PayNet Says Small Businesses Are Not Showing Aggressiveness in Early 2011

IFG Network’s invoice factoring blog published some interesting information released by PayNet Inc. earlier this week that the invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding wanted to share with The Factoring Blog’s readers:

First of all, PayNet Inc. collects real-time loan data from more than 200 leading capital equipment lenders, and they shared data that shows that borrowing by small businesses increased by 14 percent in January 2011, compared to January 2010. Initially, it may seem like this is an early indicator that small businesses are growing, however, it’s not as aggressive as industry experts had hoped.

For example, William Phelan, PayNet’s president and founder, thinks otherwise. He was quoted on IFG’s blog, saying: “We are calling it the long-haul recovery.” He further explained that small business borrowing will return to pre-recessions levels for at least another year, maybe two.

Moreover, economic analysts believe that even with zero-percent interest rates, small companies don’t want to borrow money and go into debt until they are certain they have customers and/or demand for their products.

NOTE FROM PRN FUNDING: Small business owners can and should consider factoring as an alternative way to finance their businesses because they don’t have to go into debt to help their cash flow.

Click here to read more of PayNet’s January stats.

How Factoring Brokers Can Achieve Their Resolutions

It is January 2011, which means that the holiday season is officially over, and reality has set in. If you’re a cash flow consultant reading this article, then I’m sure two of your New Year’s resolutions were to land more deals and increase your business, right? Well, there’s no better time than the present to start buckling down and taking the first few steps towards earning those commission checks.

First of all, it’s important to take the time to research and create new goals for the year-then make sure that you meet those goals. I try to keep a few of these principles in mind when setting new goals:

Reflect on 2010.
Analyze your objectives from last year, and work on setting new goals that focus on what you would like to do better this year. Whether last year was a lucrative one for you or not, it’s still a good idea to take a step back and analyze your cash flow business before you set goals for the next year. What worked really well for you and your business last year? What didn’t work out as well as you had expected? What could you have done better? The answers to these questions will help you organize your business plans for 2011.

Visualization is key.
Write down your goals, and put them in a place(s) where you will see them frequently. Putting your ideas on paper surreptitiously turns them into something concrete, which means that it will be harder for you to forget about achieving them. Also, make sure that your goals are specific, measurable and time-bounded. For example, instead of saying I want to land more deals, try writing down I want to land five deals in the first quarter. Be sure to put your list of goals in a place where you will see them often (i.e. the bathroom mirror). Trust me, it is much harder to forget something if you see it in writing every single day.

Stay motivated.
For some, this might mean setting smaller goals along the way to accomplishing your bigger goals. Breaking down your overall goals into bite-sized pieces can make your overall tasks seem less daunting. For others, this may mean taking the time to reward yourself after you have effectively met each goal. Taking the time to celebrate your accomplishments will help you stay motivated to be successful in your next task.

The more you know, the more you grow.
Take some time to examine current trends in the cash flow industry, and especially take a look at the trends in your area of expertise. For example, if your specialty is factoring, take the time to read up on any new developments in that industry. Of course, Cash Flow Exclusive is a great place to start. The articles in the magazine are written by people who have experience in their respected fields, and the articles are packed with worthwhile and useful information. In addition, the International Factoring Association’s (IFA) web site (www.factoring.org) always has the latest factoring industry news.

Build a supportive network.
Another way to help you stay focused on your 2011 goals is to put together a support team with people that you can go to for help and encouragement. Don’t be afraid to reach out to more experienced cash flow consultants and/or factoring brokers for guidance and advice. Try to find a mentor who has worked in the same area as you. Talk to them about their experiences, and learn what they did to become successful. In addition, there is a wealth of opportunities to connect with lenders and other cash flow professionals on the popular social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Remember, we all want you to succeed in this business, so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Put it all into action.
Check off your goals as they are completed, start watching your cash flow business grow, and start preparing new goals. The physical act of crossing off a goal after you have completed it will definitely solidify your feelings of accomplishment. After you have finally reached your goals, you will be able to see the benefits of them right away as your cash flow business becomes more profitable. Then it’s back to round one again-creating new goals and new ways to reach them.

Taking a step back at the beginning of every year to evaluate your company’s progress is one of the best ways to ensure the future success of your cash flow business. It forces you to take an active role in developing a thriving company. After all, how can you expect to move forward if you don’t take to the time to study where you have been?

**Reprinted from the January 2011 electronic issue of Cash Flow Exclusive.

Click here to find additional factoring broker articles on PRN Funding’s web site.

Home Care Factoring Firm Invited to Exhibit at NPDA Conference

PRN Funding, LLC, an accounts receivable factor with funding niches in the private duty and home care industries issued a press release yesterday announcing that they will be exhibiting at the 2011 NPDA Conference next month. We’ve posted the official press release below:

Last year, PRN Funding, LLC exhibited for the first time at the National Private Duty Association’s Conference in Philadelphia. Because of the trade show’s successes, home care factoring specialists from PRN Funding plan to travel to Las Vegas to exhibit at the 2011 Conference in March.

President, Phil Cohen, and Account Manager, Joanna Schafer, will be in booth #20 March 2-4 and available to speak with home care business owners about how they can turn their Medicaid receivables into cash immediately through home care invoice factoring.

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

Changing EHR Market is Wreaking Havoc on Vendors’ Cash Flow

Advance Perspective’s HIM Blog recently re-posted a blog post by Don Fornes of EHR Software Advice, in which he discussed the ever-changing eletronic health record (EHR) market and how it’s impacting vendors’ cash flow. The medical transcription factoring specialists and medical billing and coding invoice funding specialists at PRN Funding took the liberty of summarizing the bulk of the post below:

In a nutshell, Fornes’ article talked about how most people would think that the Federal subsidies for EHR implementation would create a massive boom for EHR software industry, however, this concept couldn’t be further from the truth. Based on the data points that Fornes has observed over the past few months, he thinks that most EHR software vendors are actually experiencing a cash flow crunch.

According to Fornes, these EHR software vendors have been pouring cash into marketing and brand awareness initiatives to remain top-of-mind for physicians’ practices and medical facilities, however, most providers have taken a “wait-and-see” approach to EHR adoption.

Couple these two scenarios with the increasing shift for the software industry as a whole to shift to cloud computing because of low monthly pricing.

As a result of EHR vendors investing a lot of money into their business expansion, providers writing fewer checks than anticipated and the checks that are written are much smaller and more spread out, a difficult cash flow scenario has been playing out for a number of vendors. Fornes commented how he’s seen “some EHR vendors stretching their payables out 90 or even 120 days.”

Overall, it was a very informative article, however, what Fornes left out what that EHR vendors have the ability to drastically improve their cash flow by factoring their invoices. For example, an EHR vendor could sell its invoices to PRN Funding and receive cash the same day.

Click here to read Fornes’ original blog post.

Jan 2011 – PRN Funding’s Recent Factoring Transactions

PRN Funding offers financing services to healthcare vendors. Most notable, PRN Funding offers healthcare staffing payroll funding, medical transcription invoice funding, medical coding factoring and medical billing AR funding. Most recently, PRN Funding also provides private duty home care factoring agencies.  By purchasing these companies’ accounts receivables, PRN Funding provides the cash needed for them to sustain and grow their healthcare business.  With that said, we are pleased to announce some of our most recent factoring transactions:

A Nurse Staffing Agency Finally Gets Approved for AR Financing
In an attempt to get her company started, this Illinois nurse staffing agency owner borrowed from friends and family, maxed out all of her credit cards and fell behind on her bills. Naturally, her poor personal credit was greatly hindering her ability to obtain ongoing business financing from a traditional lender.

Frustrated from being turned down, the nurse staffing agency owner started researching alternative financing options and came across PRN Funding’s nurse staffing invoice funding web site. Through her research, she learned that PRN Funding based its credit decision on her customers’ creditworthiness, rather than her own. The agency owner applied online that day and after hearing ‘no’ for so long, she was finally approved for a line of credit.

An Allied Health Staffing Agency Works with Long-Term Care Facilities
Two business partners from Louisiana knew that in order for them to start a successful medical staffing agency in a down economy, they would have to focus a specialized staffing niche. So instead of placing RNs, LPNs and CNAs, they chose to focus on providing various types of therapists to help fill gaps exclusively at long-term care facilities. Within two months of opening their doors, the savvy business partners had more shifts to fill than therapists. However, they couldn’t hire additional therapists because their cash flow was continuously held up by slow payments from the long-term care facilities.

The business partners were familiar with factoring, and they knew that most general factors wouldn’t be comfortable purchasing receivables that could consistently age out past 90 days. Luckily, a friend of one of the partners suggested they approach PRN Funding because it was a factoring firm that specialized in allied health factoring. The business partners called in on a Friday, received documents the next day, and factored their very first allied health invoice by the end of the week. Having a better cash flow allowed them to bring on three new therapists that month, and they haven’t had to turn down new business since.

Tennessee Business Owner Uses Medical Coding Invoice Factoring to Improve Cash Flow
When this entrepreneur first started her medical coding business, she coded exclusively for one physician. Over the years, the business owner’s outsourced medical coding services expanded steadily. She gradually started hiring new coders and while simultaneously adding multiple doctors to her portfolio.  Then the economy turned south, and with it, the business owner’s receivables started coming in slower.

At first, the medical coding entrepreneur tried to make up for the lack of cash flow by paying her own bills with credit cards, and paying the coders out of her own pocket. It didn’t take long before her credit cards were maxed and her savings account had dwindled. While flipping through an industry magazine, she found an ad for PRN Funding’s medical coding factoring services. According to the ad, PRN Funding’s factoring services could help her get paid quicker, so she dialed the toll-free number and was connected to a medical coding factoring specialist immediately. Two weeks later, she submitted her first medical coding invoice for factoring, and she worried less about her company’s cash flow.

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

Hospitals See Specialty Nurse Shortages

It’s no secret that the United States is on the cusp of a nationwide nurse shortage as baby boomers continue to age and need more medical care. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association projects the RN shortage to hit 400,000 by 2020.

The nurse staffing factoring specialists at PRN Funding have blogged about how nurse staffing agency owners can and should take advantage of this shortage by filling open positions before, however, we found a recent article stating that facilities don’t just need RNs. They need specialty nurses too.

The article, Nationwide Shortage of Nurses Hits Local Hospital in Specialty Health Care Departments, talks about nurse shortages specifically in cardiology and pediatrics. Specifically, the medical facility has been trying for two years to fill the catheter lab nurse position.

For nurse staffing business owners, this would be a great opportunity to get your foot in the door at a facility.

PRN Funding helps provide reliable nurse staffing funding solutions for your agency. Learn more about our nurse staffing factoring solutions today.

Frequently Asked Factoring Questions – What Will My Customers Think?

The healthcare factoring specialists at PRN Funding have a list of Frequently Asked Factoring Questions, and we wanted to respond a little more in-depth to an invoice factoring question that we hear often: What will my customers think?

This is a concern of many companies who are considering accounts receivable factoring as a finance strategy. However, establishing a credit line is a positive statement–not a negative statement–to make to your customers. It’s important to keep in mind that not all healthcare vendors qualify for lines of credit.

Selling accounts receivable to generate cash is a finance method used by very large corporations worldwide, with the factoring service provided by the largest banks in the nation. Because  factoring is widely known, your customers will view your funding relationship as a positive ability on your part to secure financing, not as a problem with cash flow.

It’s likely that many of the healthcare institutions that you service already deal with factoring companies and may not even be aware of it. Sometimes payments for invoices directed to a P.O. Box are actually going to a factor. Shell Oil, Georgia-Pacific, IBM and other substantial companies factor millions of dollars of their accounts receivable every year.

Financing obtained through the sale of accounts receivable factoring is most often used by a firm to expand and take on larger projects; not merely for cash flow or payroll. Now that this service is available to healthcare companies like yours, you can enjoy both the perception and the reality of being a growing company, moving forward.

Still worried about how your customers will react to a factoring company? View PRN Funding’s What to Tell Your Customers About Factoring page to learn how to talk to your customers about factoring.

Medical Transcription Outsourcing – Benefits for Physicians

MTS Transcription Services (MTS) recently issued a press release on how medical transcription outsourcing is beneficial to physicians.

The press release listed out a number of medical transcription outsourcing services features, namely:

  • Automated electronic report disctribution
  • Document flow management system
  • Electronic medical record solution
  • Web-based file transfer
  • Digital handheld recorders
  • Customizing and maintaining EMR
  • Secured FTP (File Transfer protocol) with an FTP software package
  • Retrieval of completed records using a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network)

In addition, the press release touched upon multiple benefits that medical transcription services offer physicians:

  • Reduces overhead costs
  • Quick turnaround time
  • Complete data security
  • Savings in costs – up to 40-60%
  • Assured data quality
  • High level of accuracy
  • Confidentiality of data
  • Reduce capital costs of infrastructure
  • Availability of services 24/7
  • Improve office effeciency
  • Ability to create backup copies of patient records

NOTE: If the MTSO works with a medical transcription factoring firm, the medical transcription service can offer extended payment terms to the physicians they serve.

Banks to Start Loaning Again in 2011

Did anyone see the front page of the Wall Street Journal today? There’s an inspiring article that every small business owner and future entrepreneur should read: Banks Open Loan Spigot.

According to the article, “Moody’s Analytics estimates that commercial and industrial lending in the fourth quarter has grown .02% from the third quarter, to $1.22 trillion, the first quarterly increase in two years.” Moreover, when business lending increases, it’s usually a good sign that the economy is well on its way to recovery.

Although new activity varies from bank to bank and industry to industry, JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo have all seen increases in lending and credit availability.

It’s important to keep in mind that lending typically rises toward the end of the year as companies increase inventories, so some analysts warn that the uptick may not stick around in 2011.

2011 Small Business Economic Outlook Survey Results

The PNC Economic Outlook Survey was conducted between July 29 and August 25, 2010 by telephone within the U.S. among 1200 business owners or senior executives of small and medium-sized businesses with annual revenues of $100,000 to $250 million.

Some of the results were printed in Nov/Dec 10 edition of The Secured Lender magazine. The A/R funding specialists at PRN Funding, LLC wanted to share some of the survey’s interesting findings:

  • 75% of small business owners foresee greater access to financing in 2011, though they do not anticipate applying for it.
  • 42% expect their sales to increase in 2011
  • 31% expect profits to rise in 2011
  • One-third of small business owners say weak sales/demand for service is the most important challenge facing their company today. Followed by a general concern for “changes in government policy that affect my business.”

Check out page 15 of The Secured Lender to read the rest of the survey’s results.

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