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25th August, 2021

Butn COO: Invoice financing can “supercharge” business growth

Butn and MYOB have partnered to make invoice financing easier for more businesses, so we chatted with Butn’s chief operating officer Mark Newstead to find out what it’s all about.

Invoice financing is a relatively new concept in business finance, which allows a business to gain access to targeted finance based on unpaid invoices.

That means if your business relies on regular revenue from invoicing customers and it is suddenly interrupted (lockdown restrictions, anyone?), invoice financing could be an option for bridging the gap.
Now, MYOB has integrated invoice financing into its software with the help of invoice finance experts, Butn.

We recently chatted with Mark Newstead, chief operating officer at Butn, to talk about the field of invoice financing and get a clearer idea of which businesses this solution will work for.


Q&A: Mark Newstead, COO, Butn


What are the common reasons invoices go unpaid these days, and what impact can that have on the business issuing the invoice?

In this challenging economic environment, many businesses are under pressure and are paying invoices late due to lack of cashflow as well as to improve their own working capital positions.

Unpaid or overdue invoices can put a significant strain on a business’s working capital and cash flow requirements.

Being able to free up cashflow tied up in overdue invoices, as well as accessing cash flow early from invoices not yet due, could be the key to either helping a business survive or enabling opportunistic growth.

What are the traditional ways that business owners use to cope with unpaid invoices?

Businesses in a strong financial position are able to work with their debtors to obtain reasonable repayment solutions.

Businesses doing it tough are under more pressure to collect outstanding funds and may need to employ legal resources, leading to increased expenses and time.

Does invoice financing represent an alternative to other methods, or are they another string on the bow?

Often banks are unable to provide funding against both stock and debtors, thus leading to insufficient funds available to small and medium businesses.

Depending on the balance sheet of a business, invoice finance can be used to compliment an already-established funding structure, or can be used to supercharge a business’s growth.

What are the common situations and applications customers of Butn face and how are they overcome?

The current economic climate has tremendous challenges. Businesses need more financial support than ever, but often struggle due to continued lockdowns and depressed earnings as a result of COVID-19.

As small and medium businesses attempt to overcome these challenges, being able to obtain funding quickly against invoices raised can speed up a working capital cycle and can make the climb back to pre-COVID business levels quicker and easier.

How is the field of invoice financing continuing to evolve?

The rapid pace of technology development in the credit, compliance and payment spaces has enabled the creation of super-efficient platform funding systems, allowing business applications to be processed and transactions to be funded exceptionally fast and efficiently.

Where does the partnership with MYOB come in? What’s the value for businesses in this case?

Most businesses need funding support at some stage. Sometimes they will require multiple funding options at various times, and this new partnership will make that part of doing business easier for business owners.

That’s because the MYOB-Butn partnership allows businesses to apply for funding against invoices right in their accounting software. MYOB gets to tap into Butn’s technical and financial expertise in order to better assist businesses to manage their cashflow and grow their operations.

By taking down the barriers between a business and the ability to obtain the funding that the business needs, the business owner can be empowered to focus on achieving their financial goals and continued growth.

Ready to get started with invoice financing? Find out more about making an application for funding here.*

*MYOB is an investor in and has a paid partnership with Butn Limited (ACN 644 182 883) (Butn) for the provision of invoice financing services by Butn to MYOB customers. All applications are subject to approval in accordance with Butn’s onboarding criteria and onboarding process, including any agreement that is signed by you setting out terms and conditions between yourself and Butn. MYOB receives a flat fee plus a volume-based fee and bonus from Butn based on the net revenue Butn earns from MYOB customers using Butn services.

^Subject to your unique credit limit determined by Butn. For more conditions and a detailed pricing breakdown, refer to the Butn terms and conditions on the Butn website and the agreement between yourself and Butn.