Insights
How trade finance and invoice finance fund the same business from both ends
Paying suppliers on one side, waiting on customers on the other. Used together, these two facilities can effectively fund themselves.
A wholesaler pays for stock before it’s sold and gets paid weeks after it’s delivered. That’s two gaps, one at each end of the same cycle. Trade finance and invoice finance are built for exactly this shape of business, and the two products cover different halves of the same gap.
Why is a trade facility about peace of mind, not just borrowing?
Because the next big order won’t wait for a loan application. With a trade facility already in place, you can say yes the same day. You don’t have to draw on it, and until you do, it’s capacity rather than debt. See our trade finance page for how the facility itself works.
How do the two facilities fund both ends of the cycle?
Trade finance covers the gap between paying your supplier and receiving the stock, typically domestic purchases from another Australian supplier, sometimes overseas. Invoice finance covers the gap on the other side, advancing against what your own customers owe you once you’ve supplied them, often up to 90% of the invoice. This is a widespread problem, not an edge case: close to 80% of Australian SMEs have experienced significant cash flow impacts in the past 12 months, per CommBank and UNSW research. Depending on who you sell to, it can make sense to package the two together: one covering what you owe suppliers, the other covering what your customers owe you.
Structured correctly, the two wash themselves: collected invoices fund the next round of stock. If they sit with different lenders, get each one’s sign-off before you sign the second.
| Situation | Structure that fits |
|---|---|
| Only paying suppliers is tight | Trade finance alone |
| Only waiting on customers is tight | Invoice finance alone |
| Both sides are tight | Both facilities, structured to self-fund |
When one facility is simpler and cheaper than two
If only one side of your cycle is tight, whether that’s paying suppliers upfront or waiting on customer payment, a single facility matched to that gap is usually the simpler and cheaper structure. Two facilities aren’t automatically better. They’re the right call when both sides are stretched, not a default. Say so on the call, and we’ll size the structure to what your business needs.
Stretched on both sides of the cash cycle?
Tell us how you buy stock and how your customers pay, and we’ll tell you whether one facility or both fits your business.
Frequently asked questions
Give us the basics below and we’ll call you within the hour, or at the time you choose, then come back with the two or three offers worth your time.