What to do at renewal stage?

When approaching the end of your recruitment funding agreement, you may be unsure of what to do. It’s the perfect time to take a step back and assess how your funding partner has performed for you throughout the partnership. You may feel the solution you have in place is acceptable and renewing is the simplest course of action. Or perhaps you’ve experienced some issues, but you don’t feel that you have time to look at it right now. But as with any contract renewal, whether it’s your phone, car, or home insurance, it doesn’t hurt to explore alternatives.  

You want to ensure that your funder is working for you, whether it’s credit limits, communication or getting the best deal. Your plans for your business may be changing and now you’ve had experience with a funding solution, you’ll have a better understanding of what is most valuable to you when working with a funder.

Speak to your current financier

It is always important to have a frank and honest conversation with your current financier. If there are issues let them know as they may be able to resolve them if they are not already aware. Let them know that you are reviewing things and will be looking a few other financiers and if you feel appropriate see if they can improve the current deal that you are on.

Think about what could help your business

Have a think about what could be improved with a new financier, in most cases it is a lot more than just fees.

•  Are you or other people in the business spending too much time on the admin around timesheets and payroll?
• Are there restrictions in place which make it hard to run the facility as you would like?
• Do you have enough funds available to do everything you need to do?
• Could technology be used to make things work better for your business?
• Is the customer service you receive from your current financier not what it used to be, or could be better?

Do your research

It always worth doing a bit of research on the financiers that would be most suitable for you. Referrals are always a good place to start, if you know an ex-colleague or friend using a financier, have a chat with them to see how they are getting on, it maybe one to call or one to avoid. Have a look online and see which companies appeal to you most. There is a real range of facilities within the recruitment finance world so you need to make sure it would be suitable for your business.

Do your due diligence

When you speak to other financiers make sure that you see the full solution, a demonstration of the system they use is a minimum requirement. You shouldn’t move without seeing this so making sure it is suitable early on is essential. Once they send you an offer make sure that this includes all the additional fees and restrictions, sometimes these can be hidden in the small print, ask for a copy of the contract also so that you can check this. Some of the things that you should check for are as follows;

• Transfer / take-on / platform fees
• Monthly Minimum fees
• Subscription fees
• Advance rate (should be 100% for recruitment finance)
• Discount / interest fees
• Additional fees for late debt (i.e. additional fees if an invoice goes over 30 days)
• Concentration limits
• Additional fees for bad debt protection

Make your decision

Compare the offers and solutions and make a decision on what is best for your business. If you decide to move, make sure the financiers are a member of UK Finance and that they follow their guidelines to make the transfer as smooth as possible.

At QUBA Solutions we are regularly transferring recruitment agencies from other financiers and solving the issues they currently have. Please watch the testimonial from one of our current clients who explains how easy the transfer process was.

If you are at the renewal stage with your current funder and would like to explore other options, please feel free to contact Peter O’Donnell at QUBA Solutions on 07876 805 128 / [email protected]