Has anyone provided Project Financing to clients?

[shoresigns]

Whatever you do, don't call it Signancing

 

[thesignpost]

Interesting subject, but my question would be somewhat basic..........

Why would somoene wanna come to you for their finaincing if they would be capable of getting it from their own sources ?? What would make you more enticing then say perhaps, their own lending institution ??

You mentioned little risk for you, what risk would be possibly yours ??

They would only come to you because their lender refused them. I would say leave the financing to banks, that's what they are for. I do signs, why would I do roofing?

 

[Gino]

That was my whole point. ;-)

Now, I can do more than just make signs or run the shop, but I don't wanna be a bank..... no way, no how. If I ain't gonna get paid, I'd rather be doing something I like doing for free and it ain't making signs for some skumbag.​

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

They would only come to you because their lender refused them. I would say leave the financing to banks, that's what they are for. I do signs, why would I do roofing?

And you missed exactly what I was asking in my post, and follow up posts... We would not be financing we would forwarding to our banking institution.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I have closed a few deals when the client sought financing. There are lending companies that understand and will consider outdoor plants and electronic displays, and offer realistic terms. They will usually specify the asset, and will only finance objects they can put a lien on (or un-bolt and re-sell, as in the case of a EMC). As signs are considered real property (at least in Illinois), it is illegal to "re-possess" them without the property owner's consent (caution: there may already be liens on the property that would prevent you from reclaiming your property even if the business owner has given you consent), but the lender can place a lien on the property for the value of the sign.

Signs in general, however, have no value to the bank, so any loan is going to be a personal type loan such as a credit card. I offer credit card payment, but state up front that the merchant fee will be added to the invoice. Normally, I leave that option "switched off" when invoicing from QuickBooks, and only turn it when requested (I have several government agencies and colleges that pay with credit cards, and some buyers want to get their "cash back" on large purchases). One tactic is to assume the buyer will be using a credit card and price accordingly, then offer a discount for check or cash.

The other piece to this puzzle is credit offered to the client by the sign company. This is common in the industry. Most local customers will pay right up, and it does not take long to develop a sixth sense of who won't. My policy has long been 50% deposit, balance upon completion. I don't extend terms, but 95% will pay within a few days, and some will take 30 days. Those that go past 30 get a phone call; fortunately, for me, it doesn't happen often. Some sign companies have terms on their contract that allow them to collect penalties and interest on late payments; I don't (my contracts are simple), but you may want to consider it.

More difficult are companies that forward signs for national accounts. Most of them will not pay you until they have been paid, and it can take months to get your money. I have never been completely burned, but I've had to wait. Usually, the terms can be discussed before entering into an agreement with a sign forwarding company. They are expert negotiators, and in many cases are paid by the value of the credit extended to them (and thus are motivated), but you can name your terms (price, generally not time to pay) and walk away from the deal if you don't like it. Just don't be shocked when they take months to pay!

It's lame how the purchasing customer doesn't pay the national sign company at least something upfront so they can cover the subs. They float the cost all the way down to the little guy doing all the work making the least in this whole deal.

I don't (usually) accept that as a sub ... and on the other side... I don't do that to my subs.

 

[thesignpost]

That was my whole point. ;-)

Now, I can do more than just make signs or run the shop, but I don't wanna be a bank..... no way, no how. If I ain't gonna get paid, I'd rather be doing something I like doing for free and it ain't making signs for some skumbag.​

Exactly, the point I was trying to make, people dont get it.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Exactly, the point I was trying to make, people dont get it.

But we wouldn't be the bank? The bank would be the bank, we would just facilitate an Express option.

 

[Jeremiah]

In my opinion ..... if a company selling an item has loan contracts and lease contracts on things in their shop, it must seem ok to them to offer credit to their customers in order to purchase their products. In our case , our entire shop and supplies were never purchased on any credit . We always used our profit to upgrade and replace. A credit card may be used but paid in full within 30 days. Learned a long time ago, if you cant pay for your business product .... you dont get it. I'm just explaining another view of how things can be done .

 

[Bradley Signs]

If no one "gets it" except you, then go for it.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

In my opinion ..... if a company selling an item has loan contracts and lease contracts on things in their shop, it must seem ok to them to offer credit to their customers in order to purchase their products. In our case , our entire shop and supplies were never purchased on any credit . We always used our profit to upgrade and replace. A credit card may be used but paid in full within 30 days. Learned a long time ago, if you cant pay for your business product .... you dont get it. I'm just explaining another view of how things can be done .

We own everything too, we have $0 leases but have all the cash in the bank and investments earning interest. The reality is that there is a lot of businesses that start and operate on credit and they are very successful. We have started offering this program to our clients, but so far none have taken it.

 

[Robert Mowad]

I grew too. from a small car wrapper; to an installing manufacturer.... "Yo whoa. A Sign Man rap? ..nooo?" " at least the start of one...maybe? Any suggestions?" lol.
We've earned and owned, worked and grown, stressed and loaned, risked and hoped. We have started with channel letters with faithful local customers. small payment loans to repeat customers. The main preferred payment option is always. 50%/50%. We have extended up to 60 days net per project s mostly installs. We are growing again. in the future. I hope I can write this as a positive experience. As soon as I go through it.
So here is our future goal.
We are currently looking for exclusive lenders specifically, bankers, and brokers interested in financing our clients. Strictly for Sign Design Digital signs. that range from 25 to 50 grand and up depending on size etc. Mostly churches schools and established restaurant chains and franchises. Which we will manufacture and install nationally. If anyone happens to know anyone interested please have them contact us or if you could forward this message. Signs@isigndesign.com www.isigndesign.com
Thank you if you are a licensed insured installer who can pull permits we pay installations 50/50 and sell our digital signs direct as well.
The reason we are looking for an exclusive lender or at least a few. This is to streamline the amount of requests we get. Looking for a direct assist for an
easier transition for our clients our lender and our company. Thank you.

 

[TopFliteGraphics]

I was wondering about this sort of thing too. I know Synchrony bank offers various types of financing options for a wide variety of businesses such as automotive repair shops but did not see sign shops listed in their options when I looked into it and nobody from there ever contacted me back. Also, a new wrap shop just opened up down the street from me and their van has "financing available" on it. I might have to stop in and see if they are willing to share some information - granted, I doubt it since they laid out a TON of money to open up judging by the building and what I see parked outside.

 

[ADASignLady]

I know others have said something similar, but if you are in California (and maybe elsewhere as well) and you do public school projects and install them, you will not get paid until they see the signs on the wall, and the school board has approved the payment. With luck, and a lot of experience in how to write up your reports each week and month to send into the state, you might get some payments for work such as writing the sign schedule or preparing shop drawings, but generally, there is no provision for regular payments, and certainly no provision for deposits. Once you send in the first invoice -- let's say for designing, fabricating, and installing a project sign so the community knows what is coming -- every single week you have to send a report, even if no work was done on site. On top of that, a specific union may have an agreement with a specific school district that they get to claim the signs, even though of course there is no union that covers sign installation of non-electrical interior signs -- which is most of what you will be doing. I could say a lot more, but it is not a good system. I tried, with a group of other companies, to get the system changed, but the painters union in SoCal and the carpenters union in NoCal teamed up and told the Laborer's union, which had agreed to write job descriptions that would have been more friendly to architectural sign companies, that they would fight it and they decided to back off, since they did not feel there was enough benefit to their union to warrant having to get an attorney to fight other unions. I am a union supporter. My father belonged to a union for 75 years, and when I was a teacher, I was a union member. I have no problem with supporting unions, but I want my workers to get their share of the health insurance and the pension. Currently, we pay, but our workers do not see a penny of that. It is not entirely the fault of the unions. It is that the non-electrical signs are not considered "real" parts of the construction, but with ADA requirements, they are included in the contracts. If owners had been willing, in the first place, to follow the ADA rules without being forced to do it, we would not be here, but we are, and it is a mess, and if you want those big school jobs when a college or high school is built, you better be prepared to live with it.

 

[John Miller]

The one time we got involved, we went through the whole quoting process and as was mentioned above, the financing company refused the credit. Big PIA, the only plus is offering financing makes you appear big time. Not really worth it.