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[A56]A Letter Of Credit

by Marco Terry, Mar

A letter of credit is a financial tool that streamlines the process of doing business both nationally and internationally. It provides a guaranteed (usually) form of payment to your suppliers while limiting your risks in the transaction. To better understand letters of credit, let's look at an example.

Let's say that you own a widget distribution company. Let's also say that your good customer provides you with a very large purchase order for widgets. Since you distribute (rather than manufacture) widgets, you'll need to place an order with your widget supplier to be able to fulfill the order. In this case, you want to use a new widget supplier that is located in Asia and does not know much about your company.

Your first step is to try to buy widgets from your Asian supplier. Now you have an interesting situation. Your supplier is very likely to ask for cash up front or some guaranteed form of payment before manufacturing and delivering the widgets. You, on the other hand, will want to pay upon receipt, or better yet, ask for 30-day payment terms (meaning, you pay 30 days after receipt). As you can see, both parties are trying to limit their risk.

To solve this situation you can go to the bank and ask them to create a letter of credit for this transaction. The letter of credit stipulates that your supplier will be paid by the bank, if they comply with the terms of the L/C. Usually, to comply with a letter of credit, documentary evidence that proves delivery of a quality product per the agreement needs to be provided.

Now your supplier can go ahead and deliver the widgets, knowing that he will be paid if he delivers according to the agreement.

As you can see, this protects your supplier, and the letter of credit also protects you, because it ensures that the supplier is paid only if he complies with the agreement. Although letters of credit come in a number of flavors, in general they tend to guarantee payment by the issuing bank, which gives suppliers a level of comfort.

Of course, once funds are paid to your supplier you will need to pay the bank. Usually, banks will ask that you have a line of credit (or similar financing) so that they can satisfy payment for the LC from that account. Unfortunately, this also means that to qualify for a letter of credit you almost always need to qualify for traditional bank financing. This is not easy for new, small or growing businesses. If you cannot qualify for a letter of credit, your best alternative is to secure trade financing use purchase order financing.

Many business opportunities come with an associated challenge. For most entrepreneurial businesses, the greatest challenge is financing the business opportunities created by your sales efforts. What are your options if you have a sales opportunity that is clearly too large for your normal scale of operations? Will your bank provide the necessary financing? Is your business a startup, or too new to meet the bank’s requirements? Can you tap into a commercial real estate loan or a home equity loan in sufficient time to conclude the transaction? Do you decline the order? Fortunately there is an alternative way to meet this challenge: You can use Purchase Order Financing & Letter of Credit financing to deliver the product and close the sale.

What is purchase order financing?

Purchase order financing is a specialized method of providing structured working capital and loans that are secured by accounts receivables, inventory, machinery, equipment and/or real estate. This type of funding is excellent for startup companies, refinancing existing loans, financing growth, mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and management buy-ins.

Purchase order financing is based upon bona fide purchase orders from reputable, creditworthy companies, or government entities. Verification of the validity of the purchase orders is required. The financing is not based on your company’s financial strength. It is based on the creditworthiness of your customers, the strength of the commercial finance company funding the transaction, and in most cases a letter of credit.

What is a letter of credit?

A letter of credit is a letter from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer’s payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. If the buyer is unable to make payment for the purchase, the bank is required to cover the full amount of the purchase. In a purchase order financing transaction, the bank relies on the creditworthiness of the commercial finance company in order to issue the letter of credit. The letter of credit “backs up" the purchase order financing to the supplier, or manufacturer.

Is purchase order financing appropriate for your sales program?

The perfect paradigm is a distributor buying products from a supplier and shipping directly to the purchaser. Importers of finished goods, exporters of finished goods, out-source manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors can effectively use purchase order financing to grow their businesses.

Is purchase order financing appropriate for growing your sales orders?

Purchase order financing requires you to have management expertise- a proven track record in your particular business. You must have bona fine purchase orders from reputable firms that can be verified. And you must have a repayment plan; often this is from a commercial finance company in the form of accounts receivable or asset-based financing.

You should have a gross margin of at least 25% to benefit from purchase order financing. Sellers of services or commodities with low margins, such as lumber or grain, will not qualify.

The bottom line decision for purchase order financing:

It can take two or more years to develop a profitable business. Banks generally base their lending limits on a business’ performance for the past two or three years. Purchase order financing, combined with letters of credit and/or accounts receivable or asset-based financing can give you sufficient funds to cover your operating costs, financing costs and still realize significant profits. If you qualify for purchase order financing, you can grow your business by taking advantage of large purchase orders and eventually qualify for bank financing.

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

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Both Marco Terry & Gregg Elberg are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Marco Terry has sinced written about articles on various topics from Debts Loans, Business Loans and Finances. . Marco Terry's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Gregg Elberg has sinced written about articles on various topics from Debts Loans, Business and Finance and Small Business. Mr. Gregg Elberg is a licensed attorney and licensed real estate broker. He specializes in many forms of commercial finance as a commercial finance broker for B2B business and commercial real estate. For more information about GFS, please visit our websit. Gregg Elberg's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.