The Interface Financial Group Touts Invoice Factoring as a Workable Solution to Boost Small Business Optimism

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Sep 13, 2011) - According to The Interface Financial Group (IFG), business lending is improving for some small businesses but for others like the construction industry, or new businesses with no credit, obtaining bank financing is nearly impossible. During the month of August 2011, the Small Business Optimism Index fell down by 1.8 points to 88.1, the sixth monthly decline consecutively. Today, an alternative funding strategy, invoice factoring, provides a workable solution for any business that is unable to qualify for traditional financing.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 99 percent of all independent businesses in the United States employ fewer than 500 people, while small enterprises account for 52 percent of all the workers in the U.S.

In the past and prior to the economic downturn in the United States, small businesses relied on lenders to provide the capital for growth. However, now factoring is a workable solution for any business that is unable to qualify for traditional financing. The service is fast and efficient and places capital into the hands of the business owner for use in helping to grow the business and survive.

"Sales appear to remain the largest problem for small firms -- and according to the Index, there was a full quarter of identifying 'poor sales' as their top business challenge," said George Shapiro, chairman and chief executive officer of IFG. "Factoring receivables is an alternative approach for funding a business. It is a viable, low cost means of providing immediate cash for day to day operations and to support growth."

There were 27.5 million businesses in the United States in 2009, according to Office of Advocacy estimates. In that same year there was an analysis of Small Business Administration-backed loans, which showed failure rate at double digits; 11.9 percent of the SBA's loans defaulted. (Source: The Coleman Report.)

IFG's popular private label factoring solutions include Export Factoring, providing factoring services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they must expand and purchase inventory; and an exclusive IFG offering, Construction Factoring.

There are no minimum or maximum sales volume requirements and IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables. Upon receipt of invoices, IFG checks the credit of the debtor named on the invoice and makes sure that the sale represented has been satisfactorily completed, at which time the debtor is advised of the purchase by IFG and the client receives their funding in less than 24 to 48 hours.

Most factoring companies have professional rates that are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged, while spending the minimum fees to guarantee adequate cash flow. The IFG program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)
The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources, including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, and offers cross-border transaction facilities. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 39 years of experience, IFG provides innovative accounts receivable factoring services and solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.