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The best short-term financing solutions
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Published on

1/12/2023

Updated on

11/4/2024

The best short-term financing solutions

Short-term financing is an essential component of any company's financial management. Having access to short-term financing solutions can make all the difference to the stability and growth of your business. Access to short-term financing solutions gives companies the flexibility they need to seize growth opportunities quickly.

Why use short-term financing?

Short-term financing is needed to meet immediate cash requirements, such as invoice payment, inventory financing or working capital needs. It is designed to be used over a short period (less than a year), and can be an effective way of maintaining a company's financial stability by avoiding the accumulation of too much long-term debt.

Short-term financing solutions
Short-term financing

Subsidies

Grants are an attractive source of short-term financing for many businesses, particularly non-profit organizations and R&D-oriented companies. Grants are funds awarded by government agencies, foundations or other entities to companies for specific projects. They are often intended to support initiatives that have a positive impact on the community or industry.

One of the major advantages of grants is that they generally do not require repayment, meaning that the company does not accumulate debt. Nevertheless, obtaining a grant can be a highly competitive process, requiring time and effort to write convincing grant applications. What's more, grants are generally limited to specific projects, so their use is restricted.

Campaign credit

Campaign credit is another short-term financing solution used by companies to manage their short-term cash flow requirements. It is primarily a revolving line of credit granted by a bank or financial institution to help a company meet seasonal or cyclical cash flow requirements.

The advantage of campaign credit is that it offers considerable flexibility. The company can borrow money when needed, and repay the amount borrowed when cash flow improves. This makes it easier to manage seasonal fluctuations in demand or variations in cash flow.

Authorized bank overdraft

The authorized bank overdraft is a short-term financing solution offered by many banks. It allows a company to borrow money in excess of its account balance, up to a limit set by the bank. This limit is generally based on the company's financial health and its relationship with the bank.

The main advantage of an authorized bank overdraft is that it offers an immediate source of financing in case of need. However, it's important to note that interest rates are generally higher than for other forms of short-term financing, which can make it a costly option in the long term if used frequently.

Factoring

Factoring is a short-term financing solution that enables a company to sell its unpaid invoices to a third party, a factoring company. In exchange for these invoices, the company receives immediate payment, usually an advance of 80% to 90% of the total invoice value.

Factoring offers a number of advantages, including an immediate improvement in cash flow and the delegation of receivables management to the factoring company. This enables the company to concentrate on its core business, rather than spending time chasing outstanding payments. However, factoring is costly and can represent a significant loss of income for companies.

Karmen financing:Revenue-based financing (RBF)

Revenue-based-financing is a short-term financing solution that is gaining in popularity, particularly among fast-growing start-ups and digital SMEs. With this approach, the company obtains financing in exchange for a fixed percentage of future revenues.

The major advantage of revenue-based-financing is that it requires no guarantees or fixed repayments. Payments are based on the company's actual revenues, which means that payments increase when the company is doing well and decrease when revenues are down.

Karmen 👋 offers unsecured financing ranging from €30k to €5M to support digital companies in their short-term financing needs (marketing campaigns, inventory purchases...).

Short-term financing is an essential asset for a company's financial management. It offers the flexibility needed to meet immediate cash requirements, maintain financial stability, and seize growth opportunities. Revenue Based Financing (RBF) is THE solution for companies, particularly start-ups and digital SMEs, looking for fast, flexible short-term financing.