Knowledge base · Factoring · 5 min leestijd · 2 Sep 2026
Non-bank finance: four misconceptions lined up
There is a lot of noise around finance from outside the bank. That it costs more. That it only exists for businesses with nowhere else to go. Four persistent impressions, and what is factually true about them.
Misconception 1: only the big banks finance SMEs
Rabobank, ING and ABN AMRO are the largest providers of business credit in the Netherlands. They are not the only ones.
For working capital specifically there are specialist financiers. They look at your receivables, your stock and your order book.
A bank mainly assesses your balance sheet and your track record. That difference often decides who says yes.
Misconception 2: it is only for those who cannot get bank credit
No. Plenty of businesses with a healthy bank relationship deliberately choose working capital finance alongside it.
The reason is usually growth. A bank overdraft facility is fixed, while your receivables position grows with your turnover.
With factoring the finance moves with what you invoice. That works well for businesses growing fast or buying in strongly seasonal patterns.
The trade-off between the two is worked out in factoring or bank credit.
Misconception 3: it costs more
This is comparing apples with pears. At a bank you pay interest plus commission, and you are obliged to repay.
With factoring you pay a fee on the amount funded. That fee also covers the receivables management and the cover for credit risk.
Count those two items in, and the comparison works out differently from what an interest percentage suggests.
What it costs depends on your turnover, the spread of your debtors and your payment terms. The build-up is set out under rates and costs.
Misconception 4: you start with a couple of invoices
No. At SOOF Finance the full receivables book transfers.
Selling individual invoices, undisclosed factoring and reverse factoring are not things SOOF does. That is a deliberate choice: one way of working, fully transparent towards your debtors.
And if your bank already holds security
Then the real conversation starts. If your receivables book is pledged to the bank, an application often stalls there.
SOOF Finance takes over that pledge and coordinates the process with your bank. How that works is set out in what is a pledge.
About the author
Jaap van Aalst
Commercieel directeur, SOOF Finance
Jaap van Aalst started his first business almost thirty years ago, in staffing and secondment. That is where he saw for himself how many opportunities are lost when money sits too long in unpaid invoices.
Around eighteen years ago he moved into the factoring world, as commercial director. Since then he has sat across the table from countless business owners and seen at first hand what financing questions look like in practice. He looks further than the balance sheet: what the business does, where the opportunities are, and which form of finance genuinely moves it forward.
That is also the basis of his work at SOOF Finance. His starting point is simple: finance is not an end in itself, but a means by which a good entrepreneur delivers on their plans.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. With traditional factoring you transfer your invoices to the financier, who pays out and collects. At SOOF Finance that always covers the full book.
Yes. The pledge is then redivided between your bank and the financier. SOOF Finance coordinates that process. How pledging works is set out in what is a pledge.
No. SOOF Finance works with SMEs.
Further reading: the biggest pitfalls in factoring
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