Invoice Finance NZ: Busting Myths, How It Works and Benefits for Kiwi Businesses
Running a business in Aotearoa means juggling a lot - especially when you're waiting on payments from customers. We debunk the myths, share how Invoice Finance works and how businesses use it to unlock cashflow.
If you’ve ever had to chase a payment, you’ll know the sinking feeling. Wages, supplier bills, and new jobs pile up while you wait for that invoice to clear. For many small business owners in Aotearoa, getting paid on time is still one of the biggest hurdles. Payment terms of 30, 60, or even 90 days aren’t unusual, but unfortunately, the bills don’t wait.
That’s where invoice finance comes in. In plain English:
You use the money from an invoice before your customer has actually paid it. You’ve done the work, you’ve sent the invoice, invoice finance lets you access that cash now instead of weeks (or months) later.
Instead of being stuck in a cashflow gap, you can pay staff, buy stock, or take on the next project without borrowing against your house or waiting for lengthy approvals.
How Invoice Financing Works
While every provider is a little different, the process to access invoice finance is usually simple:
You send your customer an invoice for completed work
You apply to an invoice finance provider, submitting that invoice
The provider advances you a percentage of the invoice value, often 70–90%
Your customer pays the invoice on their usual terms, and the payment goes towards paying off the loan.
Some providers require all invoices to be funded, while others offer a flexible, on demand approach funding individual invoices allowing businesses to pick and choose. With using platforms like Bizzy it gets even easier - with only one application, you can browse different indicative offers from a range of invoice finance providers.
Why Invoice Finance is Powerful
Invoice finance can be a lifeline for cashflow, and not just for struggling businesses. In fact, many business owners use it to take opportunities they might otherwise miss: we found expansion and growth are one of our most common funding requests on Bizzy.
Here’s what some of our lending partners had to say about the power of invoice finance and how it helps businesses:
“Businesses don’t fail because they run out of revenue, they fail because they run out of cash. Invoice finance turns debtors into cash for a company to use.”
– Ignite Finance
A Kiwi beverage producer, for example, landed a major retail contract with 60-day payment terms. Great news, but production costs hit long before the first payment would arrive. By unlocking cash from those invoices instantly, they kept production moving without locking themselves into long-term lending.
“The true benefit of invoice finance is this: It puts business owners back in control. Not just of their cash flow, but of how they run and grow their business.”
– FundTap
A transport company faced a similar squeeze, struggling to pay road user charges and tax while waiting on customers. Using invoice finance, they accessed twice their monthly revenue in cash within 48 hours, cleared the bills, and focused on growth.
“It also scales up and grows as you grow, allowing you to always have the cash available to meet your commitments.”
– Lock Finance
Bizzy Buster: Debunking Myths about Invoice Finance
To untangle some of the common misconceptions about invoice finance, we sat down with a few of our lending partners. We’ve noticed many business owners have ideas about invoice finance that simply aren't true anymore - based on how finance worked in the past, but don’t neccesarily reflect what’s possible today.
Here’s what we found:
Myth #1 — Only failing businesses use invoice finance.
Cashflow timing issues don’t mean you’ve failed, they’re often the result of growth, landing bigger contracts, or simply working in industries where payment terms are long.
“This is a common Kiwi belief, but overseas it's as normal as having a bank overdraft.”
– Ignite Finance
Myth 2: “Customers will think that my business is in trouble.”
Invoice finance is increasingly seen as just another smart working capital tool, particularly in industries with long payment terms. Depending on the provider, customers aren’t always notified, so it's worth checking with the lender how their process usually works. FundTap sums it up:
“Finance should be a tool to power growth, not a label of desperation. Transparent, easy, fast, and empowering. Something you’re proud to use because it’s giving you an edge, not a headache.”
– FundTap
Myth 3: “It’s slow, rigid and paper-work-heavy”
In the past, finance products were typically designed for the lender, not the business owner. That meant long approval times, financial jargon, endless forms. Today, things look very different. Many providers can set you up in days rather than weeks, integrate with the tools you already use, and let you access funds only when you need them.
“Invoice finance releases money that is already owed to you. It speeds up your access to cash so you can get it immediately for an invoice you issued that morning. It also scales up and grows as you grow, allowing you to always have the cash available to meet your commitments.”
– Lock Finance
Why Bizzy Cares
At Bizzy, we’re not here to push one product or lender. Our job is to help business owners understand what’s available, compare options side by side more transparently, and choose tools that actually work for them. Invoice finance is one of the tools in the finance toolbet and it’s worth understanding, especially when myths can hold you back.
And if we can make that understanding easier, clearer, and maybe even a bit more fun, that’s us doing our job.
Want to explore funding options for your business?
Bizzy is free to use for businesses, with one application you can browse multiple offers all in one place.
