Category: Advice

It’s easy to say “come and use Recruitment Funding Solutions because we’re the best / the cheapest / the most trusted recruitment funding provider” but what does that actually mean?

Recruitment Funding Solutions (RFS) is a well-established funding partner for recruitment companies of all sizes and stages of maturity that operate across a broad spectrum of industry sectors. But let’s explore some of the specifics…

100% risk free finance solution

Many of our customers claim this feature of working with RFS is the number one benefit. As RFS owns the debt, acting as the principal (check out our handy guide to invoice finance and invoice factoring HERE that explains what this means), can protect agencies from a range of issues, such as: non-payment of invoices (the debt sits with the funder); non-compliance with recruitment legislation or payroll related services; insurance claims/costs; and any issues relating to the engagement or employment of workers or contractors.

It allows recruitment teams to focus on recruiting and billing, without worry about how debts or invoicing is managed, or cash collected. It’s safe, predictable and 100% risk-free.

Recruitment specialists

Unlike many other funders on the market, we’re 100% focused in the recruitment sector. We’ve worked with and funded hundreds, if not thousands of recruitment companies over the years and that’s helped us develop some finely honed systems and processes, and foster an in-depth knowledge of how recruitment works. Start-ups in particular appreciate this specialist focus, as we’re there to support and offer advice about how best to operate from a funding perspective, and because we’re so experienced at this, we’ll often know when to be flexible with debtors and when to take more of a hard line.

We protect those hard-fought relationships agencies and recruiters develop with their clients, and safeguard the reputation of the businesses we work with.

Industry unique flat fee. No hidden add-ons

Unlike the majority of (perhaps all?) other funders, we offer a completely transparent, single pricing system. The fee you see is the fee you pay. We don’t add on any extra hidden charges. It’s an important distinction and one that many can overlook when just looking at headline rates. It’s the same tactic that mobile phone networks adopt, where they lure people in with a low cost-per month before ramping up the fees with in-contract rate changes, or discount periods end.

We wanted to do things differently. It’s why our single fee pricing structure is so appealing and why so many recruiters appreciate the benefits of this approach.

We also offer a completely free, no-commitment fee comparison service (request a free comparison HERE) – where we’ll run through the charges you could expect to pay through RFS and compare them to other funders to illustrate why our rates are so competitive. In many instances, you’ll save thousands of pounds in fees and charges by opting for funding from RFS.

Highly flexible processes

We understand that recruitment agencies are not all the same. Aside from the different sectors and geographies worked in, the people that make up those agencies and the clients they work with all have different experience levels and different ways of working. The RFS team, as well as our systems and processes, can work flexibly to deliver a high quality funding service. All of the RFS staff are highly dedicated and will work outside of normal working hours where necessary to ensure our agencies get the best service possible in terms of payrolling their workers, maintaining compliance and making sure clients are invoiced correctly.

No set up fee or minimum monthly fees

As part of our single fee pricing structure, we’ve wrapped everything up in the rate we charge. It means you won’t be surprised with additional fees for setting up your business with RFS, and in particular won’t be affected by any minimum monthly fees during the early start-up days where you’re building your business.

No personal guarantees or debentures

We don’t insist on personal guarantees or debentures (means a charge registered against the assets of a limited company, on behalf of any party owed money by the company). We provide a genuine plug ‘n’ play model offering recruiters the flexibility to focus on building their business, as we effectively run their back-office using our transparent and fair pricing model.

Bespoke on-line portal

Understanding the recruitment sector as we do has allowed us to create a simple, yet effective online portal system that delivers meaningful management information and resources in an easy-to-use platform. It’s completely free to use for all of our funding clients.

Dedicated account manager

Having a dedicated account manager means we can get to know your business and you can be assured of continuity of service. We don’t have a nameless or international call centre operation, or force you to interact with an endless plethora of forms and bots. We’re a people business first and foremost, and that’s why we want our dedicated account managers to be available to speak to the recruitment accounts they manage.

No excess on bad debt claims

We’ve come across reports of most other funders charging an excess of 10% or £1,000, whichever is the greater, on bad debt claims. If an agency ends up with a £50k debt a client can’t pay, this could mean an excess of £5,000 for the agency to pay – so clearly, opting for funding from Recruitment Funding Solutions where we don’t charge excesses on bad debts can avoid this.

Margin paid weekly

There’s no need to wait till the end of the month, as we’ll pay margins weekly. It helps provide a smooth cash flow, and certainty about the profitability of your business. This contrasts with other funders that may not pay out margin until one week after the workers have been paid, which means effectively waiting almost three weeks from workers starting work to being paid your margin.