What documents do you need for factoring? A checklist.
To open the account, a factoring company asks for a short application, your company documents, an aging report of your receivables, sample invoices with their backup and a list of your customers. Then, for each invoice, proof that the work was done or the goods delivered. Here's the full list, what changes by industry and what usually slows down the first funding.
Daniel Chirino · Business Development Officer, 1st Commercial Credit
Updated: October 28, 2026
To open the account
Your company
- The application (at 1st Commercial Credit, 2 pages online) and the signed proposal.
- Your company formation documents: articles of incorporation, LLC documents or a DBA filing.
- Your accounts receivable aging report and your recent sales history.
- The last 3 months of bank statements.
- A photo ID of the owner and a voided business check for the deposits.
- A W-9.
- In the end, the signed factoring agreement.
Your customers and invoices
- Sample invoices with their backup documentation.
- Your master service or distribution agreements with your customers.
- A customer list with names, addresses and phone numbers, and the credit amount you want for each one.
The customer list matters most: the review is mainly about their credit. Approving your customers upfront saves time every time you send an invoice.
What changes by industry
Each invoice needs proof that it's real and the work is done. That proof looks different in each industry.
Staffing
Approved timesheets or other backup for each invoice, your signed master service agreement and rate sheets, your customers' signed acknowledgment of the notice of assignment, and receivables free of liens or a subordination agreement. The company has to be registered (an LLC works, a sole proprietor doesn't), with invoices and contracts in its legal name.
Trucking
The paperwork for each completed load, including the bill of lading. 1st Commercial Credit has an app for drivers to upload it and creates the invoice for you.
Distribution
Proof of delivery, such as signed delivery receipts or bills of lading, plus credit information on your customers. For produce (PACA): at least 1 year in business, $50,000 a month in sales, payables lower than receivables and a profit and loss statement that shows retained earnings.
Telecom and fiber
Proof of completed work: work orders, timesheets, purchase orders or completion certificates, whatever your customer uses to approve the job.
Security guard companies
Original invoices with proof of performance, like timesheets, for shifts already worked. For each new customer, just its name and address for the credit approval.
Oilfield
Invoices with clear payment terms and full backup, free of liens.
Government contractors
On federal contracts, the assignment of the payment follows the Assignment of Claims Act, and the factoring company handles the procedure with you.
What slows down the first funding
- A lien on your receivables. If a bank has one, it has to subordinate it or be paid off; some banks agree and others don't. With a term loan, second position avoids that step.
- Back taxes. They're handled case by case, with a subordination from the tax authority or a payoff from the first funding.
- Invoices without backup, or work your customer hasn't accepted yet.
- Missing customer information: names, addresses and phone numbers.
The first funding takes longer than the rest. At 1st Commercial Credit, its FAQ says it can take 3 to 10 business days after the signed agreement. One tip from the same FAQ: send the invoices you want funded together with the signed contract.
After that, invoices are funded within 24 hours of verification.
What you usually don't need
- Financial statements: most 1st Commercial Credit programs don't ask for them, some up to $350,000.
- Tax returns, in programs like telecom.
- Perfect credit: low credit scores are accepted, because what weighs most is your customers' credit.
One rule from day one: if a customer pays you directly by mistake, send that check to the factoring company. Never deposit checks for factored invoices into your own account.
Sources: 1st Commercial Credit's invoice factoring page and FAQ, and its pages for staffing, trucking, distributors, produce (PACA), telecom, security guard companies, oilfield and government receivables, all read October 28, 2026.
Who are your customers?
Tell me your industry and who you invoice. I'll send you the exact list for your case, nothing extra.
Also read: questions to ask a factoring company · how invoice factoring works · all guides