Your questions answered

Making our invoice factoring clear

Using your invoice factoring solution from SME Invoice Finance Limited is simple. But if you have any question or concerns, don't worry. Here are the answers to questions small businesses sometimes ask us. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, email or call us on 0800 083 8835.

What should I do with assignment of invoices or credit note schedules?

Before sending invoices to your customers, it's important you fix our assignment stickers (example below) to them. You must also fix these stickers to any copy invoices you subsequently send. To make sure your customers send payments to us, we recommend you pre-print this wording on your invoices.

[Sticker example]: The amount payable on this invoice has been purchased by SME Invoice Finance Limited who are solely entitled to receive payment. Please send payment to SME Invoice Finance Limited, 56-58 Chertsey Street, Guildford, GU1 4HL.

If you're posting invoice schedules to us and need payment the following working day, please consider using a special delivery service. Unfortunately, we can't accept schedule assignments by fax, or take responsibility for postal delays and other delays beyond our control.

How should I account for new customers?

If your invoice schedule includes new customers we weren't aware of, please provide their full business names, addresses and telephone numbers. If the customer is a sole trader or partnership, please also provide the full names and addresses of the proprietors.

What should I do if customers pay by BACs?

To make sure they pay into the correct account, please let them know these bank details immediately:

Bank: Lloyds TSB plc, High Street, Guildford
Sort code: 30-93-74
Account number: 03793463

When they pay, please fax the correspondence advice to us so we can allocate the money correctly.

A customer has paid an invoice direct to my bank account. What should I do?

This is common problem in the early days of using invoice discounting. If this happens, please transfer the money to us immediately, as delaying could reduce the funds available to you.

What should I do with customers cheques?

Please send them to us immediately, even if the cheques are payable to your company. It's helpful if you can include your customers' remittance advice and write your client number on the reverse of the cheques.

How do I check payments and draw funds?

You can check your account with us online. If you want to draw funds, please call us on 01483 531100. To deal with your request on the same day, you need to instruct us before 1pm. When you call, just ask us to pay your available funds by BACS (you'll receive the money in two working days) or CHAPS (you'll receive it the same day).

When will I receive account statements from you?

We'll send you a detailed account statement every month, including information on all transactions and charges during that period. Sometimes, for example, if you've asked to manage credit control yourself, we can agree to stop sending you these statements.

What happens if an invoice is disapproved?

This means you can't draw funds against it. An invoice may be disapproved because:

• your customer is disputing or querying it (for example, due to non-delivery or faulty goods)
• your customer can't pay and the debt is deemed uncollectible
• the invoice has remained unpaid beyond a certain period - usually 60 days past the end of the month you raised it
• the customer's balance to pay exceeds the limits you've agreed with us
• the invoice is in a category which is ineligible for funding under your invoice discounting agreement with us.

How do your credit limits work?

We'll normally apply a credit limit to the whole of your ledger, unless we receive adverse credit information on any of your customers. We will agree this limit when your invoice discounting solution begins. If individual customers need larger credit limits, we may agree specific limits, after assessing their credit situation and referring to one or more of the major credit reference agencies.

We often use credit limits as a guide to the credit worthiness of your customers. However, SME Invoice Finance Limited gives no representation or warranty to the accuracy of this information. We agree limits in good faith, based on the information available to us at that time. Please remember that individual circumstances can change and many issues may affect them.

You can use a variety of sources to evaluate a customer's credit worthiness. For more information on this, please email or call us on 0800 083 8835.