Invoice Finance For Government Green Deals
APPLY FOR FINANCE AGAINST GREEN DEAL SALES INVOICES
We have dealt with numerous enquiries for invoice finance against government Green Deal scheme related sales invoices. We have been able to help a number of these customers successfully.
Green Deal Government Scheme
How Green Deals work is that the government scheme provides a loan, rather than a grant, against various home or business improvements that are "green" in nature i.e. energy saving such as:
- Insulation - eg solid wall, cavity wall, or loft insulation
- Heating
- Draught-proofing
- Double glazing
- Renewable energy generation - eg solar panels or heat pumps
The work is assessed and carried out by approved Assessors and Installers who then invoice a government body for reimbursement - these invoices are normally able to be financed via invoice finance.
Sub-contracting
The situation can be slightly more complicated if the assessor, or installer, is providing the service via an intermediary firm from which they are sub-contracting but they may still be able to receive invoice finance against their sales invoices.
Checking Debtor Quality In Advance
There tend to be two major issues with finding finance for such situations:
- Debtor quality i.e. the standing of the main contractor.
- The nature and complexity of the contract between the customer and their debtor.
The nature of the contract will need to be reviewed on a "case by case" basis, but there are points a sub-contractor can consider regarding debtor quality, before entering an arrangement with a debtor/customer.
Credit Checking Debtors
In many cases, we have been contacted by sub-contractors who have already dealt with their customer/debtor (the main contractor) for several months. Therefore they have some unpaid sales invoices that they now want to release cash against. In many cases, they are now struggling with their cash flow because of this and if the debtor quality turns out to be poor, there can be issues raising finance against the unpaid invoices.
There is an alternative approach to credit checking debtors. You can check the debtor quality in advance. We can put you in touch with invoice finance companies that are familiar with handling green deal invoices. They will be able to tell you, in advance, which debtors are eligible for funding, based on arrangements they have previously funded. In this way, you can choose the customers that you deal with in the knowledge that they will be eligible for funding. If you seek guidance regarding the debtors that you deal with, before you deal with them, you can avoid being stuck with unpaid sales invoices that are not eligible to be funded.
Single Debtor Invoice Finance
Often because of the nature of these Green Deal arrangements, the Assessor/Installer may only have one single debtor i.e. the government body which they invoice. This is not a problem as some invoice finance companies will take a view of this based on the strength of the end debtor after having reviewed the supply contract. We have also been able to overcome problems with funding against debtors that some invoice finance companies could not fund.
How Green Is Your Invoice Finance?
You may be thinking about how green your actual invoice financing facility is. With the focus increasingly on our carbon footprint and preserving the environment, there has been a spotlight on the business community. Several of the providers that we deal with have an invoice finance product that is intended to lower the impact on the environment through paperless operation.
A traditional invoice finance facility could well have a greater environmental impact due to:
- Paper reporting and postal delivery
- Paper submissions of invoices or schedules of debt
Environmentally Friendly
These products virtually eliminate the need for paper by taking an electronic upload of our client's sales ledger, via a secure online system. The same electronic web-based system also provides electronic reports to our client.
If you would like to know more about a greener alternative invoice finance product please get in touch.
Getting Invoice Finance Against Government Green Deal Scheme Invoices
If you are seeking finance against Green Deal-related invoices we can help: APPLY FOR FINANCE AGAINST GREEN DEAL SALES INVOICES
