Battered Small Businesses Are Turning to Accounts Receivable Factoring to Speed Up Cash Flow

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - February 13, 2009) - The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, offers small businesses a life boat to stay afloat until a new stimulus plan is put into place and takes effect to improve economic conditions in the United States. Accounts receivable factoring provides a 24 hour turnaround, speeding up cash flow while businesses wait for late payments.

According to a survey released on February 10, 2009 by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the economy continues to batter small businesses, which reported declining sales, inventories, earnings and employment in January. In January the NFIB's "Index of Small Business Optimism" fell to the second-lowest reading in its 35-year history.

The organization's Chief Economist William Dunkelberg has projected that the U.S. unemployment rate will rise to between 7.5 percent and 8 percent in the next few months as small business owners plan to cut jobs (14 percent) and leave job openings unfilled (11 percent) in the next three months.

Small business has always been the backbone of the United States economy, creating more than two thirds of net new jobs each year. Politicians of both parties are unanimous in calling for action to help improve economic conditions in the United States, but in the meantime, invoice factoring is a solution that many small businesses are deploying to stay afloat during these tough economic times.

According to the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), there are approximately 25.8 million businesses, and over 99 percent of all employers are small businesses. Small business -- firms with fewer than 500 employees -- drives the U.S. economy by providing jobs for over half of the nation's private workforce. The latest figures from the SBA show that small businesses with fewer than 20 employees increased employment by 853,074 during 2001-2002.

Factoring companies like IFG are experiencing an increase in the number of small businesses that are taking advantage of single invoice factoring solutions that can help them stay afloat during these tough economic times. "Payments are running later than ever, and many business are finding themselves strapped for cash for the first time," said Steven DeYoe, chief operating officer of IFG Network. "The reality is that bank loans take a long time to process while factoring is a 24 hour turnaround."

"The recent expansion of our business has not taken place without challenges," said Jason Schmidt, president of Alliance Drilling, Victoria, British Columbia. "Working with Interface Financial Group has given us the ability to take on new contracts and has provided us with the cash flow necessary to pay our vendors on time. Their timely and efficient service makes the factoring process almost seamless."

Standard accounts receivable factoring has been around for more than 4,000 years. IFG begins the single invoice factoring process with due diligence that typically takes one to two business days. Once completed the client is at liberty to offer invoices to IFG for purchase. Upon receipt of invoices, IFG checks the credit of the debtor named on the invoice and makes sure that the sale represented has been satisfactorily completed. Once this is done the debtor is advised of the purchase by IFG and the client receives their funding. At the end of the credit period, the debtor pays IFG directly completing the transaction.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)

The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources including spot factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and offers cross-border transaction facilities between the U.S. and Canada. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 35 years of experience, IFG provides innovative invoice factoring solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Kristin Gabriel MarCom New Media T: 323.650.2838 E: Headquarters: The Interface Financial Group, Inc. 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1430 Bethesda, MD 20154 T: Toll Free: USA; 877.210.9748; Canada; 877.340.6893