• Over 50,000 companies in the UK already finance their business by factoring or discounting or by arranging stock finance.

• Over £160 billion of invoices will be processed via a factors/discounters in the UK during 2007. Generating many millions of pounds in additional working capital

• Different factors / discounters can have staff to client ratios that vary considerably, this completely changes the relationship they have with their clients from a very involved (almost one to one) relationship to a 'one-of-many'.

• Managing relationships via 'Call Centres' rather than with dedicated staff is rapidly gaining pace with some of the biggest factors/discounters This lack of personal service is felt most for smaller clients who often need the extra support of a readily listening ear of someone who actually knows them.

• Some factors provide only limited services which are ideal for some companies but can cause confusion and extra workloads for others.

• Quoted fees can ignore additional hidden costs which can build up to substantial sums - we can guide you through this 'minefield' by supplying the right questions to ask.

• Understanding the technical operations of the factors can be confusing e.g.. the concept of High-Involvement (one of your customers representing a larger percentage of your debtors). Some factors impose strict finance limits on such accounts, whilst others are happy to finance even single debtor accounts.

• Acceptance time for becoming a client can vary from a matter of a few days to a number of weeks depending on how individual factors operate their acceptance procedures.

• The difference in funding - the real cash in your hand - can vary considerably between factors depending on their underwriting policies and operational procedures. For example a quoted 90% against invoices may in reality release less actual cash from one factor than 80% will from another.

FaCTS Alchemy can provide the 'magic inside information' to guide you successfully through this maze.