Factoring

Factoring provides access to capital based on the strength of invoices, not the customer’s creditworthiness. It does not create debt like loans. Factoring can free up significant working capital to bridge cash flow gaps and meet payroll on time.

Struggling to make payroll because your invoices haven’t been paid yet? Round Table Financial offers invoice factoring that provides the cash your business needs to meet payroll, bridge cash flow gaps, and keep your business running smoothly.

Our Factoring Options

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Setting Up Invoice Factoring for Your Business

Invoice factoring provides a lifeline for small businesses struggling with cash flow gaps due to outstanding customer invoices. With this financing method, you sell your accounts receivable to a factoring company to get immediate cash rather than waiting 30, 60, or 90 days for customers to pay. The factoring company then collects directly from your customers.

By accelerating cash flow, invoice factoring enables you to cover essential costs like payroll, inventory, and operating expenses. It also allows you to take on new business without jeopardizing cash flow. For B2B companies that invoice creditworthy customers, factoring offers an alternative financing option to loans, especially when you have limited access to lines of credit.

Choosing the right invoice factoring provider requires weighing the costs, risks, and benefits to find the best fit. The goal is to balance speeding up cash flow against factoring fees and potential loss of control over accounts receivable. With careful selection, invoice factoring can provide vital working capital to smooth out cash flow bumps for small and growing businesses.

Let Our Payroll Funding Company Help You

At Round Table Financial, we understand that cash flow is vital for small businesses. Waiting 30 – 90 days to collect on invoices can strain resources and make it difficult to meet payroll and cover other expenses.

Our invoice factoring allows you to get paid faster, giving you the flexibility and working capital you need to grow without taking on debt. Our goal is to empower entrepreneurs to care for their employees and expenses while positioning their businesses for sustainable success. By turning invoices into immediate cash flow, we’re helping small businesses thrive.

Ready to clear your cash flow gaps? Reach out today.