The Factoring Blog is Back!

The Factoring Blog is Back!

The Factoring Blog Returns

Three Years Later…

We believe that perfecting knowledge on all things factoring takes time – three years to be exact! Just a short 1,095 days later and The Factoring Blog is back and ready to give you the invoice factoring knowledge you need to help your business succeed. 

We have been working hard for the past three years researching the best factoring resources, networking and building strong connections with professionals in the industry, as well as following up with past clients to hear their success stories. Here at The Factoring Blog, we are your invoice factoring experts writing to you, our readers, to share the tips and information that we think will help you to stay up-to-date on the latest invoice factoring news, small business trends, and industry-specific information. 

This is just the beginning, so don’t be a stranger! Come back again soon to see what kind of informational articles, blog posts, and eye-catching graphics we will have available for you next.

Sincerely,

Your friends at The Factoring Blog

 

Physician Pay Gap: Female Doctors Earn 25% Less Than Male Doctors

Female doctors, who account for a third of all doctors in the United States, are still not earning as much as their male counterparts earned 20 years ago.

Researchers posted their findings in JAMA Internal Medicine earlier this month. Their data indicated a pay gap of more than $50,000 per year between female and male doctors’ incomes in 2010 – a difference of 25 percent. Female physicians’ median income was $165,278 between 2006 and 2010, which is still two percent lower than male physicians’ median income ($168,795) in 1990.

However, the data were insufficient to draw more specific conclusions based on physician specialty. This leaves the findings open to greater interpretation based on the question of opportunity versus preference: are female physicians choosing specialties with lower pay scales, or are they being turned away from preferred higher-pay specialties in favor of male physicians?

The research team has indicated that there is considerable room for further study into the reasons for the income disparity between genders. Based on their findings, there could be interesting implications for physician pay models in the future.

A survey by WebMD-affiliated Medscape, meanwhile, indicates an income disparity of 30 percent between male and female physicians (17 percent in primary care) and illustrates the difference in pay between several different specialties. They ascribe much of the gap to choice of specialty, though they acknowledge that set, regular schedules do a great deal to close that gap in large health systems. Last year’s report suggested a difference in the number of hours worked contributed to income disparity.

Of course, the reality of the income gap has a very important implication for private practitioners in the present: the cost of doing business is not adjusted for a provider’s gender, meaning that rising costs pose a greater threat to the success of a female physician’s practice than to a male physician’s practice. Private practice medical factoring can offset that pay gap and allow doctors of both genders to continue providing top-quality care to their patients.

Business Cash Flow Crunch? 5 Small Business Cost-Cutting Solutions

Cash flow can be a big problem for a small business. Here are some tips on how to minimize costs for your small business while maximizing efficiency and making the most of your money.

1. Utilize Combined Purchasing Power
By reaching out to other small businesses and joining together to buy supplies, your collective purchasing power is more desirable to suppliers. Going to the suppliers as a cohesive unit and stating the businesses’ intentions of buying from the vendor who offers their goods at the best price, will make the group more likely to get a more competitive rate for the supplies, especially if the consortium signs an exclusive agreement with the vendor for a longer length of time. Getting supplies this way may also make it easier to ask for a discount and save your business even more cash.

2. Embrace the Idea of Interns
When a business looks to temp agencies for a person to complete more mundane tasks or help out at a company, they miss out on the beauty of offering an internship. There are numerous college students looking for opportunities and experience, many of whom will work for low wages or use an internship to earn college credit. Interns can be trained to contribute more to the business or be delegated undertakings such as filing, stuffing envelopes, or doing supply inventory. Many in this college-age workforce are also adept with technology and could help with your company’s website or social media reach, as well.

3. Go Green
Nearly half of office paper is thrown out within 24 hours of being printed. The amount of money spent on ink, paper, and professional printing could be better used within your company if you adopt a paperless workplace. Using electronic file storage and free online spaces like Google Docs or DropBox eliminates the need for hard copies of documents floating around the office and will save your company hundreds of dollars as your small business cuts back on printing and ink costs. Using laptops instead of desktop computers can also save you money as laptops use significantly less energy than a typical desktop PC. Additionally, buying appliances that are energy-efficient is also a great way to go green. While you may shell out more for the merchandise up front, in the long run, a more energy efficient product will save you money.

4. Reconsider Your Office Space
While paying rent is inevitable, subletting office space or moving your office to an industrial area rather than maintaining an office in commercial space can cut down your company’s costs. Considering establishing your business as a virtual presence is a viable option too; your employees can then work from home and you eliminate the need for office space entirely. If this isn’t a possibility for your business, try renegotiating with your landlord – with a low demand for office space, your landlord may be more accommodating with the rent to keep you as a tenant.

5. Pump Up Your Advertising
Getting the word out about your business and attracting new clients and customers can be expensive but focusing your marketing and advertising efforts online can save you money and have a far reach. Connecting with potential consumers in online forums and message boards or starting a blog lets your business advertise and publicize itself for free. Another possibility for free advertising is to reach out to clients and ask them to write a testimonial on your business’s website or tell their friends about your company – word of mouth can go a long way and serves as free PR for your corporation.

If slow paying customers or unexpected growth create cash flow challenges for your business despite your best cost cutting efforts, invoice factoring is the solution. PRN Funding partners with a wide network of experienced business factors who work with nearly all industries including staffing, transportation, construction, manufacturing, telecommunications and more. We can help get your company funded today!

UCC Article 9 Amendments: What Factors Need to Know

According to a Commercial Factor article, a bevvy of amendments to the Secured Transactions portion of the UCC code will become effective on July 1st, 2013, and will directly affect the factoring business.  While the changes are not drastic and are intended mostly for clarification, factors should be aware of the coming changes and how they will have to alter their operations to conform to the standards.

Debtor Name on Financing Statement: The rule as it is right now is that an “individual name” must be used on a Financing Statement, with no other guidelines. The 2013 amendment attempts to avoid confusion and improper filing by requiring that the name be as it appears on an unexpired driver’s license issued in the state the statement is in, or if they don’t have a driver’s license then it should the last name and first surname.

Perfection Rules: The existing law says that if there is a change of state for a debtor, there is a four month grace period to file a new Financing Statement in the new state. However, it does not apply to property bought between the move and the new filing. The amendment will change this exception.

Financing Statement Forms: The Financing Statement form has been modified in a few ways, including a removal for the field for social security numbers. Factors must be aware that some states might not accept the new forms without the SSN.

These are just a few changes to the rules, but will probably be the most pertinent to factors. It’s important to be up on new laws, no matter how insignificant, to avoid confusion and misfiling.

2013 Factoring Conference

The 19th annual Factoring Conference, sponsored by the International Factoring Association, will take place this year on April 24th-27th at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel. Below are some facts about the conference, which is sure to be a valuable experience where factors can learn new information and network with peers.

Speakers: There are many guest speakers lined up to talk on a number of subjects, but the two most eagerly anticipated speakers are Warren McDonald and Kevin Mitnick. McDonald is a world renowned mountain climber who also happens to be a double leg amputee, and Mitnick is a famous former computer hacker turned computer security consultant. McDonald’s “Challenge in Change” speech is scheduled for 9am on Thursday the 25th, followed by Mitnick’s “Art of Deception” at 11.

Accomodations: The conference will be held at the Fontainebleau beachfront hotel in Miami Beach, with rooms going at $269 per night at the Factoring Conference group rate. Register your room here.

Activities: There are many activities planned for the four day conference, including but not limited to: Golf Tournament, Portfolio Management, 5K Fun Walk for Charity, and an Everglades tour. See the full list of activities here.

Exhibitors: There will be over 40 companies exhibiting at the conference, and there is still time to register your company to exhibit as well. There are also sponsorship opportunities.

For the full website on the conference, go here.

Factoring vs. Debt Collection

Almost every business has money tied up in accounts receivable. For those with adequate capital supply, it’s not such a big deal to wait 30 to 90 days for payment. For some businesses, however, cash flow is intermittent and irregular and waiting is not possible. Two viable options for getting money from accounts receivable that haven’t yet been paid are factoring and debt collection. Factoring is the process by which a factoring company purchases unpaid receivables for cash less a discount, while debt collection is where a third party agency collects old unpaid debts from customers.

There are several major differences between factoring and debt collection:

  • The purpose of factoring is to improve cash flow, while the purpose of debt collection is to recover old debt.
  • The process of factoring is simple and short and usually results in cash the next business day, while the process of debt collection is often long and involves a delicate balance between aggressive policies and alienating customers.
  • The age of invoices is also different, as factoring involves current invoices while debt collection deals with those 60 days or older.
  • The fees charged by factoring companies usually run from 3-7%, while debt collection agencies can run from 25-30%.

It is up to individual companies to weigh the options and decide which method is best for their needs. Small to medium sized companies that have seasonal demand or irregular customer payments would benefit more from factoring, while bigger companies would be more likely to use debt collection.

For the full article, see Factoring Vs. Collections: Which is Better for your Unpaid Invoices?

PRN Funding Exhibiting at Private Duty Conference

Las Vegas, NV- For the fourth year in a row, PRN Funding, LLC will be exhibiting at the 15th Annual Private Duty National Conference and Expo. The event is taking place from November 14-16th at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, and will feature the home care industry’s best and brightest providing tips and solutions for making the best business decisions.

Account Manager Ryan Elliot and Marketing Associate Stephanie Chmielecki will be in booth #204 offering information on PRN’s invoice specialty factoring services, which includes factoring for home health care agencies.

Stephanie and Ryan will also be holding daily casino chip giveaways. Visitors of booth #204 will be entered into drawings taking place on 14th, 15th, and 16th at various times. Contest winners will receive casino chips, get their picture taken, and receive free publicity on PRN’s social media and blogging sites. If you are attending the conference, be sure to stop by!

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With years of experience in the healthcare industry, PRN Funding has a precise understanding of the unique challenges within the private duty and homecare industry.  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.

Four Ways to Deal with Non-Paying Customers

The TemPay Staffing Times recently published an article that highlights a major problem facing modern staffing agencies: cash flow interruptions due to non-paying customers.  In a seasonal and fluctuating industry like temporary staffing, timely payments are extremely important as they are used to cover payroll and other expenses.

Dealing with problematic customers requires a delicate balance between firmness and lenience. The article outlines four ways to deal with these types of customers:

1. Keep on top of trends such as payment histories, so it’s easier to examine problems when they arise rather than figuring it out retrospectively.

2. Before getting frustrated with the customer, make sure that a change in your own protocol isn’t the cause of the problem.

3. Maintain composure while talking with delinquent customers, and focus on indentifying the problem and coming up with solutions.

4. Consider making customers who are routinely behind deliver payment directly to your offices.

If you attempt these steps and the customer still won’t pay, it may be time to cut off services. But, the article points out, if you have made an honest effort to help then the fault lies with the customer, not you. Click here for the original story, Not Getting Paid? 4 Ways to Deal with It.

Hospitals for Profit or for Help?

Did anyone see the article A Giant Hospital Chain is Blazing a Profit Trail in the NYTimes earlier this week?

The article talks about HCA’s revamped billing procedures and revised patient screenings that have led them to be extremely profitable health care industry giant during a time when so many of America’s hospitals have been struggling to stay out of the red.

According to the article, “Among the secrets to HCA’s success: It figured out how to get more revenue from private insurance companies, patients and Medicare by billing much more aggressively for its services than ever before; it found ways to reduce emergency room overcrowding and expenses; and it experimented with new ways to reduce the costs of its medical staff, a move that sometimes led to conflicts with doctors and nurses over concerns about patient care.”

What are your thoughts on this article?

Thoughts on ACE2012

The medical transcription invoice factoring specialists from PRN Funding are all unpacked and settling back in from their visit to Indianapolis for AHDI’s Annual Convention and Expo at the JW Marriott Indianapolis. Specifically, PRN Funding had the opportunity to meet up with one of our current clients, and we bumped into two previous clients at the show.

A few additional observations from this year’s conference (from the exhibitor’s perspective):

    1. It seemed like the show, as a whole, was much smaller than in the past. It felt like there were fewer bodies in the exhibit hall (both exhibitors and attendees) at this show.
    2. The attendees were professional and eager to learn about PRN Funding’s medical transcription factoring services. PRN Funding was able to discuss how factoring can help small MTSOs balance out their cash flow to many attendees.
    3. The exhibitors were engaging and interactive.
    4. Everyone (exhibitors and attendees alike) enjoyed the Treasure Hunt (PRN Funding was a participant).

      PRN Funding is dedicated to help medical transcription service owners continue to maintain a positive cash flow as the transcription and documentation industry continues to change over the years. We look forward to seeing everyone again in Lake Buena Vista, FL in 2013.

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