Interface Financial Group Offers Invoice Factoring for SMEs Reluctant to Hire Staff

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Nov 9, 2011) - According to The Interface Financial Group (IFG), invoice factoring is ideal for SMEs who need to hire employees -- whether for seasonal rushes, new clients, or staff that is out on sick or maternity leave. This is why some business owners are turning to factoring as a means of creating immediate cash flow. The latest small business optimism index shows that many U.S. small business owners are reluctant to hire more employees in the near future because of the last quarter's slow sales as well as uncertainty about the economy. Twenty-six percent of SMEs surveyed said poor sales is their main concern. (Source: National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) membership of 2,077 small businesses surveyed.)

The number of companies planning to increase staff is down two percentage points to nine percent, while 12 percent plan to reduce their workforce over the next three months. The report also shows employment has been reduced for the fifth month in a row with an average reduction of 0.1 workers per company.

George Shapiro, chairman and chief executive officer of The Interface Financial Group (IFG) agrees that, "Even though companies are growing, they're not adding very many employees and probably won't until they see consumer spending increase. However we are seeing SMEs use accounts receivable factoring to accrue enough cash for big investments such as increasing their staff."

Employers know that hiring full-time staff is a risk, because they require salaries, health insurance, paid sick leave, 401k contributions, paid sick leave, vacation time, retirement benefits, maternity leave or child care. But today even if they know they desperately need employees, many companies feel like they cannot afford to hire additional staff.

Staffing agencies can provide temporary employees, who cost less than full-timers, but these agencies usually charge fees of 25 percent of the agreed upon salary for each employee. Temporary workers typically do not get benefits and they can be hired and fired on an as-needed basis, but even temporary workers can be an unmanageable financial burden.

A popular funding strategy today, factoring companies enable an SME to sell its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash with which to finance continued business. It is a method used by businesses to cover short-term cash needs during periods in which these needs exceed cash flow.

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.