Importers and wholesalers often pay overseas suppliers before customers pay; import finance funds goods before arrival, while invoice finance releases cash tied up in issued invoices. This page compares those routes and explains other facilities that may fit a business's needs at different stages.
An order can start a series of payments before it produces cash for your business. You place the order, pay the overseas supplier, wait for the goods to be shipped, sell the stock and then wait for your customer to pay. Money committed to the purchase is not available for another order while that cycle continues.
Import finance addresses the purchase of overseas goods before they arrive. Invoice finance addresses the outstanding business-customer invoice after a sale. These are different points in the trading cycle, so the starting question is where your cash is tied up, rather than which product name sounds right.
Tell us whether the requirement concerns an overseas supplier payment, unpaid invoices or capital secured against your existing balance sheet. We structure the requirement before approaching lenders. All finance is subject to status and provider terms; there is no promised decision or funding date.
Import finance funds the purchase of overseas goods before they arrive. The lender pays your supplier directly on your behalf, or reimburses you for the payment. Once your customer settles, the proceeds repay the lender plus fees.
Import finance can be arranged as a revolving facility, allowing draws against new purchase orders, or on a per-shipment basis. The appropriate structure depends on the requirement and provider terms.
Explore import financeInvoice discounting lets a business borrow against outstanding invoices while keeping control of its own sales ledger and customer relationships. You continue managing credit control and your customers settle in the normal way. The arrangement is confidential.
With a revolving invoice discounting facility, headroom becomes available for new invoices as existing invoices settle. This is different from paying an overseas supplier before goods arrive.
Explore invoice discountingA specialist factor advances cash against invoices and takes over credit control. The factor chases and collects payment from your business customers, who are aware of the arrangement. Once the customer pays, the balance less fees is released to you.
The distinction from discounting is who manages the sales ledger and customer collections. Factoring may be relevant when you want that work handled by the factor rather than retained within your own team.
Explore invoice factoringAsset-based lending is a revolving facility secured against a combined pool of debtors, stock, plant and property. It considers a pool of existing assets rather than just one invoice or the acquisition of a new asset. We design the facility before approaching lenders.
Explore asset-based lendingA revolving credit facility is a committed, flexible line you can draw, repay and redraw as needs evolve, without a fixed drawdown schedule. It is distinct from a fixed facility for a defined purpose. Size, tenor, security and covenants are considered when the deal is structured.
Explore revolving credit facilitiesThese business circumstances can be starting points for a discussion, not eligibility promises. All finance is subject to status and provider criteria.
Invoice finance concerns invoices to business customers. A clean, diversified debtor book and the importance of customer confidentiality may be relevant to invoice discounting. Invoice factoring may suit businesses that lack credit-control resource or want to outsource debtor management.
We discuss the debtor book and who will manage collections, rather than assuming every importer or wholesaler needs the same facility.
Compare the invoice finance routesWe have no balance sheet to protect and no product to push. We work independently, matching the requirement to the right lender rather than starting with a product to sell. The conversation starts with what your business needs, not with an existing lending product.
We take your opportunity to the right lenders simultaneously, creating genuine competition and compressing timelines. This describes how we approach the market, not a promise about an approval or drawdown date. The facility is structured before the opportunity is put to the right lenders.
We design the deal before we approach a lender: size, tenor, security and covenants. The structure comes first, so the opportunity we take to market reflects what your business needs. We then match the requirement to the right lender without unnecessary structure or cost.
Tell us about your business and what you are looking to achieve. The starting point is the requirement rather than a finance product. We take the time to understand your business properly and tell you which funding discipline fits before approaching a lender.
We identify the right structure and prepare your opportunity before approaching lenders. The deal is designed first: size, tenor, security and covenants. We match the requirement to the right lender without unnecessary structure or cost, keeping the business need at the centre of the process.
We bring back competitive options from lenders, presented clearly and without bias. You choose. The offers are reviewed against the requirement and the structure of the facility, rather than treating every offer as the same product. We tell you which fits before approaching a lender.
We manage the process through to drawdown, coordinating lenders, lawyers and paperwork. This is the final step in the same process that began with understanding the business need. Our role continues through the placement of the facility, rather than ending when offers are presented.
Oku Financial arranges import finance, which funds the purchase of overseas goods before they arrive, and invoice discounting and invoice factoring, which release cash tied up in outstanding invoices to your business customers. For larger asset bases, asset-based lending and revolving credit facilities are also available.
The lender pays your supplier directly on your behalf, or reimburses you for the payment. Once your customer pays, you use the proceeds to repay the lender plus fees.
Many import finance facilities are structured as revolving lines, so you can draw against new purchase orders continuously. Others are per-shipment transactional facilities.
No. Trade finance releases capital tied up in invoices and cross-border trade flows without diluting equity.
No. Oku Financial is a commercial finance broker. We work with a panel of lenders to find funding for UK businesses.
Talk to us about your next shipment
We typically receive a commission from the finance provider (either a fixed fee or a fixed percentage of the amount you receive) upon successful placement. Different providers pay different rates.