Short term financing refers to arranging external funds to meet a firm's needs for one year or less. Firms may need short term financing if their cash flow from operations is insufficient for growth or they prefer borrowing now rather than waiting to save enough. Common sources of short term financing include trade credit, accrued expenses, bank financing like overdrafts and loans, commercial paper, and factoring. Factoring involves a firm selling its account receivables to a third party for cash flow.