Yes of course they would, silly question, everyone wants to be paid faster but how can it be done?

Santander may have the answer, they are offering a facility to SME’s called Supplier Payments and its part of the Funding for Lending Scheme.

Supply Chain Finance has been around for a while, this an extract from an article in the Telegraph in October 2012

Supply-chain finance, which is sometimes known as “reverse factoring”, allows big businesses to notify a bank as soon as a supplier’s invoice has been approved. The bank, armed with the assurance the bill will be paid, will then extend a full, immediate advance of the bill to the supplier at a low interest rate.

The Prime Minister hailed the technique as “win-win” because large companies get greater protection from small suppliers going bust, while the small business avoids having to wait for payment and, since the invoice is approved, avoids any risk of non-payment.

Most of the main banks have solutions for large businesses but it isn’t normally available to SME’s.

Is this an option for your suppliers?

steve@bicknells.net