Invoice finance · explained simply

Get paid now for work you've already done.

New to invoice finance? In one line: it's a way to receive most of an invoice's value straight away, instead of waiting 30, 60 or 90 days for your customer to pay. Here's exactly how it works.

What it isHow it worksAn exampleThe optionsFAQs
The simple version

What is invoice finance?

When you sell to other businesses, you send an invoice and then wait to be paid. That gap — often one to three months — is time your money sits with your customer instead of in your account. Invoice finance closes the gap.

A everyday analogy: imagine you've handed a friend a cheque they can't cash until next month. Invoice finance is like a trusted partner giving you most of that cash today, then collecting the cheque later. You get the money now; they wait for the payment.
In plain English
Invoice finance

A funding facility where a lender advances you most of the value of your unpaid invoices — typically up to 90% — within a day or two of you raising them. When your customer pays, you receive the rest, minus a small fee. It's not a loan you pay back in instalments; it's an advance on money you're already owed.

It's your money, early.You're unlocking cash you've already earned — not borrowing against the future.
It grows as you grow.The more you invoice, the more funding is available — no need to keep re-applying.
No property needed.It's secured mainly against your invoices, not your home or premises.
How it works

Four simple steps.

Once you're set up, it fits around how you already work.

1

You raise an invoice

Carry on invoicing your customers exactly as you do today, on your usual payment terms.

2

We advance up to 90%

Send us the invoice and most of its value lands in your account — usually within 24–48 hours.

Cash in 1–2 days
3

Your customer pays

They pay as normal. With confidential discounting they need never know a funder is involved; with factoring, we can collect for you.

4

You get the balance

We release the remaining amount, minus a small, agreed fee — and your funding refreshes for the next invoice.

A worked example

£50,000 invoice, made simple.

A £50,000 invoice on 30-day terms
Day 0 — raised
£50,000
You invoice your customer.
Day 1–2 — advanced (90%)
£45,000
In your account within 24–48 hours.
Day 30 — balance
£4,000
The held-back £5,000 less a ~2% fee.

You receive £49,000 in total — the cost of having £45,000 a month early is around £1,000 (about 2% of the invoice).

Illustrative only: a discount charge of around 2% of the invoice value. Actual rates and advance percentages vary by business, sector and customers.

See what you'd receive — apply →
The options

One idea, a few flavours.

All release cash from your invoices — you choose how much control and confidentiality you want.

Invoice discounting

You keep collecting and stay in control. Usually completely confidential — your customers see no change.

Factoring

We run credit control and chase payments for you — lifting the admin so you can focus on the work.

Timesheet finance

Built for recruiters: pay your contractors weekly while clients pay you monthly.

Selective / single invoice

Fund just one invoice or one customer when you need to — no whole-ledger commitment.

Bad-debt protection

Optional cover so you're protected if an approved customer can't pay.

Growing with you

As your sales rise, your available funding rises too — automatically.

Know your options

The main types of invoice finance.

Invoice finance isn't a single product. The right fit depends on whether you want to keep collections in-house, how many invoices you'd like to fund, and which part of your trading cycle needs the cash.

How invoice discounting works

Confidential — you stay in control of collections.
1You raise the invoiceInvoice your customer as usual.
→
2Funder advances up to 90%In your account in 24–48 hrs.
→
3You collect paymentYour customer pays you directly.
→
4Balance releasedYou keep the rest, less a small fee.
Your customers needn't know a funder is involved — ideal if you already run your own credit control.

How invoice factoring works

Disclosed — the funder manages collections for you.
1You raise the invoiceInvoice your customer as usual.
→
2Funder advances up to 90%In your account in 24–48 hrs.
→
3Funder collects paymentThey chase and collect for you.
→
4Balance releasedYou receive the rest, less the fee.
Collections are handled for you — ideal if you'd rather free your team from chasing payment.

1Invoice discounting

Confidential funding where you keep control of your sales ledger and collect from customers yourself. Up to 90% advanced per invoice — best suited to established businesses with their own credit control.

Learn more →

2Invoice factoring

The funder advances funds and chases payment on your behalf. Usually disclosed, and ideal where you'd rather outsource collections, tighten your ledger and free up your team's time.

Learn more →

3Selective / single-invoice finance

Fund one chosen invoice — or a handful — instead of your whole ledger, with no long tie-in or minimum-fee commitment. Flexible, on-demand cash for a large contract, a seasonal spike, or simply when you need it most.

Learn more →

4Timesheet finance

Built for recruiters: approved contractor timesheets are turned into funded invoices, so you can pay workers weekly while clients settle on their usual monthly terms. The cash-flow gap that limits agency growth simply disappears.

Learn more →

5Trade finance

Funding to pay your suppliers for goods — often imports — before you've sold them, bridging the gap across your supply chain. It covers the buying side, and pairs naturally with invoice finance on the selling side for end-to-end cover.

Learn more →

?Not sure which fits?

Tell us how your business invoices and who you sell to. A director will recommend the right structure — or tell you honestly if invoice finance isn't the answer.

Get a recommendation →
Quick answers

Invoice finance FAQs.

No. It's an advance on invoices you've already issued, so there's no new debt and nothing to repay in instalments — your customer's payment settles each advance.
Only if you want them to. Invoice discounting is confidential; factoring is disclosed because we handle collections on your behalf.
Most UK businesses that invoice other businesses on credit terms, typically with £50k+ turnover and a few months of trading. Tell us about yours and we'll give you a straight answer.
Two simple parts: a service fee for running the facility, and a discount charge for the funds you draw — both agreed up front in plain terms. Roughly 2% of the invoice in the example above.
Once your facility is live, advances typically reach your account within 24–48 hours of you uploading an invoice. The initial set-up usually takes a few days to about a week.
Commonly up to 90% of each invoice upfront, with the balance released (less fees) when your customer pays. Facilities run from £10,000 to £1m and grow automatically as your sales grow.
Standard facilities are “with recourse” — if an invoice is still unpaid after an agreed period (commonly ~90–120 days), the advance on that invoice reverses. Optional bad-debt protection covers you if a customer becomes insolvent.
Whole-ledger facilities have agreed terms and notice periods, but selective single-invoice funding has no long tie-in — fund one invoice when you need to and nothing more.
Yes. Selective (single-invoice) funding lets you pick individual invoices rather than financing your whole ledger — a flexible, low-commitment way to start.
Usually, yes — invoices often sync automatically from cloud accounting packages, so day to day it’s simply raise, upload and draw. Enquiring with us won’t affect your credit score.
Apply now → See bridging finance →