The invoice is sent, the work is done, and the money is ninety days away.

• A supplier raises an invoice on a buyer, due in, say, sixty days
• A financier pays most of it now, and gets the full amount from the buyer when it is due
• The financier's charge is the difference, often called the discount
• Whether the supplier remains responsible if the buyer does not pay: with recourse or without
• Why a strong buyer is what makes the invoice valuable to the financier

• Discounting: borrowing against invoices, typically with the supplier still collecting
• Factoring: the financier buys the invoices and may handle the collection
• Recourse and non-recourse, and what each means if the buyer defaults
• Banks and non-bank financiers that offer these, in outline
• What the supplier's customers see and are told

Nothing here recommends any lender. The session explains how to ask the right questions of whichever one you meet.

• A digital platform authorised by RBI for financing the trade receivables of MSMEs
• Sellers must be MSMEs as defined in the MSMED Act
• Buyers can be companies, government departments and public-sector units
• Financiers are banks, non-bank factors and other entities permitted by RBI
• RBI's rules on TReDS were consolidated in a Master Direction issued in June 2026

The list of authorised platforms is on the RBI website. The session does not rank or recommend any of them.

The session walks through a made-up invoice for ₹10 lakh to a buyer who pays in sixty days, step by step. The figures are an illustration, not a market quote.

• An invoice, or a set of invoices, is entered as a factoring unit
• The buyer accepts it on the platform
• Financiers bid; the best bid is chosen, which sets the discount
• The seller is paid, and the buyer pays the financier on the due date
• Under RBI's directions, a discounted unit is without recourse to the seller, and once accepted the buyer must pay on the due date, with no set-off for quality disputes

Whether your buyer is on a platform has to be checked. Some large companies are required to register; the current rule is on the MSME ministry's website.

Made-up arithmetic: an invoice of ₹1,00,000 due in 60 days is sold for ₹98,000, a discount of ₹2,000. As an annual figure that is about 12 per cent. These numbers are for practice, not a quote of what anyone would be charged.

• Discount received as a share of the amount paid, times 365 divided by the days saved
• Platform, registration or other fees that may apply: ask for the full list
• Taxes on the charges, and your CA's view on the treatment
• Comparing with an overdraft, an early-payment discount offered to the buyer, or chasing the buyer
• What matters is the total, not the headline

• MSME registration in order, and records that support it
• Proper GST invoices, matching purchase orders, delivery proof and acceptance
• A resolved dispute history with the buyer
• Whether the buyer is likely to accept promptly
• A cushion, so that financing is a choice and not a condition of survival

Which documents a platform or financier needs varies. Ask them for the current list.

• Written payment terms before the order, within the legal limit
• Advance or milestone payments on large orders
• Invoicing the day the work is accepted
• Reminders before the due date, and a named person at the buyer
• Pricing that reflects the cost of waiting, which the earlier sessions help with