Invoice Finance in Belfast
CoreFi arranges invoice finance for Belfast businesses, typically limited companies that invoice other businesses and wait 30 to 90 days to be paid. Through factoring or invoice discounting we match your ledger to lenders who fund Northern Ireland firms. Advance rates and fees are indicative and depend on your debtors and lender appetite.
Invoice finance releases the cash tied up in your unpaid sales invoices, so you are not waiting 30, 60 or 90 days to be paid before you can pay staff, suppliers and yourself. It suits businesses that invoice other businesses on credit terms, which describes a large part of the Belfast economy: aerospace and engineering subcontractors on the Harbour Estate and around Mallusk supplying larger manufacturers, wholesale and distribution firms along the Boucher Road, recruitment and professional services in the city centre, and construction and creative firms working to milestone or project invoices. CoreFi is a commercial finance broker; we match your requirement to lenders whose criteria fit. We do not lend ourselves and we do not set the fee. Any figure mentioned here is indicative and for illustration only.
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Tell us about your ledger
Share who you invoice, your payment terms, roughly what is outstanding and a little about the business. It costs nothing to start and there is no obligation.
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We match you to invoice finance lenders
We identify lenders whose appetite fits your ledger shape, sector and Northern Ireland, and whether factoring or confidential discounting suits you, then present the case properly.
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Review terms and proceed
Interested lenders come back with indicative advance rates and fees. Any figure is illustrative until formally offered. You compare the real cost with us and decide, and we help you set the facility up.
How invoice finance works
There are two main forms. With invoice factoring, the lender advances a percentage of each invoice, usually the bulk of its value, and then collects payment from your customers, which can suit a smaller business that wants the credit control handled for it. With invoice discounting, you receive the advance but keep running your own sales ledger and collections, which is often confidential, so your customers need not know a funder is involved; this typically suits larger or more established firms. In both cases the remaining balance, less the lender's fee, is released when the invoice is paid. The facility grows as your sales grow, which is why it fits Belfast subcontractors and distributors whose turnover can climb faster than their cash. We avoid quoting fixed advance rates or fees up front because they depend on your ledger and your debtors.
What lenders look at on the ledger
For invoice finance, the lender is lending against your debtor book, so it looks closely at who your customers are, how concentrated the ledger is, your payment terms and your history of bad debts. A Harbour Estate engineering firm invoicing a handful of large, creditworthy aerospace primes is a different risk from a business spread across many small customers, and lenders view concentration and debtor quality carefully. The sector matters too: some lenders are cautious about construction ledgers because of contractual retentions and applications for payment, so those cases go to funders who understand that work. Belfast firms trading with customers in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland or further afield add another dimension, since not every lender is comfortable funding export or cross-border invoices. We match your ledger to lenders whose appetite fits its shape and your region.
Why bring the deal to CoreFi
Invoice finance providers vary widely in what they will fund, how they price it, whether they insist on factoring or offer confidential discounting, and how they treat construction, export and concentrated ledgers, and not all of them are equally keen on Northern Ireland businesses. Comparing them properly on your own is hard, and a facility that looks cheap on the headline rate can carry service fees, minimums and concentration limits that change the real cost. We hold that detail across our panel, so we can steer your ledger toward the lenders most likely to fund it well and be straight with you about the total cost, not just the advance rate. We cannot promise a facility or a fee, because those sit with the lender, but we can save you the comparison legwork and present your ledger properly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between factoring and invoice discounting?
With factoring the lender collects payment from your customers, which can suit smaller firms wanting credit control handled. With discounting you keep your own collections, often confidentially, which suits larger or more established businesses. We help you weigh which fits.
Can construction or export businesses use invoice finance?
Often yes, but they need the right lender. Construction ledgers with retentions and applications for payment, and cross-border or export invoices, are handled well by some funders and avoided by others. We match your ledger to lenders who understand it.
Will my customers know I am using a funder?
Not necessarily. Confidential invoice discounting is designed so your customers deal with you as normal. Factoring involves the lender in collections, so it is more visible. The lender confirms what is available for your situation.
Do you lend against the invoices yourselves?
No. We are a commercial finance broker, not a lender. We match your ledger to funders and help you compare the real cost, but whether a facility is offered, and on what terms, is the lender's decision and depends on your debtors.
Get matched with lenders for your Belfast business
Tell us what your business needs and we will match you with lenders whose criteria fit. No obligation, no cost to start the conversation, and a straight answer about what is realistic for your situation.
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