FOR ISOs ONLY: HOW TO Make Money Financing ERC Refund Claims in 5 MINUTES OR LESS!

You just received a call from one of your favorite merchants saying they had “good news” and “bad news.” When you asked what the “good news” was, they said they had just filed for their ERC refund claim and were getting back $550,000. When you asked what the “bad news” was, they said they wouldn’t be getting the check from the IRS for 6 to 12 months, and needed $120,000 to cover their payroll in 5 days. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

If all you simply said was “no problem- send me a few banks and we’ll take a look at getting you a position,” that would be WRONG! Why? Because you’d be LEAVING $$MONEY ON THE TABLE! Here’s why:

After you have helped Mr. Merchant solve his payroll problem by getting him a position, he’ll keep asking around until he finds “someone else” who can help solve his “other” problem which is HOW TO “monetize” his ERC refund claim and convert it to CASH!

Let’s take a quick look and see how much money you’d be “leaving on the table”- at minimum!

But before we do, let’s look at what you SHOULD HAVE said to Mr. Merchant. Something along the lines of, “thanks for reaching out because we ACTUALLY have a “two-part SOLUTION” for you. The first thing we’re going to do is look at a position to help cover your payroll.

Then, we’re going to bring in our ERC Funding Specialist to identify options for converting your ERC refund claim to CASH, instead of you having to wait 6 to 12 months for the check from the IRS. We only charge a nominal 2% PS fee which we don’t collect until AFTER you’ve been funded. Fair enough?

Plus, we’re ALSO going to arrange an early pay discount on your position in case you elect to use some of the proceeds from the ERC to pay it off early. The savings alone will help reduce your financing costs.
Now let’s take a look and see how much money you’re leaving on the table. First of all, assuming you make 10 points on the position, on $120,000 you’d make $12,000.

Now let’s look at ERC financing. Your PS Fee of 2% on $550,000 would equal $11,000, almost as much as you’d make on the position, and BEFORE adding any referral commission on the ERC side!

In other words, if you simply took “LESS THAN 5 MINUTES” to tell Mr. Merchant you have a 2-Part Solution versus one, you could potentially DOUBLE your money on the deal, right? RIGHT!

But here’s the question: how do you know what ERC funder is the “best fit” for Mr. Merchant? And what questions do you need to ask to make that determination? (Topic of one of my future articles)

The bottom line is, just like with MCAs where one size “doesn’t fit all” – which is why you typically work with more than one funder – ERC funding works the same. Why not apply the same rule?

But here’s the real dilemma: you have a stack of deals on your desk right now and simply don’t have time to identify ERC funders, and even if you did, you don’t have time to become an “instant expert” and know what questions to ask! So now, WHAT DO YOU DO?

One option is to work with a “trusted” ERC Funding Specialist. These are professionals who not only have the ERC funding relationships but know how to pre-qualify Mr. Merchant to determine which ERC funder is the best fit. In addition, they work with all parties “in the weeds” through underwriting, due diligence, final approval, and funding. In a nutshell, while obviously, they can’t guarantee ERC funding no more than you can guarantee MCA approval, the odds of getting the deal across the finish line are typically greater, particularly when there are issues with approval.

And all YOU have to do is two things; (1) TAKE 5 MINUTES OR LESS to tell Mr. Merchant about your two-part solution and can GET PAID when they get funded and (2) ask EVERY OTHER lead, prospect, and client the SAME QUESTION- “By the way, have you already applied for your ERC refund?” and if so, ask “would you like to get your refund now versus 6 to 12 months later?”

And if they haven’t applied yet or have questions about the ERC, tell them you can arrange a 15-minute call to determine their eligibility.

BOTTOM LINE- If you don’t “ask for the order you’ll never get it,” and it only takes “5 MINUTES OR LESS to do so.”

Gerald C Watson is a Financial Intermediary specializing in arranging Contract and Working Capital Financing for growing firms throughout the country, for over the past 20 years.

Gerald has spoken on numerous panels and conducted seminars on Contract Financing within the public and private sector, written numerous articles and published a workbook on Contract Financing, and provided testimony on the subject of Contract Financing before the United States Commission on Minority Business in Washington, DC.

He has served on numerous Board of Directors, including the Commercial Finance Association (CFA), the St John's River Community College, and has also been a recipient of the SBA Business Advocate of the Year Award, and is a member of the International Factoring Association (IFA).

Gerald holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and a Master of Science in Business from the Management Education Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated third in his class with Honors. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email him here