Friday, 2 December 2011

Areas of Vendor Financing to Be Aware Of

190-836 While vendor financing can be a very viable way for you to purchase what your business needs, it isn't ever without a cost. It is important that you understand some areas of vendor financing before you proceed with it. Being naive can result in you not getting the very best deal. These types of concerns don't involve fraud but they do involve business practices that often end up in the best interest of the lender than for yourself. Being well guarded against them is important.

You may find a great low rate for vendor financing and decide that is the company you are going to work with. What you need to figure out though before you get too involved is how long that introductory rate is going to last. If it is only for a short period of time you may end up with a much higher rate overall then with another company. Find out how much you will end up paying over the entire term of the financing agreement. This way you don't end up with some expensive surprises down the road.
190-840 As your business is able to make more profit, one of your goals should be to pay off the debts as soon as you can. Many business owners love to be able to pay extra towards the money they borrowed. However, you need to find out if the vendor financing has any penalties attached to it for early payoff. While this doesn't seem fair more companies are doing so. They don't like to lose out on their portion of the earnings in the way of interest that they charge you.
Do your best to steer clear of those programs that charge you fees for early payoff. You definitely want to avoid being in the habit of only paying your minimum payments. You want to pay as much as you can each month on the total balance. This way you can pay it off faster and reduce the amount of overall interest that you pay for the use of those funds.
Make sure you are well aware of what all the stipulations are. Will your interest rate increase if you miss payments? Are there late fees to worry about? All of these things need to be in your contract. You also need to take the time to read every part of that contract. You may feel embarrassed about asking questions but you shouldn't. If something isn't crystal clear to you then find out what it means. Never sign anything under an assumption of what you think it is all about. That can result in some serious concerns for your business to deal with down the road.
190-847 It is vital that you find out the real dollar value of the equipment you are purchasing through such a vendor finance program as well. Don't assume that the prices they are offer you are comparable to other locations. Find out for yourself because you don't want to find that you are paying 1 ½ times or 2 times what the actual retail value is. Unfortunately this is the case with some vendor financing programs. It is a way for them to make a ton of money at your expense.
While vendor financing can be the best thing that has come your way in a long time, make sure you are in control of how it affects you. When you go about it the right way, this can be a great way to secure the funding you need for your business equipment. However, you don't want to have regrets later on, and wish you had known then what you know now. By taking the time to pay attention to these important issues about vendor financing, you can make sure it works in your favor rather than against you.

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