Invoice or Bill Discounting or Purchasing Bills

The terms ‘invoice discounting’ or ‘bills discounting’ or ‘purchase of bills’ are all same. Invoice discounting is a source of working capital finance for the seller of goods on credit. Bill discounting is an arrangement whereby the seller recovers an amount of the sales bill from the financial intermediaries before it is due. Such intermediaries charge a fee for the service. On the other side, it is a business vertical for financial intermediaries such as banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, etc.

Definition / Meaning of Bill Discounting or Invoice Discounting

Invoice discounting can be technically defined as selling bills to invoice discounting companies before the due date of payment at a value that is less than the invoice amount. The difference between the bill amount and the amount paid is the discounting invoice fee to the company. The fee will depend on the period left before the payment date, amount, and perceived risk.

The bills or invoices under bill discounting are legally the ‘bill of exchange.’ A bill of exchange is a negotiable instrument that is negotiable mere by endorsing the name. For example, our currency is an example of a bill of exchange. Currency provides value written over it to the bearer of the instrument. In the case of bill discounting, such bills can be either payable to the bearer or payable to order. Therefore, after discounting a bill, a bank can further get the bill discounted from other banks in case of cash flow requirements.

Why Invoice Discounting?

The buyers and sellers of goods have conflicting objectives. The seller wishes to get paid immediately, and the buyer wants as longer a credit period as possible. Invoice discounting solves the problem, which creates a win-win situation. The seller gets money almost instantly on payment of charges and can satisfy its customer with a credit period. Invoice discounting is an easy way of obtaining finance. There are no hassles of sanctions etc.

Unique Features of Bill Discounting

Credit Evaluation

A bank will look at the reputation of the seller as well as the past payment records of the buyer who needs to pay to the bank.

Banking Partner Preferred

The buyer should also have a good bank, which can work in your favor if it endorses the bill of exchange. This will ensure your bank that the paying party is reliable, and two such signatures of reputable companies or banks are required for discounting usually.

Usance Bill

The bill must be valid within the date of time permitted by customs for the bill date and its payment. This time period can vary from two weeks to two months. The term for this time is “Usance Period.” Hence the bill should be a usance bill.

Bank to Bank Dealing

The transaction happens between banks where the confirming bank or the buyers’ bank does not intimate the seller of the reimbursement instruction but deals with his bank directly to determine the discounting terms.

Methods of Presenting Invoice

There are two methods to present the bills to the buyer’s bank – with recourse and without recourse.

With Recourse

Along with recourse, the seller’s bank checks all documents and terms of the discount and sends it across to the buyer’s bank. This bank doesn’t need to recheck everything and can later claim refunds in case of any issues which crop up.

Without Recourse

Without recourse bill of exchange is presented when the seller’s bank does no checks and a payment request is made. The buyer’s bank will need to check all details. This is usually done when both banks have tie-ups for payment, acceptance, and negotiation from each other or the buyer’s bank has already confirmed the discount terms.

Bill Discounting or Invoice Discounting Process/Procedure

The process of bill discounting is simple and logical.

• The seller sells the goods on credit and raises the invoice for the buyer.
• The buyer accepts the invoice. By accepting, the buyer acknowledges paying on the due date.
• The seller approaches the financing company to discount it.
• The financing company assures itself of the legitimacy of the bill and the buyer’s creditworthiness.
• The financing company avails the fund to the seller after deducting the appropriate margin, discount, and fee as per the norms.
• The seller gets the funds and uses them for further business.
• On the due date of payment, the financial intermediary or the seller collects the money from the buyer. ‘Who will collect the money’ depends on the agreement between the seller and the financing company.

Advantages of Bill / Invoice Discounting

The business gets the cash instantaneously, giving the business cycle better momentum. It allows an entrepreneur to do business without funds. This works like a bank overdraft, and the borrower pays the interest only on the amount of money utilized. There is tough competition in the market to extend such credit, and hence there are plenty of different products to suit the client’s needs. There are borrowers who even cover the risk of bad debt and the service. The charge may be a little more.

Disadvantages of Bill / Invoice Discounting

It can be an expensive form of financing compared to other modes of financing such as bank overdrafts, etc. In many countries like India, the central bank encouraged the bill discounting scheme and allowed a lower percentage of interest. But, it was not successful due to various misuses by financing brokers, banks, etc.

Suppose there are two sister companies, A & B. A draws bills on B without any judicious transaction. B accepts it, and A discounts it with the bank and utilizes the credit illegitimately. If the intentions are bad, A & B may default on payment, and the banks will have to suffer.

To know more about advantages and disadvantages, visit our article Advantages and Disadvantages of Invoice Discounting.

Note: The situation of invoice discounting is different in different countries. The norms of financing differ in different countries, and they are different with different borrowers of the same countries. This depends on the business policies of the banks and financial institutions engaging in the discounting business.

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