Supporting growth with Invoice Finance Manager
When London-based WJC Security pivoted during the Covid-19 pandemic, Lloyds Bank’s new selective invoice financing product , Invoice Finance Manager offered the support and flexibility the company needed to help them grow.
Read time: 4 mins Added: 17/05/2021
As with many businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant effect on WJC Security, which had been providing security for professional Rugby Union matches and hospitality events for two years when lockdown hit. With matches cancelled for the foreseeable future, the owners, husband and wife Wayne and Lorraine Cleary, had to look for other opportunities, including providing security at a vaccine centre at the Twickenham Stoop.
Rapid growth
“Once we started providing security at the Twickenham Stoop we were approached by the NHS to start offering security at other sites across London,” says Wayne. “Within weeks we were at several centres, with 26 members of staff working shifts, seven days a week. It was amazing to be so busy, but we had to scale up quickly and our payroll increased significantly, which had a knock-on effect on our cash flow.”
With the company’s workforce growing considerably, Wayne and Lorraine found they were no longer in a position to fund the increased payroll themselves and started to explore other solutions, including Invoice Finance.
A flexible solution
“We bank with Lloyds Bank,” says Lorraine, “so we spoke to them about Invoice Finance options. At that point, we were growing on an almost daily basis so we needed a solution that was really flexible and could grow with us.
“Daniel Lewis, our relationship manager, mentioned Invoice Finance Manager and it seemed like the perfect solution. Our staff are our biggest asset – paying them on time and in full is hugely important to us and this offers us peace of mind that we’re able to do that.”
Invoice Finance Manager is Lloyds Bank’s new Invoice Finance proposition, allowing businesses to selectively choose which invoices are included in the facility via an easy-to-use portal, which also provides access to additional value add risk analysis and credit control tools.
“Some of the larger companies we’re working with have 60-day payment terms,” says Wayne, “so being able to have those funds released to us earlier is a huge help when it comes to managing our cash flow.”
Wayne and Lorraine found the process of applying for and getting set up with Invoice Finance Manager incredibly simple and straightforward.
“The whole process was clear, and we were talked through it step-by-step, including what the bank could offer us,” says Wayne. “And Daniel is always there to provide us with any support or help that we need.”
Extra benefits
As well as helping WJC Security manage cash flow, Invoice Finance Manager’s risk insight tools and online credit control support have proved useful as the company grows and takes on new clients.
“We’re able to use the portal to credit check potential clients and it gives us a very clear indicative risk level” says Lorraine. “Even if we don’t want to use Invoice Finance for a particular client, being able to credit check them gives us additional peace of mind, which is really valuable in the current economic climate. If companies are ever late with payments, we know Lloyds Bank will follow it up – having a respected household name making those communications on our behalf really helps people take us seriously.”
“Previously, I thought products like Invoice Finance were just for large corporations,” says Wayne, “but it’s been the perfect solution for us as we adapted during the pandemic and continue to grow our operations.”