As the competition in the world of factoring becomes more intense, with the large companies dominating the attention, it is a relief to find a company specializing in small businesses. At Westgate Financial, their motto is, "No client is too small for us to service."

Founded in 1989 by Bruce Cohen, Westgate is a culmination of Cohen's apparel business acumen. After holding a position of President at a publicly owned uniform company, Cohen felt the need to expand his talents into helping the small business. Having recognized the absence of creative financial alternatives for aspiring entrepreneurs, Cohen created Westgate. Cohen's energy, along with Senior Vice President Jack McLaughlin's 20 years of banking/factoring experience, was then directed towards leading Westgate to become the second largest refactor in the greater New York area. Although originally founded for purchase order funding, the company shortly expanded into factoring. Today, Westgate provides lines of credit, purchase guarantees, as well as purchase order funding and factoring services for clients in the garment, accessories and jewelry industries.

Priding themselves on a staff that is extremely experienced in the garment industry, Westgate offers an understanding of all of their clients' needs. Unlike their competitors, Westgate considers all clients important, regardless of size. From the processing of prospective client's applications to the collections, Westgate takes a hands-on approach. Cohen explains, "We veri& the creditworthiness of our client's customers, handle collection efforts and accounting of receivables. There are no committees. All of their decisions are made by Westgate's partners; decisions can be made in one day."

Of the factoring services Westgate provides, there are two primary features: accounts receivable management with credit protection and cash advances on outstanding receivables. With non recourse factoring through accounts receivable management, the process begins when the prospective client receives the order. The information is then submitted to the credit department for approval. Upon endorsement, Westgate then ledgers the invoice and begins itst managerial responsibilities. The customer's invoice copy bears remittance advice, instrucinting payment directly to Westgate. When the invoice matures, thecustomer remits to Westgate and cash is posted against the invoice. If the payment is delayed, Westgate also serves as the collection agency. In addition, Westgate also periodically reports on the status of all receivables..

The other option for prospective clients is Westgate's advances. If a client needs cash flow for everyday expenses, Westgate can advance it. Typically, Westgate can advance up to 90% of the net amount of receivables. Interest is charged on the advances, until payment is received.

Although cash advances and accounts receivable management are offered through Westgate's factoring department, each service has separate rates. With accounts receivable management, a commission is charged. It is based on a percentage of sales, and is assessed for each independent invoice. The figures are contingent upon: factored sales volume, customer credit quality and average invoice size. For cash advances, interest is charged. The annualized rate range is based on a premium over the prime index, and depends on the financial condition of the client.

NO CLIENT IS TOO SMALL
FOR US TO SERVICE

For clients in need of purchase financing, Westgate provides help in facilitating the growth of their clients, by buying the piece goods and monitoring the manufacturing process. This enables the client with no credit or bad credit to accept large orders. Purchase order financing can take many different forms: proprietary production; domestic production utilizing contract manufacturing; 807 programs; letters of credit and any combination of the before mentioned. Again, the 4-step process is walked through with Westgate: verification of the purchase order, commitment of capital and/or resources to the completion of the production cycles, and advances against the factor invoices to satisfy the purchase order obligation. The cost varies with the complexity and risk of the project.

Having achieved a wide acclaim, Westgate prides itself on customer service. Receiving most of their new business through referrals from existing clients, Westgate has proven their specialized care is a success with their annual double digit factoring growth. For the future, the company plans to keep expanding to other areas in the United States, as well as branch out into other industries with financial needs.

Interested parties can call Bruce Cohen, President, or Jack McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, at
201-222-3200.  

For more information, log on to www.westgatefinancial.com or www.e-factors.com. These web sites also include "what if" scenarios in purchase order funding and factoring.

Karen Tom, Feature Writer