Influent Energy: Case Study
Solar Company Increases Project Volume With a Materials Financing Strategy
Influent Energy is a solar company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Since 2018, the company has worked nationwide with power and utility enterprises to develop large-scale renewable energy projects. With Levelset Materials Financing, Influent Energy optimized its cash flow — which helped empower Influent to take on more large commercial and public sector projects.
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The History
As the financial leader of the business, Influent Energy CEO Jessica Oakley faced the challenge of covering material costs, payroll, and business expenses — all while awaiting customer payments.
Gaps between invoicing and payment made it difficult for Oakley to cover the expensive, up-front material costs of new projects.
“One of the issues in solar procurement is that solar modules are a commodity,” Oakley said. “Manufacturers have taken advantage of that and require a 40% deposit before we can start manufacturing.”
Oakley knew they needed a trusted partner to help meet the cash flow demand of their project pipeline.
The Changes
Levelset Materials Financing helped Influent Energy free up existing capital and maximize cash flow with 120-day repayment terms. The Influent team is now empowered to take on more projects while holding on to cash for other business expenses instead of allocating a large portion of their working capital to solar module deposits.
Equipped with Materials Financing, Influent Energy has improved cash flow forecasting and expanded its customer base.
“Now we are developing projects with different customers who have a percent complete project contract,” Oakley said. “Levelset has opened up opportunities for us to do more percent complete contracts instead of the milestone ones that we’d set up in the past.”
“Materials Financing has leveled out our highs and lows and enabled us to have a more predictable and balanced cash flow and workflow. There's a lot more certainty in our business outlook now.”
Jessica Oakley, CEO, Influent Energy
The Results
7 Projects
Enabled since June 2022
$936,000
Worth of materials financed as of March 2023
10 new positions
Added to the company’s team
The Solution
Materials Financing
Take on bigger projects with pay-when-paid terms (up to 120 days) when financing the purchase of materials through Levelset.
- Apply in minutes without affecting your credit
- Get approved within 48 hours
- Get up to 120-day payment terms with any supplier
Learn More: https://www.levelset.com/materials-financing
