5 Ways That Entrepreneurs Use C2FO to Make Their Businesses Better

Getting paid faster can open the door to faster growth, bigger orders and more.

It takes money to make money, and that’s why so many small businesses find it difficult to tackle new opportunities when they arise. They don’t always have the funds to ramp up production or service a huge new client.

C2FO was created to solve this problem by putting working capital into business owners’ hands as quickly and conveniently as possible. Payment can be received in as little as two days — without any hidden fees, without any long-term contracts, without any of the other frustrations that make companies avoid traditional lenders, factors and other providers.

See what it looks like in action. Here are five ways that real businesses are using C2FO to keep growing.

Fulfill larger orders for major customers

Alfay Designs had just gotten great news: One of the world’s largest retailers wanted to increase its orders of the stylish Farberware drinkware that Alfay produces, essentially doubling the business.

But there was a catch. Servicing that order would have put the company in a cash crunch, said owner Jayme Smaldone, who also owns a sister drinkware business, Mighty Mug.

Alfay’s production is done through factories in China. Unfortunately, Alfay’s biggest and most important factory would give the company only 30 days to pay for its orders. Even worse, the 30 days started when the products were shipped, not when Alfay took receipt.

“The problem with 30-day terms coming out of Asia, it takes 27 days for the product to get to us,” Smaldone said. “So really, they’re not giving us any terms.”

After investigating other options, Smaldone reached out to C2FO. One of his bigger clients was on the platform and would agree to early payment in exchange for a discount. And that gave Alfay Designs the resources it needed to tackle the larger orders.

“The faster the money comes in, the faster that you can spend it on other types of growth ventures,” Smaldone said. “And you know, I think that that’s the whole thing.”

Fund explosive growth without a bank loan

Buck Bone Organics sells high-quality, eco-friendly chew toys made from elk antlers. The Montana-based company has generated huge demand for its products, but it needed more capital to pay for raw materials.

Unfortunately, even though sales were quadrupling every year, banks wouldn’t lend to the company. Buck Bone Organics was too young, said Jackie Steigleman, the company’s joint CEO.

Luckily, a few years ago, she got a call from C2FO and learned about its Capital Finance arm. With C2FO’s help, Buck Bone set up a line of credit that is based on the value of its receivables.

“Within three months of doing that, we had to move warehouses because the business was coming in so strong, because we had the ability to go after it,” Steigleman said. “We had the confidence, we had the accounts, but now we could say yes to a lot more things.”

Shrink payment windows

Landing a large enterprise as a customer can be a big win for a small business, but there is often a downside. Big clients frequently ask for longer payment terms — 90 days isn’t uncommon. That can put pressure on their suppliers, which may not have the funds to pay bills or reinvest in inventory and materials.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Delilah Home, an organic home textile company, uses C2FO’s platform to ask large customers for early payment in exchange for a small discount.

As a result, payment times have been cut in half. That boosts the company’s cash flow, giving it more power to grow its operations.

“Through C2FO, I’m able to get cash from our outstanding invoices a lot quicker, which allows me to continue to invest back into my emerging brand,” said Michael Twer, Delilah Home’s founder and CEO. “And that reinvestment is more inventory, it’s more marketing, it’s more head count.”

Take advantage of discounts

Volume discounts are an effective way for businesses to reduce their cost of goods sold, but smaller companies might not have the money required to place larger orders.

It can be done, though. Alder Creek Gift Baskets sells its products to several national chains, many of which have longer payment terms. So the California company uses C2FO to request early payment from those customers. Getting paid faster gives Alder Creek the resources it needs to pay for its next big order.

The company can also take advantage of early payment discounts offered by its suppliers.

“What it allows us to do is pay our suppliers on time and take advantage of early payment discounts, so it increases our margin on all of our gifts,” said Andrea Stringer, Alder Creek’s president and CEO. “We’re able to get better pricing from our vendors.”

Even out cash flow for service businesses

It’s one of the most common problems for consulting firms: A majority of your income could come from a few large clients, and as a result, you might have to wait a few months between payments. From a cash flow perspective, it can be a big headache.

That’s why Oak & Willow, a California-based consulting firm, uses C2FO to accelerate payment on select invoices. Some of the world’s biggest brands hire Lori Fraser and Tina Rosenblum and their team for help with communication, strategic planning, employee engagement and other key functions.

With C2FO, “we get paid much sooner for the work we’ve done,” Fraser said.

Oak & Willow uses C2FO to break up those payments. By offering a small discount to speed up invoices, the firm can more easily pay its own team on a regular basis.

“We do have subcontractors as well,” Fraser said. “So we don’t want them to have to wait long periods.”

The bottom line

Making working capital more accessible to small businesses allows them to take the next step in their evolution, whether that’s funding new and rapid growth, tackling bigger orders or reducing costs by qualifying for discounts.

C2FO is uniquely positioned to help companies get that funding — without hidden fees, without long-term contracts, without requiring collateral or an egregious amount of paperwork. Learn how our on-demand platform can help your business get paid faster.