For The Record – MTSOs, Mergers & Matchmaking

Did any MTSOs get a chance to read For The Record’s August article entitled: MTSOs, Mergers and Matchmaking?

In it, the writer discussed how brokers in the healthcare industry and medical transcription services owners view the buying and selling process within the medical transcription industry.

On the broker side, the writer interviewed Jason Robinett, the VP of Corporate Finance Advisors in Cleveland, Ohio.

He said that potential buyers are attracted to several qualities, including top-line revenue; large, positive cash flow; stable management; industry experience; a strong software platform; large hospital accounts; smaller ambulatory accounts; and strategic geographic locations.

Robinett also pointed out four main types of buyers (all with different motivations): other MTSOs that want to grow their business’ financial buyers, including private equity and venture capital groups; businesses in related industries such as medical billing or EMRs who want to cross-pollinate their business; and individuals.

The writer also interviewed Linda M. Sullivan, the president of New England Medical Transcription. She said that brokers and investors actively seek out companies for acquisition, and she uses those encounters to help her learn more about the current state of the industry.

Click here to read the entire article: MTSOs, Mergers and Matchmaking.

2010 Healthcare Staffing Summit Starts This Week

The American Staffing Association (ASA) is holding it’s annual Healthcare Staffing Summit September 21 and 22 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL.

According to ASA’s web site, “the annual Healthcare Staffing Summit brings CEOs, owners, and senior level executives together to focus on topics of both strategic and tactical interest to the full range of healthcare staffing segments — travel nursing, per diem nursing, locum tenens, and allied medical…Attendees listen to and interact with healthcare staffing industry leaders and analysts, gather best practices and proprietary information, and enjoy extensive peer networking.”

For more information, visit ASA’s site.

ASA Offers Fundementals on Joint Commission Certification

The American Staffing Association is presenting a webinar for its healthcare staffing members entitled: Joint Commission Certification of Health Care Staffing Firms: The Fundamentals.

Executive director for the health care staffing services certification program at the Joint Commission, Michele Sacco, will cover the following topics during the webinar:

  • Requirements to becoming certified
  • Tips on how to best prepare your healthcare staffing agency to begin the certification process
  • Walk through the steps to follow to apply for certification

Click here for more details on the Joint Commission Certification Fundamentals.

Small Businesses Still Holding Out for Bill

There are about 1000 small businesses that have their bank papers all in order, but are stalling final signatures of approval until the small business aid bill passes the senate. Business owners were hoping it would pass in July.

In the meantime, hiring, supply buying and real estate expansion are all on hold.

An article in USA Today, entitled Small businesses hold off spending while waiting for aid, said this is what’s in the bill:

•An increase on government guarantees to as much as 90% on some of the most popular loans.

•About 8,000 community banks with assets of $10 billion or less would be eligible to tap into the $30 billion fund when making small-business loans.

•Small businesses would get about $18 billion in tax breaks, such as larger write-offs on capital equipment investments, and get credits for new hires.

•The SBA would be able to increase the maximum for certain loans to $5 million from $2 million.

PRN’s August Invoice Factoring Bulletin

Check out some of PRN Funding’s most recent factoring transactions:

A Nurse Staffing Agency Brings on a New Client
This nurse staffing agency owner was ecstatic when she heard that she had won a contract with a local healthcare network. Being an approved nurse staffing vendor in the system meant that she had the ability to fill shifts in five new facilities. The only problem with this growth opportunity is that in order to become a part of the network, the Alabama staffing agency owner had to agree to 60-day payment terms. She didn’t want to walk away from the opportunity, but she also knew that she would not be able to float payroll for that long.

The business owner remembered a postcard she had received earlier that month from PRN Funding, LLC, an accounts receivable factor who specializes in funding nurse staffing agencies likes hers. She dialed the toll-free number and within minutes was connected with a factoring specialist. After a brief interview over the phone, the agency owner realized that PRN Funding was presently accepting payments from the healthcare network, so she was pre-approved for funding. She factored her first invoice two weeks later and hasn’t had to worry about meeting payroll since.

A Private Duty Home Care Agency Gets Paid Quicker
Providing in-home private duty services and being reimbursed by a state’s Medicaid Waiver program has its pros and cons. On the plus side, state dollars are guaranteed to be paid, but one big drawback is it can take a month or longer to receive those funds. As her client list increased, the owner of a home care agency in Massachusetts was having difficulty adjusting to the state’s new invoice approval process. In short, it meant that the home care agency owner would have to wait 30 days to receive a check instead of the historical two-week turnaround time.

A month before this change in the invoice approval process was to take place; the agency owner contacted PRN Funding because she saw one of their posts on a social networking site. She was relieved to know that PRN Funding was already very familiar with various states’ Medicaid Waiver programs. At the conclusion of her initial conversation, the private duty agency owner filled out a factoring application. The following week, she factored her first monthly invoice and received cash the same day.

A California Healthcare Staffing Business Finally Opens its Doors
Without tangible collateral or a profitable operating history, this California healthcare staffing agency owner was unable to qualify for a line of credit at a bank. He found PRN Funding’s Web site late one night when he was researching small business financing solutions. The entrepreneur submitted an online application, and received a call from a healthcare staffing factoring specialist from PRN the next morning.

Within a week, PRN Funding had approved the agency owner’s first two clients, so he was finally able to start placing employees. The following week, the healthcare staffing business owner factored his first invoice, which provided him with instant working capital to pay his payroll taxes and meet his first payroll.

Click here for more information on PRN Funding’s accounts receivable factoring services.

Small Business Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative Blocked

TradingMarkets.com reported on the vote over the Small Business Lending Fund and State Small Business Credit Initiative today. Republicans blocked the small business bill with a 58-42 vote this morning.

The bill was intended to create the Small Business Lending Fund, which would set aside $30 billion to help local community banks get the capital they need to lend money to small businesses. In addition, the bill would help support small business initiatives run by states across the country that are struggling due to local budget cutbacks.

Click here to read the speech US Senator Patty Murray gave shortly before the vote.

CFA Issues Statement to Fed’s Small Business Lending Conference

The Commercial Finance Association (CFA) issued the following statement to the Federal Reserve small business lending conference in regards to the importance of issuing funds to independent commercial finance companies:

“The Federal Reserve conference, [held on Monday, July 12] about increasing lending to small business is yet another example of political theater. Once again, our nation’s lawmakers have gathered to share vague ideas, point fingers and simply agree that the small business credit crunch continues.

“Disappointingly, no tangible solutions are being offered. The Commercial Finance Association continues to believe that providing support to independent commercial finance companies, a crucial source of capital for small businesses, is absolutely imperative. Independent commercial finance companies extended hundreds of billions of dollars to U.S. small businesses in 2009. Additionally, more than half of these lenders increased their credit commitments in 2009, during a time of severe economic distress, thereby enabling many U.S. businesses to survive. Our elected officials and our nation’s banks should remain committed to extending credit to independent finance companies. Doing so will set in motion a sequence of events that will allow these lenders in turn to provide additional funds to small businesses, allowing them to add jobs and make meaningful investments in their operations. This is a tangible, practical and needed step that will help fuel real economic recovery in America.”

How to Control Small Business Cash Flow

An informative article written by Max Newnham, entitled: Knuckle down on cash flow terms gives some practical advice for business owners who are struggling to keep a healthy cash flow.

For the benefit of our business owner readership, PRN Funding condensed the article down to it’s main points:

Too often, business owners focus primarily on sales and fail to administer and manage their companies appropriately. As a result, invoices oftentimes go out late, and there is rarely any follow-up on overdue invoices.

In order to prevent the above situation, small business owners should be upfront about payment terms and late-payment penalties before agreeing to take on new business.

Furthermore, companies should set credit limits for new accounts and monitor how much business is being done. If it jumps significantly, the payment terms should be re-visited and possibly re-negotiated.

Next, when it comes to collecting, small business owners will be more productive by making phone calls than sending out threatening letters or statements with stickers.

It’s comforting to know that out of all the suggested small business tactics for managing cash flow, PRN Funding is able to assist with each of these steps. Contact us today for more information on our invoice funding services.

Medical Transcription Funders at ACE10

Austin, TX-PRN Funding is exhibiting at the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity’s (AHDI) Annual Convention and Expo at the Hilton Austin August 4-7, 2010.

Owner of PRN Funding, Phil Cohen, and Account Manager, Ryan Elliott, will be available in booth 511 to speak to attendees about PRN Funding’s medical transcription accounts receivable factoring program.

MTSOs and medical transcriptionists are encouraged to stop by PRN Funding’s booth to get a sticker as part of the Wheel of Prizes game. After visiting with participating exhibitors and collecting stickers, attendees can turn in their completed cards for a chance to spin the Wheel of Prizes. In addition, convention attendees will judge exhibitors and their booths during the exhibit hall based on two categories: Most Friendly Booth Staff and Most Creative Booth.

With years of experience in the medical transcription industry, PRN Funding has a precise understanding of the unique challenges within medical transcription. PRN Funding offers financial resources to these companies by purchasing their accounts receivable–a process known as ‘factoring,’ which provides the cash needed to sustain and grow a healthcare business.

Cleveland Seeks Proposals from Medical Staffing Agencies

The medical staffing invoice factoring specialists at PRN Funding received a mis-directed letter last week that we thought might be interesting news to our local Ohio healthcare staffing agencies. For the sake of our Ohio staffing agency owners, we’ve posted the letter below:

Greetings:

The City of Cleveland, Department of Public Safety, Division of Correction is reviewing the viability of pursuing service contracts with outside vendors to provide certain inmate services. Your organization has been identified as a potential partner is such an endeavor. Enclosed you will find information in the form of a “Request for Proposal” highlighting required services and products.

Please review the Request, and, consider how your business could, or, could not become a provider. A pre-proposal meeting will be open on July 16, 2010, for all interested vendors; at that meeting, and and all questions regarding services in question will be welcome. The application deadline will be July 30, 2010. A final decision will be made some time afterwards – it may be that no vendor is chosen, and, that the City will continue with its in-house system.

We ask that you carefully consider the enclosed Request as a potential new business opportunity, and wish, your organization the best during this process.

Sincerely,

Joseph Stottner, Acting Commissioner