The owner of InWest Printing, Inc. opened the doors for business in 2007 and learned quickly the “feast or famine” nature of cash flows in the printing industry.

Within the first year he had spent his start-up capital, but had managed to secure contracts to print all of the ER forms for many of the state’s hospitals. The future looked bright indeed, but the contract presented one glaring problem: a sudden and severe lack of cash.

As many printers know, printing carbonless quintuplicate ER admission forms is a complex and expensive process, so the company knew it had to run as big of a batch as possible all at once. Adding another complication, the hospitals had no place to store pallets of forms, so they required monthly dropshipments and 70-day terms on each invoice. Since the customer is always right, InWest agreed to the terms.

The cost to run the first one million ER forms was roughly $150K, which turned out to be $145K or so more than the company had available. Plus it wouldn’t see its first payment until 70 days after the first delivery. To keep the account, InWest needed cash and needed it fast.

When the bank declined the company’s loan application due to no collateral, no credit history, and very little time in business, the banker suggested factoring receivables as an option.

Universal Funding created a program consisting of a combination of accounts receivable factoring and purchase order funding that provided the cash necessary to get the presses rolling.

InWest was able to fund its operations and print, store, and deliver the forms. It also was able to take on other jobs, all without having to wait for the hospitals to pay. The company had not borrowed the money,  so it had no debt and no payments.

In short order, the company had a reliable cash flow and a successful future.

We’re in business to help businesses like yours grow. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help, please fill out and submit the Rate Inquiry Form on the left.

-Travis Griffith

Like it or not, doing business with large companies usually means you have to offer 30-90-day terms.

Doing so offers small businesses a way to win, and retain, some potentially lucrative business contracts.

As a matter of fact, many large customers simply demand these payment terms as a condition of doing business. The problem, of course, is that waiting up to 90 days to get paid can wreak havoc on your company.

Unless you are exceptionally well capitalized, you will risk running into cash flow problems as a result of offering terms. You may risk missing supplier payments, being late on employee paychecks or missing out on marketing or growth opportunities. A few missed payments and your company can quickly go into an irreversible financial tail spin.

Even companies that are healthy on paper can enter a tailspin. The balance sheet might show plenty of money to take care of obligations, but if that money isn’t in the bank, it might as well not exist.

This is where Universal Funding can help. We can help solve this problem by factoring invoices, which significantly reduces the time it takes for you to collect your revenues.  Factoring provides the working capital you need to meet current expenses, and the money you receive never has to be repaid. Also, your customers retain their payment terms and are not required to pay any faster.

Universal Funding’s invoice factoring programs can provide your company with financial stability which can be used as a platform for growth. Our factoring lines will increase with your growing sales, making them a flexible financing solution for growing companies.

There’s no reason a company should go into a financial tailspin, especially when Universal Funding is here to help.

-Travis Griffith

Smart business owners jump on opportunities to grow.

The owner of a large temporary staffing company saw a rare opportunity to significantly grow his business in a short period of time. When the economy entered its downturn, the business owner guessed that many companies that had laid-off workers because of decreased revenues would still need staff to perform those jobs; just on a limited or temporary basis. Also, with the increase in layoffs, he predicted his company would see an influx of new potential employees registering for placement with his company.

The company had been paying its staffers biweekly for years, but wanted to gain a competitive edge over other staffing agencies in the area, and decided to shorten the pay frequency to once per week.

Within a few months, the owner’s predictions began to materialize and the company started to experience a high demand for its services, as well as an increase in the personnel to meet that demand. Unfortunately, it lacked the working capital to pay new staffers on a weekly basis while waiting for clients to pay 30-60 day invoices. The business owner needed a fast cash flow solution to make payroll, and contacted Universal Funding.

With a custom-designed factoring program, we were able to advance the cash that the business needed, based upon the invoices sitting in their accounts receivable. As the staffing company continued to add new contracts and new temps, Universal Funding was able to increase the amount of funding to keep up with their growth.

Thanks to the foresight of the business owner and his knowledge of invoice factoring, his company is now one of the largest staffing agencies in its metropolitan area. Factoring was the cash flow solution that allowed the company to anticipate the demands of the market and grow very quickly; without taking on new debt.

We pride ourselves on working in the industries we are experts in, and the staffing industry is one we know in and out. Can we help you? Simply fill out the Rate Request Form on this page to find out!

-Travis Griffith

The reason we are in business is to help you excel in yours.

Companies that engage in business-to-business sales and services, and offer 30-90-day terms to their customers, are best suited for our services. Whether just starting out or preparing for a growth phase, our financial services can help your business grow and succeed.

Here are eight of the ways our fast financing can benefit you:

1. Confidently accept large orders and watch your profits grow.
2. Improve the quality of your customers by taking on larger, slower-paying clients.
3. Reduce stress by eliminating the financial ups and downs of revenue/expense cycles.
4. Save money by taking advantage of any and all early-payer trade discounts while improving your relationship with vendors.
5. Get paid on your invoices right away.
6. Reduce bad-credit risk customers by taking advantage of our no-extra-cost credit research service.
7. Gain extra time in your day by using our extensive reports to more effectively manage you’re A/R.
8. Stop stressing about tax issues and let us work with the IRS on your behalf.

We would love the opportunity to speak with you, learn about your business, and offer ways our financial services can help you grow.
It’s why we’re here.

To get started, just fill out and submit the Rate Inquiry Form on the left!

-Travis Griffith

Let’s say you own a company that has developed an all-new, incredibly cool device that combines a camera, GPS, phone and personal assistant into one super-convenient pocket-sized device.

Yes, it’s kind of like the iPhone, only better.

Your device works all the time, around the globe, without a wireless contract. It’s pure genius.

Read more →

Companies in all industries routinely face two obstacles:

• Unexpected expenses
• Late payments from clients

Companies in the oil, gas and energy industries may be even more prone to these issues than other businesses. Regardless of your industry, though, both of these problems can put a serious kink in how much cash your company has to work with each month.

How can a company keep itself in the black while waiting on customer payments or writing checks for new equipment or spending money to constantly fix stuff that breaks? A factoring plan can be a real lifesaver in situations like these. Invoice factoring allows business owners to get cash much quicker than they would through their normal accounts receivable operations.

Like, in a day or two, rather than a month or two.

Instant cash is just one of many benefits factoring can bring to your company. For one thing, factoring is not a loan so you won’t have to open a new line of credit or take on any debt repayment schedules. Another benefit is free access to business finance professionals who can help solve tax issues and resolve collection problems.

Of course, we can’t leave out the biggest benefit of all: more profit.

If you have customers in the oil and gas industry, you know all too well that they can wait anywhere between one and three months to pay! With factoring, though, you can receive the money you are owed within a few business days; money you are then free to use however you see fit for your business.

Universal Funding offers incredible rates combined with superior customer service, which means you could be on the path to faster cash, and more profits, in just a few days.

If you want to know how it’s possible, just contact Universal Funding today or fill out and submit the form to the left.

We hope to hear from you!

People who don’t own businesses have this glorified vision that business owners live the high-life. Lots of time off, yachts, expensive cars, the kids in private school… Of course, business owners all know that isn’t even close to the truth. At least, not for the ones who work hard every day to keep the business running and, hopefully, growing.

If you are like so many other U.S. business owners, the only time off you get is when you fall asleep at your computer trying to figure out how to finance the next big order. The yachts and cars might happen in your dreams… but that’s it.

As a business owner, you work hard, and we think you deserve to be rich.

But being rich goes far beyond money.

We want you to have the time to attend your child’s baseball game, to spend a day at the lake (whether on a yacht or sitting on a beach), or to take your spouse out to a nice lunch in the middle of the day.

While at work, we believe you should have the confidence in knowing you can pay your employees on time, every time. You shouldn’t worry about IRS tax problems getting in the way of securing financing. You shouldn’t have to worry about taking on new debt and then struggle for years to get out of it. You should rest easy knowing you can afford to take on new clients and can handle large new orders.

Universal Funding can help with all of that. We are a business finance company, but we’re also much more than that. Our lines of capital do provide peace of mind regarding cash flow, create financial stability, and grow as your company grows. Our financing makes new clients and big orders easy to handle. It’s true that businesses that partner with us make more money and generate more profits than their competitors.

But our financing, which includes so many other free benefits, also translates to more personal time for you. With more money rolling in, and more time to enjoy it, you’ll feel richer than ever.

To find out how we can help you, simply fill out and submit the rate inquiry form on the left. We’re excited to hear from you.

-Travis Griffith

Growth or profits?

That’s a dilemma that every successful entrepreneur will encounter at some point.

For some business owners, profit is the priority right out of the gate. For others, profit is secondary to growth and can stay that way for years. Everyone, though, must eventually decide how to address the growth vs. profit question to achieve long-term success.

Some companies begin by hiring staff and investing in office space, computers, and other resources to enable their work. That costs money, but the sacrifice in profits can lead to heavy growth.
Read more →

I don’t know of any two companies that are exactly alike. Even similar companies serving the same industry can have vastly different ways of earning money, completely different spending strategies and differing ways of handling accounts receivable.

That’s the beauty of the business world, but also the bane of many commercial financial companies. There are no one-size-fits all financing strategies that apply to all businesses. Even invoice factoring, a relatively straightforward and simple financing tool, can be tailored to the needs of individual business.
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Choosing to factor your invoices is a smart decision.

Deciding which factoring company to use can prove daunting, however. Hundreds of factoring companies exist in the United States alone, so how can you know which is a good match for you?

While factoring is a business arrangement, you’re likely to have a fair amount of personal contact with the people at the company you choose; more so than with a typical bank relationship. The ability to speak with your account manager needs to be as simple as picking up the phone and dialing. No complicated phone menus, just a real person answering your call.

Also, the best factoring company for you must:

• Specialize in the industry you do business in, ensuring a proper base of knowledge and experience with the unique issues you face.
• Demonstrate a track record of stability, responsibility, integrity and strength.
• Offer access to a credit department staffed with experts in the industry
• Employ a professional collections staff who treats debtors (your customers) with the same level of respect that you do.
• Use current technologies to offer you 24/7 access to up-to-the-minute status reports on your account.
• Offer no-charge business advice and tax assistance.
• Make quick decisions and provide your money fast.

Of course, low rates and easy-to-understand terms are important too, but look for a factoring company that is interested in building a relationship with you and your business. Find a company that has similar goals and ideals as yours and you’ll enjoy a smooth path to financial freedom and healthy profits.

We hope you’ll contact us, and let Universal Funding prove that we are the best company for your needs.

-Travis Griffith