Porter Capital Review for 2024

Porter Capital has been providing working-capital and factoring solutions in the US for over thirty years. This Alabama-based company is a direct lender specializing in funding small and medium-sized businesses, offering tailored services to a wide array of industries such as transportation, manufacturing and staffing.

Our review will focus mainly on the flagship invoice factoring service, but will also explore and evaluate the other  features and funding options offered by Porter Capital.

Porter Capital Overview

Established in 1991, Porter Capital has since grown to become one of the prominent players in the alternative financing market. In March 2024, the company reached a new milestone by passing $10 billion in funding provided to its clients over the years.

Porter Capital’s business model focuses on two flagship funding programs, namely invoice factoring and AR financing, with the goal of providing small and medium-sized businesses with financial solutions tailored to their specific business needs, in as little time as possible.

Before we dive deeper into these flagship solutions, we want to note that the company also has a separate division called Porter Freight Funding dedicated to providing factoring services in the transportation industry, so if your business is based in that field you can also find something for you with Porter.

Porter Capital Solutions

With that out of the way, let’s take a deeper look at the flagship programs offered by Porter Capital.

Invoice Factoring

This is obviously the main solution around which the company was initially built on, and Porter Capital provides one of the better services we’ve come across in our years of reviewing invoice factoring companies.

It all starts with a quick and simple application process, and you can reach out to the company either through email, phone or through the website. 

You will be required to submit certain documentation, such as financial statements, customer details and accounts receivable aging report, after which Porter Capital will review you as a candidate and issue a proposal with the terms of the factoring agreement. 

If you accept the offer, Porter Capital will typically advance 70% to 90% of the invoice value within the period of one or two business days, while the remainder, minus the factoring fee, is paid out once the customer settles the invoice in full. 

The factoring fee we mentioned starts at 0.75%, but varies based on factors such as payment terms, the volume of invoices factored and creditworthiness of the customers.

Depending on the factoring agreement you signed, there may also be additional fees incurred, like wire transfer or service fees, but these are not stated on the website and can vary from one client to another.

As we noted, Porter Capital conducts credit checks on customers, which also helps you by reducing the risk of bad debt, and the immediate access to cash the company provides through its factoring service can help businesses manage operational costs, payroll and other expenses better.

All of this without incurring debts on the company’s balance sheets, and with a high amount of flexibility in terms of providing more liquidity and growing the factoring lines as your business expands. 

Porter Capital also offers both recourse and non-recourse invoice factoring, something not available with a good number of similar companies.

Accounts Receivable Financing

Porter Capital is also one of the leading accounts receivable (A/R) financing companies in the United States, providing this service to a number of industries, including staffing, manufacturing, distribution, technology and oil and gas industries.

A/R financing is considered less expensive than factoring, but is also more suited for larger B2B companies, as the minimum sales requirements are usually $75,000 per month.

Still, as is the case with the invoice factoring service here, Porter Capital seeks to provide you with funding as quick as in 24 hours, and the lines of credit secured by accounts receivable here can go as high as $25 million.

While the actual accounts receivable financing rates are personalized and will depend on your specific business situation, you can expect that you can borrow money with a base set at 70-90% of qualified receivables, and that a collateral management fee of 1% to 2% will be applied to the outstanding borrowed amount.

Typically, the invoices will have to be less than 90 days old in order to qualify, and your company will have to meet the creditworthiness criteria set by Porter Capital.

Additional Services Offered by Porter Capital

Aside from invoice factoring and AR financing, Porter Capital also has a number of other financing solutions that your business can use.

DIP Financing

Debtor in Possession (DIP) Financing is provided for companies undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with Porter enabling your operations to continue while you work towards financial recovery.

DIP financing is basically a lifeline for businesses in need of restructuring, providing working capital based on the value of your company’s assets like accounts receivable, inventory, equipment and real estate.

The rates here are competitive, with Porter Capital offering both high-limit loans and lines of credit in its DIP financing solution.

Working Capital Loans

Another option available to businesses of all sizes are working capital loans, used to provide the necessary funds to cover everyday operational expenses like payroll, inventory, rent and utilities.

Porter Capital’s offer here is once again designed to be flexible, transparent and simple to apply for, offering security during low profitability periods without requiring equity, with a range of options including startup loans, business lines of credit and short-term loans.

Asset Based Lending

This type of financing allows companies to use liquid or non-liquid assets, such as accounts receivable and inventory, as collateral to secure a flexible line of credit.

Ideal for manufacturers, distributors, and retail businesses, Porter Capital's asset-based lending process can provide you with increased capital, stabilized cash flow, and growth potential.

Bridge Loans

In partnership with One Banc One (OBO), Porter Capital offers OBO bridge loans as a short-term financing solution for businesses.

These loans are designed to provide quick financial assistance during the interim period before securing permanent financing, with a focus on time-sensitive transactions.

Backed by real estate assets, OBO bridge loans are perfect for situations like acquisitions, refinancing, bankruptcy resolutions, and more.

Loan amounts range from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, with terms from 90 days to 12 months, and loan to value ratios between 25% to 40%.

Purchase Order Financing

This financing option available from Porter Capital is mostly beneficial for small and emerging businesses that may not qualify for traditional loans, providing them with quick access to funds based on the creditworthiness of their suppliers and customers rather than their own.

Purchase order financing is a good alternative to business loans, offering advantages like quick fund access, no requirement for installment repayments, and the ability to maintain complete ownership of the company.

Porter Capital Customer Experience

The overall customer journey with Porter Capital is smooth and streamlined, as the company’s dedication to quick funding shines through most of what its platform has to offer.

The response times and the application processes are quick and simple to understand, and the website has a ton of educational resources and free tools such as financial calculators, free case studies, analytics tools and a business health check feature.

The customer service can be reached via email or phone, and we’d like to see Porter Capital add a live chat feature here as well, like some other factoring companies are already providing to their customers, but the general sentiment from users is that the quality of the customer support is already high, with most of the online reviews praising the professionalism of the staff.

Porter Capital currently holds a 3.7/5 rating on Trustpilot, and an A+ rating on BBB, even though its not yet an accredited firm on the website.

Bottom Line

All in all, Porter Capital has one of the most extensive offers we’ve seen when it comes to factoring and alternate lending based companies in the US.

With over 30 years of experience and a proven track record with high levels of customer satisfaction, we can recommend Porter Capital’s services to businesses of all sizes.