Finding the right oilfield financing opportunity for your business can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of organizations that offer various forms of financing specific to the oilfield industry, all with their own terms and benefits. For those looking to cut through the clutter and find the best oilfield financing options, we’ve curated this short list so you can spend more time applying for funding instead of researching and chasing down slow-paying customers.
How Does Oilfield Financing Work?
Oilfield funding can come in various packages, including traditional loans and alternative financing. We’ll be discussing a very specific form of funding here—accounts receivable factoring. Unlike some financial measures and funding options that require extensive paperwork, accounts payable factoring, also known as invoice factoring, is a fast and efficient way to gain immediate working capital on a consistent basis.
Generally, oilfield factoring services work like this:
You apply and are approved for funding.
You get a quick cash advance on your invoice.
Your client pays your invoice to the factoring company according to the original payment terms.
The factoring company handles the account receivable.
When reviewing our top oilfield financing services options, we paid special attention to the transparency and simplicity of the funding process. (Also take a look at what to look for in oil and gas factoring companies for more information that could help you pick the right partner for your receivable financing needs.)
How Can Your Company Benefit from Oilfield Financing?
Oilfield invoice factoring provides several unique benefits as a financing solution, outside the access to millions of dollars in capital, including:
Simple repayment terms. Unlike other forms of funding, factoring is not like a bank loan in terms of creating long-term debt. While you get an advance of working capital, your customer takes care of the repayment naturally when they repay the invoice, taking one more thing off your plate while solving cash flow issues.
Faster collections. Once an invoice factoring company funds an invoice, they tactfully manage the process of collecting invoice payments. This translates into less work for you and/or your A/R team, ensuring focus on high-value tasks.
Quick and convenient access to working capital. Oil invoice factoring approvals are often fast processes, and it’s common for companies to get their cash advance within a few business days – cutting out months of waiting. This gives you fast capital to cover operating expenses.
Opportunities for growth. Using this form of fast capital to free up your cash flow allows your organization to take on growth opportunities and new projects.
Is Oilfield Financing Right for Your Company?
There are many reasons a business may require an invoice funding service over other types of funding. Factoring is likely a smart financial solution for your oil and gas business if you:
Need immediate working capital
Require capital for a project with a quick turnaround
Plan to hire more employees or buy new equipment
Need to cover a short-term gap in cash flow
Exhausted traditional lines of credit
Want more flexible funding that’s always there when needed
Oilfield Financing Costs
The main factoring fee is called the discount rate. This is the amount of money that the factoring company withholds from the invoice total as their payment for advancing cash and waiting to get paid for you. Typical invoice factoring rates vary somewhere between 1 and 6 percent. Sometimes, however, factoring companies list unclear rates or charge hidden fees on top of the discount rate.
The fees oil and gas companies can expect vary depending on the oilfield financing company you work with. In addition to the percentage a factor keeps, sometimes there are hidden fees to watch out for:
ACH fee. This is the fee for the factor’s bank wiring funds to your account, passed on to you.
Application fee. A flat or percentage fee that’s highly variable.
Invoice processing fee. A fee charged for getting your invoices processed in the back office.
Closing fee. An additional amount the factoring company keeps from the invoice
Monthly fee. If you sign a contract requiring that you sell a certain portion of your invoices each month and you don’t meet the minimum, you could end up paying this fee.)
Termination fee. Again, this applies if you signed a contract and want to end it early.
It’s easy to see how hidden fees can add up over time, making it important to ask any oilfield financing company you’re considering about their average invoice factoring rates and any additional fees.
For more about what you can expect in terms of invoice financing rates, check out our blog post.
When finding a factoring service that fits your oilfield company’s needs, there’s far more than competitive rates and the funding amount to consider. Transparency, usability, and repayment terms also come into play.
At FundThrough, we know that the best factoring experience is a long-term partnership. That’s why we are always happy to answer any questions you might have about invoice factoring. Experience the FundThrough difference and create a free account to see if you qualify for our invoice funding service today.