Interested businesses will be able to start applying on Oct. 'We were just overwhelmed by the stories that came back,' he said. Since then, Dunnigan said she has applied to the program again and have had Facebook pay their outstanding invoices multiple times.ĭunnigan's story is among the many Facebook saw after the launch of their pilot that indicated to the company that this was something worth scaling up, Rao said. 'This program has been a life saver for our company,' said Dunnigan, who was introduced to CNBC by Facebook. After collecting the applications, Dunnigan submitted them to Facebook, and the company paid her more than $10,000 within a matter of days. Teachers registered for the conference in early 2021, but many paid with purchase orders that take 'a very long time' to be paid out, Dunnigan said. Rao estimates this will support approximately 30,000 small businesses.Īmong entrepreneurs who have already gone through the pilot of the program is Lisa Dunnigan, co-founder of the The Wright Stuff Chics, which sells merchandise for teachers and puts on the Teach Your Heart Out teachers conference.Īfter the pandemic forced Dunnigan to cancel all of her company's in-person events in 2020, Dunnigan's business announced a virtual version of their Teach Your Heart Out conference scheduled for July. Now, Facebook is drastically expanding the program and will buy up to $100 million in outstanding invoices. 'It was a very small pilot, but we did see that be very successful.' 'We just heard first-hand the financial hardships that these suppliers were facing, and it was created really quickly and brought up as an idea and pitched to our CFO to say, 'Hey, would we be able to help our suppliers with this?'' Rao said. For Facebook, which generated nearly $86 billion in revenue in 2020, waiting for payments is much less dire than it is for small businesses.įacebook piloted a smaller version of the program in 2020 after hearing how much the company's suppliers were struggling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Rich Rao, Facebook's vice president of small business. The customers then pay Facebook the outstanding invoices at the same terms they had agreed to with the small business. Late payments affect cash flow, the ability to pay staff and cover other outgoings. The program is the latest effort by Facebook to build its relationships and long-term loyalty among small businesses, many of whom rely on the social network to place ads targeted to niche demographics who may be interested in their services.īusinesses can submit outstanding invoices of a minimum of $1,000, and if accepted, Facebook will buy the invoice from the small business and pay them within a matter of days. Unpaid invoices can have disastrous effects on the running of small businesses. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower A common solution to deal with invoices past their due date is to charge a late payment fee: An extra charge to a client for not paying an invoice by the payment deadline. Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower

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