Seems like a really useful service if you're in a pinch. I can imagine the float you need to front all these loans would be HUGE though... @yottoy can you share any metrics about how much is outstanding and how long they typically last before getting paid back? Is there any worry about small businesses getting a little too trigger happy clearing their invoices and then they're unable to collect themselves? I know with an app I helped build called Plowz - we heard time and time again it was common for small business snow plows to not collect on ~20% of their invoices. If they cleared them all with Fundbox they could find themselves in an even bigger predicament, no?
Report
Fundbox offers business owners and freelancers a way to convert invoices in the mail into money in the bank.
I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Report
Hunter
@KristoferTM I always wondered about this with Plowz (and the like)...because it's really easy to call someone and it's not always easy to extract payment....
Report
@KristoferTM When we say outstanding, we generally mean recently issued invoices that are likely to get paid so we don't really encounter scenarios like those you described.
We like to think of Fundbox as a service that offers a common-sense approach, powered by technology. We are a fully automated service, from the moment a business owner signs up to the very last payment, it is all done automatically. The credit line each business owner gets is very carefully calculated by our system to fit their financial means. This really helps making sure that business owners don't take more than you can chew.
We offer a very simple way to take advance - You can only take the amount of an invoice that wasn't paid, and you pay it back over 12 weekly payments. If at any point you want to pay early you can do that and you'll only pay for the time you used the service. We find that this simple and transparent approach helps business owners use Fundbox as a cash flow management tool: they can end the repayment plan at any point without any downside. Turns out that letting business owners stay in control of their financials instead of cornering them with various limitations actually does good for all sides.
Because of these points, we typically attract healthy businesses that need a way to bridge gaps in their cash flow rather then businesses that are looking for a life line. In addition, most of our customers see Fundbox as an ongoing solution rather than a hit and run so it's within their interest to keep the relationship positive.
Report
Hunter
@yottoy Maybe you can answer questions if anyone has them?
CollageMo
Influence Co