Your customers want 60-day terms. Your suppliers want 30. Selective Invoice Discounting closes the gap — without giving up control of your debtor book.
The working capital gap
South African businesses that sell on credit terms face a persistent cash flow challenge: the gap between when work is done and when payment arrives.
A contractor completes a project. The client has 60-day payment terms. The contractor's suppliers need paying in 30 days. The contractor's staff need paying monthly. The gap between income and outgoings creates a working capital deficit — even when the business is profitable.
This is the problem that Selective Invoice Discounting (SID) solves.
What is Selective Invoice Discounting?
Selective Invoice Discounting is a form of debtor finance that lets businesses convert approved credit sales into immediate working capital — without waiting for customers to pay.
Unlike traditional factoring, SID is selective: you choose which invoices to discount, and when. You're not committed to discounting your entire debtor book. You use the facility when you need it, for the invoices that matter most.
How it works
1. You raise an invoice to a creditworthy customer with standard credit terms (30, 60, or 90 days).
2. You submit the invoice to Finance Africa for discounting.
3. We advance a percentage of the invoice value — typically 70-85% — within 24-48 hours.
4. Your customer pays the invoice on their normal terms, directly to Finance Africa.
5. We release the balance (less our fee) once payment is received.
The selective advantage
Traditional invoice factoring requires you to factor your entire debtor book — you lose control of your customer relationships and your entire receivables portfolio.
Selective Invoice Discounting is different. You choose:
- ›Which invoices to discount
- ›When to use the facility
- ›Which customers to include
This means you can use SID for specific cash flow gaps — a large invoice that's creating a short-term deficit — without committing your entire business to a factoring arrangement.
Who benefits most
SID is particularly valuable for:
- ›Project-based businesses with large individual invoices and long payment cycles
- ›Contractors with 60-90 day payment terms from government or large corporates
- ›Businesses in growth mode that need working capital to fund new contracts
- ›Seasonal businesses that need to bridge the gap between busy and quiet periods
Getting started
Finance Africa offers Selective Invoice Discounting as part of our working capital finance suite. If you're a South African business with creditworthy customers and a working capital gap, start a conversation with us.
Ready to explore your options?
Finance Africa's advisory-led process means a real person reviews your application and structures a deal that fits. Our target approval is 5 business days.