It’s not only been days, weeks or even months—since you performed work for your client, and you still haven’t received payment. Sound familiar?

As a professional and small business owner, you need to be paid on time. You’ve got people to support and bills to pay. You may be considering using a debt collector to secure payment from your customer. Or, you may have considered proactively factoring your invoices with a trusted, credible factor. But which one is the smarter option. What should you be considering before making your decision?

There’s actually a huge difference between debt collection and invoice factoring.  Think through these three key differences before reaching out to either one.

1. Purpose

The primary purpose behind using a debt collector is very different from the reason you’d use invoice factoring. While invoice factoring involves current unpaid invoices—no more than 30 days old—debt collection deals with invoices that are at least 60 days past due.

Debt collection

If you’re still trying to get paid months after you’ve completed the work, it might be time to check in with a debt collection agency.

Invoice factoring

If you prefer timely payment for your work instead of relegating your receivables to the bad debt file, you’ll want to connect with a reputable invoice factor company.

2. Timing

How much longer are you willing to wait to be paid? The difference between how long it takes a debt collector to get funds to you and how quickly an invoice factor sends you funds can be a game changer.

Debt collection

You’ll be paid, but only after the collection agency receives payment from your customer. That can take time—if it happens at all. This aggressive process can alienate customers, and you may decide that engaging a debt collection agency just isn’t worth it.

Invoice factoring

With factoring, you simply sell your invoices at a small discount and get immediate cash for your business. How fast? You get paid before the factor receives any money from your customer—usually within 24 hours.

3. Cost

How much are you willing to pay to be paid? In an ideal world, the payment conflict wouldn’t exist. But in today’s environment, unfortunately, you often end up either arm wrestling your customers or throwing up your hands—a sure sign of giving up altogether.

Debt collection

When you hire a debt collector, you’ll likely pay a hefty 25% to 30% collection fee—which still beats giving up 100% of an unpaid invoice! But there’s an even better option.

Invoice factoring

Getting paid shouldn’t be the hardest part of your job. Invoice factoring isn’t free, but weigh its small price against its great advantages: you’ll receive an immediate payment from the factor—usually 70% to 100% of the invoice—followed by any remaining balance (minus a fee) as soon as the factor collects full payment from your customer.

Get paid today

Factor your invoices with American Funding Solutions to get paid today.

When you factor your invoices with our team, you’ll also get access to a host of back office services like credit checks to make sure your clients can pay, and collection services to get your money from those who won’t.