altLINE Review: Invoice Factoring Services

Pros

• Financing is available to qualified startups
• No credit score requirements
• High factoring amounts
• Rates tend to be inexpensive
• Few extra fees
• Customer service is informative

Cons

• Not available to businesses in some industries
• A long-term contract is required
• Funds can take a while to disburse

What Is altLINE?

altLINE is an accounts receivable-based financing platform owned by The Southern Bank. It’s not uncommon for traditional banks to partner with alternative financing institutions, but altLINE is unusual because it’s an alternative financing service directly owned and operated by a bank.

Services Offered By altLINE

altLINE offers invoice factoring. Invoice factoring allows businesses to sell unpaid invoices to a factoring company for a fee. This allows the business to liquefy its invoices ahead of schedule.

altLINE also offers accounts receivable factoring, which operates under a similar logic but has more stringent qualifications.

altLINE Borrower Requirements

Here are the borrower qualifications for altLINE:

Like many factoring companies, altLINE’s borrower qualifications are pretty modest. Startups can qualify for altLINE factoring, provided they have contracts in hand. altLINE doesn’t have a minimum credit score, but it does check, so the worse your credit is, the higher you can expect your rates to be.

Additional qualifications:

• Must be a B2B business
• No more than one bankruptcy within the last 12 months; no multiple bankruptcies
• No prior felonies
• No invoices with payment terms longer than 90 days
• Not in the transportation/trucking, construction, or healthcare (excluding healthcare staffing) industries

altLINE Interest Rates & Fees

Here are the interest rates and fees for altLINE:

altLINE deals in invoice factoring and accounts receivable factoring. Both operate on similar principles: Your invoices will go through altLINE for the duration of your contract. altLINE will then advance you between 80%-90% of the receipt, giving itself a discount rate of between 0.5%-5%. The upper limit of that range represents the highest amount you’ll be charged by altLINE should the invoice go unpaid for more than 30 days. You’re looking at a discount range between 0.5%-3% for on-time fulfillment.

Other than late fees, altLINE doesn’t charge too many other additional fees. If you want your funds expedited, altLINE will trim an additional 1% off your invoice.

You notice above that altLINE has both contract lengths and monthly minimums, which requires further elaboration. altLINE does not require you to factor anything in any given month of your contract; however, the company won’t enter into a contract with a business that has less than $15,000/month in invoices or accounts receivable. The contract lasts for 12 months, but this effectively means that you agree to have altLINE be your exclusive factoring company for the length of the term. Additionally, altLINE will usually allow a customer to exit the contract within the first two months if there’s a good reason.

altLINE Application Process

altLINE’s application process is handled online and, according to the company, takes around 10 minutes to complete. Turnaround time can be as little as 24 hours, assuming you can provide all the required information and all background checks execute smoothly.

The documents you’ll need for your application include the following:

• The completed online financing application
• Your driver’s license
• Accounts receivable aging report
• Complete customer list
• Sample of common transaction documents
• Copies of contracts
• Corporate paperwork

Some customers may be asked to submit additional information.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

altLINE’s advertising strategy is frustrating because its website provides quite a bit of information about how invoice factoring and its service works in broad strokes but little in terms of specifics. However, this comes across as more of an oversight than any concerted effort to hide information, as altLINE’s fee structure is pretty straightforward.

altLINE wears its connection to The Southern Bank with pride, highlighting that a traditional lending institution with deep pockets backs the enterprise.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Most customer reviews speak highly of the company’s customer service. So as long as you’re not expecting immediate contact, things look pretty good in this regard.

altLINE Reviews, Complaints, & Testimonials

Negative Reviews & Complaints

The altLINE division of The Southern Bank is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and currently has an A+ ranking. There currently are no reviews or complaints on the site. altLINE is a fairly new service, so it’s not unusual that it has a very sparse customer review footprint. In the case of the Better Business Bureau, no news is often good news.

Some possible things to watch out for from altLINE include:

• Time To Funding: altLINE may not be the fastest game in the business if you need your funds quickly, and speeding up the process adds 1% to the costs.
• Contact Methods: One gets the impression that altLINE’s customer service department is on the small side. It isn’t easy to reach someone live at the moment.
• Qualifications May Rule Out Some Companies: Very small companies that do less than $15,000 a month in B2B won’t qualify. The same goes for businesses in construction, transportation, and healthcare.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

It’s a similar situation for positive reviews, as altLINE doesn’t toot its own horn too loudly with testimonials. But most of the available customer reviews are positive. altLINE currently rates 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot.

Customers liked:

• The Rates: Customers generally seem pleased with the pricing of altLINE’s factoring services.
• Customer Service: Numerous customers said they found altLINE’s customer service to be excellent, with solid communication and responsiveness.
• Reporting: One customer sang the praises of altLINE’s reporting system, which kept them updated on the state of their accounts.
• Easy Onboarding: Several customers found altLINE’s application process surprisingly easy and painless.

Is altLINE’s Invoice Factoring Right For Your Business?

The traditional banking system may be slow to adapt to new technologies and paradigms, but that doesn’t mean they’re asleep at the wheel. The Southern Bank seems to have pulled off the impressive feat of developing a branded, alternative lending-style service within the bounds of its own operations.

altLINE can factor high-value invoices, but the flexibility allows you to pick and choose what (if any) invoices you want to factor in any given month. The rates are good to reasonable, with minimal nickel and diming. The qualifications are forgiving, but very small businesses may not meet the monthly minimum qualifications.

Overall, altLINE is a handy service with minimal risk, and it’s just getting started.

Looking for more factoring companies? Check out our best factoring companies.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

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After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see altLINE for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

altLINE	Apply Now

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see altLINE for yourself.

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