RECEIVABLES FINANCE GLOSSARY

Collateral report

DEFINITION

A collateral report is any periodic report a borrower delivers to a lender describing the collateral supporting a facility. In receivables finance the family includes the borrowing base certificate, the receivables aging, the roll-forward, and the servicer report. Most agreements specify exactly which reports are due, in what format, and how often.

Applies to:Asset-based lendingTrade receivables securitizationFactoringReceivables purchase agreements

One family, several documents

Collateral report is the umbrella term. The borrowing base certificate is one member of the family: the signed summary calculation that converts collateral into a funding amount. Around it sit the supporting reports that let the lender test the certificate rather than take it on faith.

Borrowing base certificate: eligible collateral, advance rates, reserves, and availability, signed by an officer.
Receivables aging: the open invoice detail behind the eligibility math, usually on the basis the agreement defines.
Receivables roll-forward: beginning balance, sales, collections, dilution, and write-offs reconciled to the ending balance.
Ineligible detail: the walk from gross AR to eligible AR, itemized by exclusion category.
Accounts payable aging and inventory reports where the facility also funds inventory.
Servicer report, in securitizations: the pool report with performance ratios, reserves, and trigger tests.

What a typical reporting package looks like

Requirements vary by facility, but a representative mid market asset-based deal might require: a borrowing base certificate within 20 days of month end, supported by the AR aging, AP aging, ineligible detail, and roll-forward; quarterly financial statements within 45 days; and a springing requirement that reporting moves to weekly if availability falls below $5,000,000 or 12.5 percent of the commitment. Securitizations commonly require the monthly servicer report within 15 to 20 days of the cutoff, with daily or weekly data in some programs.

The deadlines carry teeth. In most agreements a late collateral report is a default after a short grace period, and lenders read chronic lateness as a signal about the borrower's data, not just its calendar.

Consistency across the package is the real test

Each report is checked against the others. The aging total must equal the gross AR on the certificate. The roll-forward's ending balance must tie to the aging. The ineligible detail must sum to the deduction on the certificate. A package where the certificate says $50,000,000 and the aging sums to $50,340,000 invites a question, and a pattern of such gaps invites a field exam.

The usual cause is mechanical: reports assembled from different extracts, pulled on different days, in different spreadsheets. Olycor builds the entire package from one snapshot of source data, so the certificate, aging, ineligible detail, and roll-forward agree by construction, and every line in every report traces to the same underlying records.

Frequently asked questions

Is a collateral report the same as a borrowing base certificate?+

The certificate is one kind of collateral report, the signed summary that states the funding math. Most agreements require it to arrive with supporting collateral reports, the aging, roll-forward, and ineligible detail, that let the lender verify it. In practice people say collateral reporting to mean the whole package.

How does a servicer report relate to collateral reporting?+

A servicer report is the securitization form of the same discipline. It covers the pool rather than a borrowing base, and adds performance ratios and trigger tests, but it serves the identical purpose: showing the funding parties the condition of the assets behind their money. Companies with both facility types often build both from the same data.

What happens if a collateral report is late or wrong?+

Most agreements make late delivery a default after a grace period, commonly 3 to 5 business days. Errors are handled by restatement, and a material misstatement on a signed certificate is treated far more seriously than a timing difference. Repeated problems typically bring tighter frequency, extra reserves, or an early field exam.

Deliver a package where every report agrees.

Olycor builds the certificate, aging, ineligible detail, and roll-forward from one data snapshot, so the package ties by construction on every deadline.

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