How Flex Pay helped Corey Lafferty of Precision Art Design through a difficult year

Generally, small business owners feel the economic turmoil more than anyone else. This is a lesson Corey Lafferty learned last year-like every entrepreneur, he has become accustomed to the ebb and flow of client work, but what COVID-19 has brought is unprecedented.

Uniquely, Corey’s Precision Art Design company handles the creative and construction phases of the building process. Corey designs new buildings for his clients to live and work, and then work with his team of skilled contractors to make them a reality. But in 2020, his company suddenly needs to withstand the test that important, income-maintaining projects that are far beyond the ups and downs of normal business have almost ceased.

“Most of my construction work last year was done in apartments,” he explained. “They are all closed, which puts me in a situation of low cash flow. Last year, even getting paid from customers was very difficult.”

Ups and downs of weathered income

Although 2020 is an extreme example, this uncertainty is the life reality of many business owners. Businesses rely on their customers to consistently pay invoices on time to run their business smoothly. When this income is inconsistent with fixed expenses such as payroll, things start to get very stressful—especially the need to pay bills on time.

Usually, business owners do not have many payment methods for these important recurring costs. They are either paid from the bank account of the business owner or deposited into a credit card. This means that if companies have any concerns about cash flow, they may worry about overdraft or reaching the limit.

Fundbox Flex Pay is a new tool designed to provide small businesses with additional payment flexibility at no additional cost.

Here is how Flex Pay helps Corey’s business navigate the economic uncertainty of 2020 and give them peace of mind.

How does flexible payment work

Companies with a qualifying Fundbox line of credit (LoC) can use a flexible account, from which they can pay important business expenses, such as wages or supplier fees.

For example, when a company uses its flexible account to pay a supplier, Fundbox will send the funds directly to the recipient. Then, the company has three additional working days to repay the funds. During the three-day grace period, companies can choose to pay directly from their bank account for free, and soon, they can pay by credit card for a small fee.

However, if a company chooses not to repay its Flex account within three days, their credit line will be automatically created at the standard fee. If there is not enough available credit to cover the full cost, Fundbox will deduct the difference from their main commercial bank account. The benefits to business owners are many-flexibility, more payment methods, and peace of mind knowing that they are covered.

Flex Pay aims to provide business owners like Corey with more choices and additional flexibility, which they can use to survive the ebb and flow of entrepreneurship-whether it is unexpected economic changes such as a pandemic, or take advantage of their Growth opportunities.

Now, a lot of people are paying slowly, especially in my field,” Corey said. “When this happens, it becomes a problem, because not paying employees on time is not an option. “

How to use flexible payment

Last year, when his apartment project stalled, Corey found himself in a challenging situation, but he couldn’t afford to lose his work team.

“They all have to work from home, and it was very difficult even for customers to pay invoices last year,” he said. “Flex Pay definitely gives me peace of mind. I know I don’t have to worry about completing the payroll pivot today.”

Like many other business owners, Corey uses Flex Pay to pay wages, which is one of his most important costs. But Flex Pay can do much more than that-it is a powerful financial resource that companies can use every day. This may be used for inventory, insurance, leases, credit card balances, or supplier invoices.

How Flex Pay can help your business

The payment options provided by Flex Pay can provide the required agility to alleviate many of the pressures, inconveniences and unnecessary troubles often faced by small businesses. Fees will be paid on time, you have an extra three working days to repay the Fundbox, and you can use repayment methods, such as using a credit card (coming soon). Flex Pay allows businesses to sit back and relax and provide a worry-free, free, and simplified payment process.

When the disconnect between his business income and the salary cycle becomes the main source of stress in 2020, this will undoubtedly help Corey. “Flex Pay is the key,” he shared. “I would definitely say that this is what was needed in the past year.”

Agile and flexible options

In order to thrive in today’s competitive business environment, small business owners need multiple options. It’s about building a library of payment tools, such as Flex Pay, to run their company as easily, quickly, and stress-free as possible.

If you already have an eligible Fundbox credit line, you can access your flexible account when you log in to Fundbox on your desktop or mobile network (not yet available in the app). Just look for the Flex Pay tab on the dashboard and try it out.

Interested in Fundbox credit lines and Flex Pay solutions? Register here.