Early Payment Discount Importance For Today's Businesses

Payments today have changed a lot since the old times. The manual invoices have been replaced by latest digital technologies with less of paperwork. These technologies have helped us in gathering a clearer and transparent picture of our payments and transactions. There has been an increase in the practice of early payment discount. More and more businesses are opting out for the supplier financein India.

For most big organizations in India the amount outstanding against their invoices acts a working capital in India for their business. As working capital is the basic necessity for a business, they try to stretch the payment dates for as long time as possible so that they are able to fully utilize the amount outstanding. The vendors whose amount lies outstanding also want the money for further business; this is where invoicediscounting in India comes in role. The vendors are ready to accept a lesser amount against their outstanding amount if they are provided with an early payment in India. In the corporate world, it can also be known as a forced discount on the vendors. If the vendor is in a weaker cash position and does not have enough cash then they are left with no choice but to accept a lesser amount than the one mentioned in the invoice in return of the early payment.

                                     

Assuming a fair play for all the parties involved it is not necessary that a company runs smoothly even after the vendors have an early payment discount clause in their contracts.

Considering both buyers and sellers

In place of offering a fixed discount rate the businesses in India can work in coordination with the vendors and evaluate each and every invoice thoroughly offers a dynamic discounting in India. It has to be like a grading process which should work according to the duration of early payment. The quicker the payment is the higher is the discount offered. This process is managed through digital software; this software enables buyers and sellers to access invoices and payments digitally providing a real-time Financial visibility. They are able to differentiate which invoices are eligible for what type of discounts.

                                   

This digital platform has unified the process of manual invoicing into an electronic and digital platform which reduces most of the work in involved in manual processing making it much easier to work transparently for both the buyer and the seller. Buyers can have access to their cash and balance sheet to increase their size and amount of early payment discount.  Through this process of bill discounting in India, the sellers get access to an early payment giving them the working capital to continue their business.

These Digital platforms are extremely necessary for the smoother flow of business as it enables faster invoicing and low cost. The real advantage of dynamic discounting is that it gives a better control for negotiation to the sellers as well. There are many good companies in India providing these services PRIORITY VENDOR is one of the leading companies for supplier finance in India.

Supply Chain Finance And Dynamic Discounting

Dynamic Discounting & Supply Chain Finance  

Almost every business in this world thinking of a long run wants to keep its suppliers happy. They very well realize the importance of contented vendors for the smooth running of a business. Cash is the most important aspect of a business but unfortunately, due to dull economic conditions and lack of cash in the market, businesses are unable to cater to the payment needs of the vendors. However, there are a few good supply chain management options available like Dynamic Discounting and Supply Chain Finance.

Supply Chain Finance- It is a method of Vendor Finance in which the buyer pays the supplier through a third party. The third party or the financier pays to the supplier on buyer's behalf. The amount which is paid to the supplier is less than the actual amount mentioned on the invoice. The financier then takes the full amount from the buyer as per the agreed terms and the difference between the amount on the invoice and the actual amount paid to supplier serves as a profit for the financier. This method is also known as Supplier Finance. Both the buyer and the supplier get the benefit from it. The buyer gets away with the burden of timely payments without affecting the smooth flow of business, on the other hand, the supplier has access to quick cash and gives them the Working Capital required for running the business.

Dynamic Discounting - It is a more flexible way of early payment in which the buyer pays the supplier using their cash. Under this method, the supplier accepts the payment from the buyer at a discounted rate. It is called dynamic because the rate of discount keeps on changing depending upon how early the buyer makes the payment. The earlier the payment is the higher is the discount rate. It is a kind of  Cash Discount which the supplier gives in return for the early payment. This method is beneficial for both the parties as it helps the buyer in purchasing at a lower rate and as per the supplier's point of view it helps in smooth flow of business due to instant availability of cash. 

The purpose of both Dynamic Discounting and Supply Chain Finance are almost the same but the only difference is that the discount offered in dynamic discounting is never fixed whereas the discount in Supply Chain Financing is almost fixed. Priority Vendor is one of the most trusted names in India providing Vendor Finance services to its clients. Looking at today economical conditions and lacks of cash flow in the market it is recommended for businesses to opt for Supplier Finance in order to lower their burden of timely payments.  

Source: Medium

How Does Dynamic Discounting Platform Work?

source: google

As the word Dynamic suggests, dynamic discounting is a spontaneous process through which the buyers have got the power to pay their suppliers at a discounted rate which is not fixed. The rate at which it changes is dependent upon the time of payment. If the payment is made early the discount offered is also heavy. It is a simple online platform upon which the suppliers can submit their invoices for early payment and the buyers can view and approve the invoices eligible for early payment. It is a win-win situation for both the parties as the buyer's balance sheet is not affected and the sellers need for working capital is fulfilled on time. This ultimately helps in maintaining a smooth flow of business, as the seller gets the cash flow required to fulfil the next order.

Priority Vendor

Let's have a look at the whole process step by step.

- The vendor or the supplier sends the original invoice to the buyers.

- The buyer reviews the invoices and after it has cleared the eligibility criteria and all the credit/debit memos eligible for discount negotiation are cleared, it is uploaded electronically on the platform.

- After the invoice is uploaded the supplier can view the all the uploaded invoices on that platform. They can wait until the original maturity date of the invoice to get the payments or they can apply for an early payment request and get their payment released at an earlier date by giving a discount on the actual amount of the invoice.

Priority Vendor

PriorityVendor has been working upon bringing together various businesses and suppliers to connect them to this dynamic discounting platform. It is a simple process of smoothening the business flow. It has had a successful run in the retail, food and beverages, and electronic industry. This Vendor Finance facility prevents the suppliers or the vendors from approaching banks for loans at high interest rates in order to maintain their working capital. This kind of supplier finance also helps the buyer or the businesses as the money they are giving to the supplier was originally earning the interest from the banks which is quite low if we compare it to the discount that they are giving on the invoices to the vendors.

Source: Vendor Avii 

Cash Discount Vs Credit Card Surcharges

Source: Google

The use of credit cards has become quite common these days. In fact, we ourselves must have swiped a credit card many times for purchasing any of our favorite products. They have become an easy mode of finance for buying consumer electronics and other items through e-commerce these days, all the top E-commerce websites like Flipkart, Amazon etc have an easy option of EMI for several products through credit cards. It is more common with the people working in the new age corporates and other reputable MNC's as they are providing the credit card facility complimentary to their employees. As we are getting a credit which means a kind of loan and a loan is incomplete without an interest rate charged by the bank, here the surcharge fee acts as the interest rate which is charged by the bank from the user on every transaction they make through credit cards. Simply explaining it is the extra amount which a user pays on every transaction he makes through a credit card. These charges can go up to 4 %, changing depending upon the different states and their laws.

On the other hand, merchants also follow the practice of cash discount. In this practice, the merchants add an extra service fee to all their items and if a consumer is paying in cash the merchants waive off the service charge and provide it as a discount to the customer. There are several guidelines which the merchants have to follow while using this practice; they have to make the customers aware of this policy through proper informative boards in shops. Also, the receipt that the customer gets must have the service charge mentioned and also be shown in the discount given section. It can also be called a kind invoice discounting for the customers.

Source: Google

Both the practices have their own advantages and disadvantages. CASH DISCOUNT or BILL DISCOUNTING might allure the customers because of the fact that they have to pay less for a product as a benefit of early payment to the merchant. On the other hand some people might get attracted towards the credit card purchase because they might be paying extra but not paying at that point of time, they are buying the product on a kind of short-term loan, they can buy their desired products even when they don't have the cash by paying for it in the near future. It all depends on individuals and prevailing situation some might have the availability of cash and would prefer paying less and some might not have that much cash and would love to pay the extra amount on a credit purchase. 

Supply Chain Finance And Dynamic Discounting

Almost every business in this world thinking of a long run wants to keep its suppliers happy. They very well realize the importance of contented vendors for the smooth running of a business. Cash is the most important aspect of a business but unfortunately, due to dull economic conditions and lack of cash in the market, businesses are unable to cater to the payment needs of the vendors. However, there are a few good supply chain management options available like Dynamic Discounting and Supply Chain Finance.

Supply Chain Finance- It is a method of Vendor Finance in which the buyer pays the supplier through a third party. The third party or the financier pays to the supplier on buyer's behalf. The amount which is paid to the supplier is less than the actual amount mentioned on the invoice. The financier then takes the full amount from the buyer as per the agreed terms and the difference between the amount on the invoice and the actual amount paid to supplier serves as a profit for the financier. This method is also known as Supplier Finance. Both the buyer and the supplier get the benefit from it. The buyer gets away with the burden of timely payments without affecting the smooth flow of business, on the other hand, the supplier has access to quick cash and gives them the Working Capital required for running the business.

Dynamic Discounting - It is a more flexible way of early payment in which the buyer pays the supplier using their cash. Under this method, the supplier accepts the payment from the buyer at a discounted rate. It is called dynamic because the rate of discount keeps on changing depending upon how early the buyer makes the payment. The earlier the payment is the higher is the discount rate. It is a kind of Cash Discount which the supplier gives in return for the early payment. This method is beneficial for both the parties as it helps the buyer in purchasing at a lower rate and as per the supplier's point of view it helps in smooth flow of business due to instant availability of cash.

The purpose of both Dynamic Discounting and Supply Chain Finance are almost the same but the only difference is that the discount offered in dynamic discounting is never fixed whereas the discount in Supply Chain Financing is almost fixed. Priority Vendor is one of the most trusted names in India providing Vendor Finance services to its clients. Looking at today economical conditions and lacks of cash flow in the market it is recommended for businesses to opt for Supplier Finance in order to lower their burden of timely payments.

Early Payment For Vendor Finance

Working capital is the backbone of any business. It is extremely essential for running a business and its day to day activities. But what if there is a scarcity of working capital due to a payment delay. Any business small or big can be deeply affected by it. This is why the need for early payment in India is rising every year. 

Early payment in India

Mostly big companies pay after at least 60 to 90 days from the date of invoice. Businesses cannot afford this delay. They might be unable to process their next order due to the shortage of funds. This is where supplier finance in India comes in role. It is also known as vendor finance.

Vendor finance is a simple process of invoice discounting in which a vendor or a business secures the payment from a third party or financier on behalf of its invoice. In return for this payment, the financer keeps some part of the payment as an early payment charge. It is a kind of loan which is far better than an actual bank finance. Bank finance requires a lot of formalities and paperwork, apart from all these banks also require a collateral. This is not the case in supplier finance, the invoice acts as a collateral here and helps the business in procuring a secure finance. The discount or the fee charged is about 10 times less than the other traditional financial solutions. It is a quicker process and helps the vendors in maintaining the flow if businesses. Shortage of funds does not act as a barrier for small businesses in this model.

It is also beneficial for the buyers or the businesses which the vendors are doing with as it helps in maintaining a reputation of a reliable business partner. The buyers are able to fulfill their financial obligations without using their own money.

Dynamic Discounting

                          Dynamic Discounting

This type of dynamic discounting in India has become a popular financial model in today's world proving to benefits to all the three parties involved the buyers, the sellers, and the financers. Small and medium businesses are adopting this technique because of the easy cash flow and less of paperwork. Through this technique, the buyers can extend their payment date and the supplier can get cash for the business, both at the same time. There many companies which provide vendor finance in India and many small and medium businesses are opting for their services to reap the benefits of early payment.