Two different sales
Selling business invoices: factoring versus licensing the data
Updated
Factoring sells the right to be paid; licensing sells a copy of the records. A business can do one, the other or both, but the paperwork for each is different.
Factoring sells the receivable
Under UCC 9-102 an account is a right to payment of a monetary obligation, and section 9-109 brings a sale of accounts within Article 9. Once the customer is notified of the assignment, section 9-406 says it can no longer discharge the debt by paying the original seller.
Licensing sells a copy of the records
A data licence leaves the receivables where they are and gives a buyer the history of how the business invoiced and was paid. The invoices' own particulars, such as the sequential number, dates and the customer's name and address, are what the VAT rules require on each one.
When the whole business is sold
Section 9-109 leaves a sale of accounts made as part of a sale of the business out of which they arose outside Article 9. If the business itself is changing hands or closing, tell us in the enquiry form so the invoice records are dealt with before the systems are switched off.