Q&A: How this SMB telecommunications company used alternative funding to grow the business
Your time is valuable, so we’ll get straight to the point. Find out how an alternative funding solution gave telecommunications company Utilities One the working capital needed to expand the business and increase their cash flow. Utilities One Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Joseph DiMelis breaks it down in seven questions below.
First, what product or service does Utilities One offer?
Utilities One offers a full range of infrastructure solutions for telecommunications, technology and utility service providers. We provide professional services and civil/industrial construction services across many fast-growing industry segments – telecommunications (wireline/wireless), energy services (power and gas), technology services (software services) and other emerging technologies (sustainable services).
In the past year, were you experiencing conditions that made business operations harder to expand?
The infrastructure industry (telecommunications/energy services) is built on long payment cycles. The 30/60/90-day remittance timelines were impacting our ability to reinvest in new assets and equipment to undertake and/or complete more projects and grow our business at the pace required to service our clients. This ultimately impacted revenues, operational efficacy and our profit margins. The cash flow pressures caused by delayed invoicing – along with disruptions in the supply chain – made it more difficult to keep our business running smoothly and to take care of our employees, partners and customers.
Did you look into any type of financial services that might improve your business operations and cash flow?
Before researching any financial service support, we relied 100% on our own cash flow from operations. Due to the inflationary impacts on our operating expenses – including increases in material, transportation, labor and other expenses – our dynamic growth was impacted, and the resulting cash flow pressure limited the number of projects we could complete in our expanding project pipeline. We quickly determined that we needed additional funds to successfully support our growing project portfolio while working through the industry remittance cycle. We explored a variety of financial options before exploring alternative funding solutions.
You then engaged in a partnership with Kompass Funding. What were your first impressions?
It was immediately clear the Kompass team possessed deep industry knowledge – they understood both the industry and our pain points, and they were committed to working together as partners to solve our issues creatively and collaboratively. We wanted more than a transactional relationship with our financial partner. Their approach gave us the confidence to take the next step in seeking financial counsel and support from them. We easily understood how their solutions could help our business. They were straightforward, candid and transparent, making it easy for us to move forward together.
How did this partnership help solve cash flow problems for your company? Is there anything additional you have achieved since partnering with Kompass Funding?
The access to immediate funds has enabled us to successfully grow our business with access to necessary resources and assets; add more customers; complete more projects; and stay current with all financial obligations. As a newer and fast-growing SMB, we needed their help managing our expanding business operations while keeping up with heavy infrastructure budgets and long payment cycles. With their expertise, we were able to better balance our budgets and keep our construction projects on time while managing the invoice cycles and rising business costs.
Is there a specific feature of this service that has made your business operations run smoother?
We have leveraged and benefitted from every part of the Kompass 24 solution. We’ve increased our working capital, reduced the cycle time on managing invoices and received payments more consistently – they’ve become an extension of our accounts receivable (AR) department. This approach enabled us to completely streamline our invoicing processes, and the partnership has transformed our processes and systems for managing our AR and growing our business.
Would you recommend Kompass Funding to other affiliate businesses?
Absolutely. The decision to work with Kompass Funding has enabled us to transform and our business while staying healthy financially. The Kompass Team is very customer-centric – they respond quickly to any questions or concerns, listen to our pain points and offer effective solutions for our business. They work as partners and provide excellent lending advice and counsel. Kompass Funding would be a great choice for SMBs looking for a strategic financial partner.
This article originally appeared in The Kansas City Business Journal.
