ANSWER ID:9094

Also known as "factoring of debtors ", this is where a or cash for receivables, the purchasing of debtors (i.e., invoices) by a 3rd party occurs when a company sells its debts to a 3rd party , e.g. such as a finance company , and the 3rd party charges a fee for the service. This support note explains how to cater for this in your software.

How do I show the purchase of the debtors and payments by the factoring company?

Example:

• Company ABC has $10,000 worth of debtors that will be factored.
• Company XYZ will purchase these debtors, and pay Company ABC in two stages: 70% and then 25%, the remaining 5% being the charge.
• ABC Ltd will need to close the individual debtors that are in their debtor's ledger and allocate them to the one Factoring entity's account.

Using the above example, the following tasks will be explained:

1. Set up the factoring accounts

2. Close off the debtors to be factored

Task 1 - Set up the factoring accounts

Company ABC needs to set up an account with Bank privileges in the ASSET section of the chart of accounts:

1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Account List.
2. Click the Asset tab then click New.
3. Select Bank in the Account Type drop-down menu. In BusinessBasics select the Detail Account [Postable] option.
4. Give the account a unique number that suits your account list.
5. Name the account Factoring Cheque Account.
6. Click OK.
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Company ABC also needs to set up an Expense account to show the 5% fee charged by the Factoring Entity:

1. Go to the Accounts command centre and click Account List.
2. Click the Expense tab then click New.
3. Give the account a unique number that suits your account list.
4. Name the account Factoring Charge.
5. Click OK.
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Task 2 - Close off the debtors to be factored

1. Go to the Sales command centre and click Receive Payments. In BusinessBasics go to the Command Centres menu and choose Sales then choose Receive Payments.
2. Select one of the debtors and enter the factored amount for that debtor in the Amount Received and Amount Applied fields as shown in the window below.
3. At the top left of the window, select the Asset account created in Task 1.
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Note: Use the General Ledger [Summary] report to see the total value of the factored debtors outstanding. These will be shown in the Debit column of the report.

How do I record receiving payment from the factoring entity?

When Company XYZ pays Company ABC the first 70% of the factored debtors, the payment should be entered through the Receive Money window in the Banking command centre. The account selected at the top left should be your cheque account or the account that the payment will be deposited into. The allocation account would be the Factoring Cheque Account set up in Task 1. When Company XYZ pays the other 25%, the same procedure would be followed.

[Australia only]

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[New Zealand only]

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In the General Ledger [Summary] report these payments will be shown on the Credit side. The net amount will be the factoring charge.

Note: There is no GST in this transaction.

How do I show the factoring charges?

To show the 5% fee charged by the Factoring Entity, enter a transaction through the Spend Money window as shown below. The account in the top left would be the Factoring Cheque Account and the Allocation account would be the expense account (Factoring Charge) created in Task 1.

[Australia only]

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[New Zealand only]

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The charge will be shown on the Credit column of the General Ledger [Summary] report. Once the additional 25% of the factored amount is received, this transaction will close off completely the Factoring Account to a balance of $0, unless there are other factored debts still outstanding in the same account.

[Australia only]

The applicable GST tax code is also included within this transaction as Company XYZ would charge GST for their services.

[New Zealand only]

The applicable GST code is also included within this transaction as Company XYZ would charge GST for their servicesfor immediate cash. This factoring purchase also includes a factoring fee charged by the 3rd party, usually in the form of a percentage fee.

You would handle the factoring process in AccountEdge by first creating factoring accounts for the factored invoices and fee. Next, you would close off the debtors to be factored through the Receive Payments window. When you receive your payment from the 3rd party in exchange for the debtors, you'd record a Receive Money entry.

The variety of factors involved in factoring means there's no "on size fits all" approach when setting up AccountEdge. The particulars of the finance company's factoring policy, the types of invoices being sold, and the agreed upon payment plan all play crucial roles in the recording process.

Want to learn more?

We might not be experts in purchasing of debtors, but our community forum is a great place to connect with business professionals who are happy to share their insights.

For example, check out this great article about Factoring of debtors.