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Glossary of Terms
Glossary of Terms
ADVANCE
Amount of money immediately paid out to clients upon invoice deposit at IPS. This amount is typically expressed as a percentage of the total invoice deposit amount.
ASSIGNMENT
Transfer of ownership of an invoice from its original owner to IPS.
AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE (ACH)
One of the two methods for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) that allows an individual or an institution to transfer money electronically in large batches. ACH is generally a cheaper and slower method of money transfer compared against the other EFT method, Electronic Wire Transfer.
BALANCE SHEET
Financial statement providing a summary of the financial position including assets, liabilities, and ownership equity, of a business at a particular point in time.
BILL OF LADING
Document issued by a shipper indicating the delivery of merchandise and assigning the title of that merchandise to a receiving party.
BILL OF SALE
Document used to transfer the title of goods from the seller to the buyer.
BREAK-EVEN POINT
Level of sales where costs and revenues are equal, resulting in neither a financial loss nor gain.
CASH FLOW
Amount of money that constantly flows in and out of a business, affecting the level of liquidity of a company.
CHARGEBACK
Negative financial adjustment applied to clients’ accounts for invoices that were either not paid within 90 days or were short paid.
COLLATERAL
Pledge of a certain property given to a lending party in order to back up their financial transactions or guarantee repayment of borrowed resources.
COMMERCIAL CREDIT INSURANCE
Insurance designed to protect a party from potential losses incurred as a result of uncollectible invoice receivables.
CONCENTRATION
Total invoice receivables amount due from a single customer; a large concentration in a single customer may pose a financial risk to the lending party in case of delayed payment or nonpayment.
CREDIT ANALYSIS
Process of analyzing past payment behaviour based on their payment trend, i.e. speed of payment measured in average number of days compared against their most common invoice terms.
DAYS BEYOND TERMS (DBT)
Industry term that indicates the number of days an invoice is past due on its terms.
DECLINED INVOICE
Status assigned to an invoice that was not approved for payment due to concerns related to account or paperwork.
DEPOSIT BOOK
Paper book that allows clients to deposit invoices and keep a historical record of invoices deposited at IPS.
DUE DILIGENCE
Process of verifying documents supporting an invoice and assessing potential credit risks involved in financing that invoice.
ECARD
Access card issued by IPS featuring clients and payers’ user names and passwords for secure access to the IPS Online Account Manager.
ECHEQUE
Electronic cheque based on pre-authorized debit (PAD) allowing payers to conveniently pay invoices through our SSL-secured system.
ELECTRONIC WIRE TRANSFER
One of the two methods for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) that allows a person or an institution to transfer funds electronically. Wire transfers cost more, but they are faster and more convenient than the other EFT method, Automated Clearing House (ACH).
FACE AMOUNT OR FACE VALUE
Gross amount of an invoice accounting for the cost of goods or services, plus applicable sales taxes.
FOLLOW-UP
Process of verification of receipt and good standing of invoices after they have been financed by IPS and periodical follow-up for payment details based on the invoice terms initially set by IPS’ clients.
INVOICE
A bill indicating an amount of money owed by a customer for purchased goods or received services. Generally, invoices may be traded or sold.
INVOICE DEPOSIT SUMMARY
An IPS document summarizing a single invoice or a collection of invoices processed at the same time. The IPS Invoice Deposit Summary includes all invoice-related transactions such as approved and declined invoices, net disbursements, applied rebates, chargebacks, bank charges and other transactions.
Also referred to as Schedule or Batch.
INVOICE HANDLING
Automated IPS process that generates digital images of invoices, and handles their delivery through regular mail or email.
INVOICE PROCESSING
Systematic approach behind the IPS 8 hour promise involving all the steps from invoice deposit to invoice financing.
INVOICE RECEIVABLES
Financial assets reflecting a certain amount of money owed to a company for goods and services provided on credit.
INVOICE RECEIVABLE AGING
Classification process of due invoices based on terms of 30, 60, 90, or 90+ days used to analyze and follow-up on the amount of money owed to a business by its customers. Invoice Receivable Aging helps credit grantors predict the collection process, plan cash flow, and assess the collateral value of invoice receivables.
INVOICE RECEIVABLE MANAGEMENT
Systematic approach for managing all administrative aspects of an invoice owed to a company, starting from the point of assignment to IPS to the final payment of the invoice receivable.
LIABILITY
Financial obligation in the form of debt, claim or potential loss. Debt on terms of less than one year is usually considered a short-term liability, and debt on terms longer than one year is considered a long-term liability.
LIEN
Creditor’s claim against a property used to speed up debt payments. Courts can grant liens in order to satisfy judgments.
LIEN SEARCH
Search through public records on file in government offices for any claims (pledges) against the property of a business (e.g. invoice receivables) or an individual (e.g. personal residential property).
LIQUIDITY
A company’s ability to turn assets into cash to meet short-term financial obligations like rent, payroll, utilities, etc. Having good liquidity is an indicator of solid cash flow and a well-run business.
NEGATIVE CASH FLOW
A financial situation where income is less than expenses. Prolonged negative cash flow can lead to bankruptcy.
NON-IPS PAYMENT
Payment sent to IPS for invoices that were not assigned to IPS; the procedure is to re-route this payment to clients.
NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT (NOA)
Document that validates the transfer of ownership of an invoice from its original issuer to IPS and provides payment directions for the payer.
PAYER – IPS’ client’s customers [i.e. your customer would be IPS’ payer]
PAYMENT INDEX
Average number days it takes a business to pay its suppliers. The Payment Index (PI) ranges between 0 and 99, with lower scores indicating prompt payments and higher scores indicating delayed payments.
PENDING INVOICE
Status assigned to an invoice while we are awaiting further input from client and/or payer.
PERSONAL GUARANTEE
Agreement in which the principal of a corporation assumes personal liability for the financial obligations of the corporation.
PROOF OF DELIVERY (POD)
Document that proves delivery of a shipment to its assigned destination.
PURCHASE ORDER (PO)
Supplier contractual agreement requesting a product or service, and detailing description, cost, delivery and payment terms.
REBATE
End-of-month disbursement going to clients as an unused portion of their initial deposit after invoice payment has been received from their customers.
RESERVE
Account established by IPS in order to track funds owed to a client as financed invoices are paid. The reserve equals to the total amount of invoice deposits minus advances, service fees, chargebacks and administrative charges applied during invoice cycles
RETURNED INVOICE
Status assigned to an invoice that is missing paperwork and is returned to the client without processing.
SECURITY
Property given or pledged as a guarantee for the repayment of a debt.
TRANSACTION SUMMARY
IPS invoice cover that highlights key aspects of an invoice financed by IPS. The IPS Transaction Summary contains a payment stub to facilitate convenient payment.
UNCERTAIN ACCOUNT PROVISION
Money set aside as a contingency to cover the negative financial impact of an uncollectible invoice.
VERIFICATION
Process of initial verification of invoices to ensure their receipt and good standing after they have been financed by IPS.