How Much Does Invoice Factoring Costs?

A common concern among factoring prospects is the cost of factoring receivables. Unfortunately there’s no “one-size-fits-all” rule when determining the cost of factoring services. Despite the teaser rate advertised by a factoring company, the final cost for you will depend on the terms of your factoring agreement, which are based on your individual company and client portfolio characteristics..

An abundance of confusing information about invoice factoring exists online; we’ll try our best to clarify and organize it for you.

In this document we’ll elaborate on the following subjects:

1. How much a factoring company charges
2. What a factoring fee is
3. What a factoring rate is
4. Different A/R factoring rates and fees models
5. Receivable factoring rates that your business can realistically obtain

So, how much do factoring companies charge?

Factoring companies generally use any of two fee models to charge for their services:

• The first model consists of just one all-inclusive fee.
• The second one usually includes invoice factoring fees and factoring account fees.

It’s important to understand how the fees are applied. For instance, you may find that the single-fee model ends up costing your company significantly more in the long run. We’ll provide comprehensive information so you can understand all the elements that influence the cost of factoring and also learn how factors (or computer algorithms in some cases) evaluate your company before defining your rates and fees.

Your learning process begins here. Let’s talk about accounts receivable factoring fees.

We’ll show you more realistic examples of common factoring rate structures and factoring discount rate calculation details later on this page.

This section will help you understand how factoring rates are usually structured

Factoring companies use several parameters to structure their discount rates. Understanding these structures is crucial when evaluating factoring agreements. We will now describe and exemplify the two most common approaches.

• Let’s say that you are selling a $100 invoice that will be paid in 60 days. You have been offered an advance rate of 80%.
• Let’s see how factoring fees will be calculated using the two most common methods.

Click here to learn about factoring advance rates.

Typical Factoring Fees & Factoring Discount Rate Models

Flat Factoring Discount Model

In this model, commonly used by the new wave of online lenders, fees are calculated by applying a rate on the gross invoice value instead of on the amount advanced.

Example: Let’s say you’ve been offered:

• A 2% Flat Discount Rate for the first 30 days and,
• An additional 1% Flat Discount Rate every 30 days afterward.

The fee on your $100 invoice if it's paid in 60 days would be:

• First 30 days: $100 *2% = $2.00
• Second 30 days: $100 * 1% = $1.00
• Total factoring fee= $2+$1 = $3

Here is a simple Factoring Flat Discount Calculator for you to input your numbers and see how it works.

Flat Factoring Discount plus Margin Model

Most factoring companies use a combination of a flat fee and an annual interest rate to define their discount rates.

Example: Let’s say that your factoring discount is:

• PRIME + 2 %,
• Plus a flat discount of 1.00% every 30 days.

Your $100 invoice, if it’s paid in 60 days, will pay the following fees:

1. First, a PRIME + margin fee
   PRIME 6.25% annual
   PRIME daily rate = 6.25% /360 = 0.017%.
   
   This calculated on the amount advanced, not on the gross invoice amount so we need to calculate your advance.
   
   Amount
   
   The part of your fee based on prime plus margin would then be: $80 x 0.017% x 60 days = $0.84
   
   
2. Second, a flat discount
   Flat
   The flat discount for 60 days would be $100*2.00% = $2.00
   
   
3. Lastly, let’s put them together
   
   Total would be $0.84+$2= =$2.84

NOTE: Prime rate is the short-term interest rate (annual) used in the US banking system. We use a Prime Rate of 4.25% in this example.

Here is a Factoring Flat Discount and PRIME plus Margin Calculator for you to input your numbers and see how this rate structure works.

The options described above represent the most common factoring agreements. However, these are not the only ones. It is very important for you to fully read and understand a factoring proposal, review the numbers and take into account other important variables before picking a factoring company.

What Factoring Rate Can Your Company Get?

As a general rule you can expect to pay from 1 to 4% of the invoice amount factored as invoice factoring fees.

Whether the receivable factoring company uses a flat discount, prime plus a margin, or another model to structure the factoring discount, your offered rate will depend on your company’s risk level to the factor.

Aspects that influence your company and clients’ risk to a factor

There are many factors that influence your factoring discount rate. The most important ones are the following:

• You company’s average collection period (days sales outstanding)
• The concentration rate of your portfolio of customers
• Your company’s sales volume
• The creditworthiness of your customers

Customer Concentration

As part of the factoring approval process, a factoring company needs to analyze your client portfolio and the percentage of businesses each client represents to your company. The decision maker will give special attention to the customer concentration ratio to measure the risk of doing business with your company in case of the default of an account.

Let’s see how this works:

A company with just one customer has 100% concentration. A decision maker will very likely find this situation extremely risky because if something negative occurs with this customer, your business will suffer. Unless this single customer is a highly reputable and creditworthy business it is very unlikely that a factoring company will offer you a deal. If it takes the risk, your discount rate will likely be higher in addition to a lower advance rate.

As a general rule, the more customers you have and the more evenly your sales are distributed among them, the lower the customer concentration, and overall risk. Companies with low customer concentration tend to get better factoring rates than those with high concentration.

Here is a simple calculator in case you would you like to estimate your company’s customer concentration.

Important Note: As with most variables used to calculate your business risk, customer concentration is a relative factor. Only a deep analysis of your portfolio can help a factoring company make a final decision. E.g. if you have a high concentration but your main customers are companies that the receivable factoring company qualifies as low risk, this high concentration rate may have no influence in establishing your invoice discount rate.

Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)

Day Sales Outstanding (DSO) is your company’s average collection period.

As a general rule, the shorter the time it takes to collect a customer's invoice, the lower the risk of default and the lower the discount rate your business may qualify for.

Results vary according to your business’s field of industry. However, a DSO under 1.5 times your payment terms is usually considered a good result.

Here is a simple calculator to help you estimate your company’s DSO.

Volume

The amount of accounts receivable your company plans to factor every month will, most likely, significantly affect your factoring discount rate. Factoring companies incur a number of costs to set up and manage your account, and many of these costs tend to be almost the same whether you sell invoices for $10k or $100k.

As a general rule the more invoices you plan to sell, the lower the rate you will likely pay.

Author Marc J Marin