Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

In 2025, the factoring and receivables industry continues to grow steadily, with strong potential for further expansion in the years to come, proving resilient to the economic and geopolitical turbulence of the past few years. As more companies and entrepreneurs realise the potential of factoring, they are looking for easy, fast financing solutions to grow their business.

A recent survey found that nearly a third of factoring companies were in the process of replacing their invoice financing software, with most of them looking to improve customer experience (46%), increase efficiency (36%), and strengthen security (32%). With contracts that typically last five to 10 years, choosing the right software to implement factoring and receivables digitisation is one of the most important long-term decisions banks and factoring companies can make. 

To keep up with growing demand, lenders need to implement efficient, accessible, and affordable IT solutions, but making sense of the different types of infrastructure, offers, and pricing models is rarely straightforward. In a recently published guide, leading software provider Comarch outlined the main considerations for companies looking to change or implement software solutions into their factoring and receivables offering. 

Choosing the right infrastructure

The infrastructure of an IT factoring system is the basic foundation of hardware and software that enables networks, systems, and services to function. Infrastructure can be physical or cloud-based, although the latter is increasingly becoming the solution of choice for its security and scalability. 

Cloud-based infrastructure lets companies scale up easily without investing in costly and hard-to-manage physical infrastructure, like servers or data centres. The lack of physical components also makes it easier to integrate with a range of banking systems and analytical tools and process large volumes of transactions efficiently. 

While the cloud provides a high level of security, extra care must be taken when storing and processing customers’ personal data. Some jurisdictions, like the EU, have data protection regulations that can influence the choice of specific cloud services and configurations. 

Implementing data migration

One of the biggest challenges for companies changing software providers or upgrading their systems is data migration, the transfer of data, applications, and services from one platform to another. This is a complex and multi-stage process that typically involves moving customers to a new operating system, transferring data to the cloud, or changing IT service providers. 

While it may look daunting, system data migration can happen smoothly if all those involved know its scope, the precise division of responsibilities, and detailed information about both the old systems and the target space. Migration can be incremental and spread out over several weeks or months; or happen all at once, in a so-called ‘big bang’ migration. Hybrid migration, often used when moving from physical infrastructure to the cloud, involves elements of both. 

Customer migration is one of the trickiest parts of data migration, especially in the factoring and receivables sector. The massive amount of current and historical data to transfer, as well as managing user experience through it, makes it crucial to have a detailed migration plan. Customers should be supported during the migration through consistent communication about the new system and information about deadlines and possible interruptions in access. 

Customers’ data, including information on active contracts, counterparties, and purchased invoices, should be carefully managed and transferred to the new system; companies may also wish to migrate some historical data. Decisions on what to migrate, and when, should have user experience at its centre: users, both factor employees and customers, can be the ultimate ambassadors of a migration – or its most important critics if it is too abrupt or badly managed. 

Project accounting: keeping costs in check

One of the first considerations for companies changing software providers will be cost, which makes understanding the different approaches to pricing crucial. The three main project pricing models are:

• the “on-premise” model, essentially a one-off licence fee; 
• the “time and material” model; 
• and the subscription model, often chosen by smaller businesses.

The “on-premise” model is what most people would associate with a large investment and involves a company paying the software provider a large, one-off licence fee to have the right to permanently use the software. This is often chosen by large companies that need full control over their IT environment and a high level of data security, for example, due to strict regulations. 

This model involves high upfront costs as well as consistent running costs: companies who choose this approach will often invest in their own physical infrastructure and will need to hire staff to maintain and manage the new IT environment. 

Instead, the “time and material” model involves companies paying software providers for the number of hours spent on delivering the software solution, regardless of the result (hence the name). This usually involves a lower upfront cost than the “on-premise” model, but can often be more expensive overall, as it is hard to predict how much working time will be needed to complete a project.

Another popular pricing model is the subscription-based model, where vendors offer companies access to their software services in exchange for a monthly or annual subscription fee. This allows for a stable outflow of revenue, often preferred by factoring companies, and is less expensive overall; however, functionalities and customisability can be limited. This model is commonly used in cloud computing, software as a service, and data management services. 

Maintenance and future resilience

Once a system has been chosen and implemented, companies should ensure it is maintained regularly and updated to the organisation’s changing needs. IT support services can ensure that security and backup measures are implemented and systems are running as they should. 

These IT maintenance offerings also provide troubleshooting and user support, which are especially crucial in the early stages of a new software. Having comprehensive IT support from an experienced software company can make or break a factoring system; choosing the right supplier is crucial to ensuring an organisation’s competitiveness and resilience to a rapidly changing business environment.

—

As the world of receivables and factoring remains in constant movement, so should companies and their IT systems. This means having software solutions that are both resilient and easily adaptable to change. “If factoring providers fail to respond to the dynamically changing needs of entrepreneurs, their ‘locked-in’ IT systems can quickly become outdated and unattractive, potentially rendering them useless shortly after implementation,” warned Karol Leszczyński, Product Development Manager at Comarch Factoring. 

However, too much information can also overwhelm companies and make decisions impossible. Even the smallest changes to functionalities must be carefully considered and planned to ensure they are really necessary and will streamline the existing offering. To walk the tightrope between innovation and efficiency, factoring companies must partner with experienced software providers who can advise and manage these transitions.