The International Factoring Association (IFA) released the 2019 IFA Business Profile and Performance Survey Report.

Now in its 12th year, the annual survey provides a snapshot of factors’ operations, client details, business development practices, human resources policies, and other key items. The survey is the largest in the world for the factoring industry and provides valuable information and metrics on how factors operate their business. New to the survey this year, recipients will have access to an interactive, searchable application where they can generate customized and exportable results using selected criteria.

The IFA Business Profile and Performance Survey Report was compiled, tabulated and analyzed by Industry Insights, a professional research and consulting firm, which also hosts the cloud-based application. The survey was sent to member firms in the U.S. and Canada and was conducted between January and March of this year.

“Factors rely on the information provided in our annual survey to benchmark their performance,” said Bert Goldberg, executive director of the IFA. “No other industry survey provides the same level of granular data on business development, operations and financial metrics. Additionally, factors benefit from the ability to download meaningful, comparable metrics for their organizations with the new online application.”

A sample of metrics available in the survey:

  • 38.8% of gross invoices funded were from the transportation industry, followed by the staffing and construction sectors.
  • 72.6% reported year-over-year growth based on net funds employed.
  • The median client life relationship was 36 months, up from 26 months in 2017.
  • The median number of days receivables were outstanding was 40 days.
  • Same company respondents reported average total write-offs as a percentage of NFE decreasing from 2.6% in 2017 to .7% in 2019.

A copy of the survey, along with access to the online application, can be purchased on the IFA website.