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Get my 3 quotes →For a whole sales ledger facility, Ultimate Finance says a facility is set up within one week. Bibby, Close Brothers, Skipton, Time Finance, IGF and the high street banks we list publish no setup time, so they are not in the table. Three lenders in the table show shorter times, but each is a different case. Hydr (same day to 1 working day) funds single invoices, not your whole ledger. Novuna's figure (1 to 3 working days to funds) is the time to first funds, as its own page puts it. Sonovate (2 working days) works only with recruitment agencies. The table shows all 6 direct lenders in our records that give a setup time.
What this page covers
This page covers
direct invoice finance lenders listed by setup time, how to get set up faster, what documents to prepare, and what causes delays
Not covered here
Cost comparison (see /best/cheapest-invoice-finance/), individual provider reviews, sector-specific guides
Lenders by Setup Time
| # | Lender | Type | Setup time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hydr | Single invoices only | Same day to 1 working day | Lender's page |
| 2 | Novuna Business Finance | Independent | 1 to 3 working days to funds | Lender's page |
| 3 | Sonovate | Recruitment only | 2 working days | Our estimate |
| 4 | Ultimate Finance | Independent | Within one week | Lender's page |
| 5 | SME Invoice Finance | Independent | 5 to 10 working days | Our estimate |
| 6 | White Oak (UK) | Independent | 5 to 10 working days | Our estimate |
Some lenders time the whole setup, others time how long until the first funds. We show each one as the record has it.
How to Get Set Up Faster
Have these ready before you apply:
- 1. Aged debtor report: current, showing all outstanding invoices by customer and age
- 2. Recent bank statements: digital PDFs, not screenshots
- 3. Sample invoices: a few recent invoices to show the format and terms
- 4. Customer list: names, addresses, estimated annual billing per customer
- 5. Latest accounts: filed or management accounts (startups: a cash flow forecast)
If anything is missing, the provider has to chase you for it, and setup takes longer.
Our guide to how invoice finance works also answers how long setup takes.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind Market Invoice. He spent over three years as managing director of Penny, a UK invoice finance business, and his career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending. He writes the Market Invoice library.
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