The correct answer is D. None of the above.
A factor is a financial institution that provides a range of services to businesses, including:
- Administering sales ledger: This involves collecting payments from customers, chasing up late payments, and managing credit control.
- Advancing against credit sales: This involves providing businesses with short-term loans against the value of their outstanding invoices.
- Assuming bad debt losses: This involves taking on the risk of customers not paying their bills.
Factoring can be a very useful service for businesses, as it can help them to improve their cash flow, reduce their risk, and focus on their core activities. However, it is important to note that factoring is not a free service, and businesses will typically pay a fee to the factor for the services they provide.
The following are some additional details about each of the services provided by factors:
- Administering sales ledger: This involves collecting payments from customers, chasing up late payments, and managing credit control. This can be a time-consuming and administratively-heavy task for businesses, so many businesses choose to outsource this function to a factor.
- Advancing against credit sales: This involves providing businesses with short-term loans against the value of their outstanding invoices. This can help businesses to improve their cash flow, as they will receive the funds from the factor before they receive payment from their customers.
- Assuming bad debt losses: This involves taking on the risk of customers not paying their bills. This can be a significant risk for businesses, as it can lead to them losing money if customers do not pay their bills. By factoring their receivables, businesses can transfer this risk to the factor.
It is important to note that not all factors offer all of these services. Businesses should carefully consider their needs before choosing a factor.