Why Base Your Credit Decisions On Company Credit Records?

Can you afford to have a key supplier go out of business or have a customer fail to pay for the goods or services you have provided? Have you been longing for the opportunity to x-ray the credit standing of your partners, customers and suppliers before going into business with them? Do you wish to have a complete picture of how reliable they are and how profitable your business relationships with them could be? Today you have the chance to run checks on a company you are thinking of doing business with and get unbiased information about its solvency and credibility.

Company credit records are believed to be one of the most effective means of getting to know your prospective partners from a different viewpoint and assessing your risks of involvement in any financial dealings with them. Moreover, getting accurate up-to-date information on another business within a short while means that now making smart credit decisions takes you a few hours instead of days. Here is what you can find in сompany credit records:

• The credit standing of your current suppliers and customers;

• A payment history of your potential partners;

• A record of their relationships with other businesses;

• Any changes made in their business credit or company policy that may have an impact on your business;

• A detailed comparison of your partners with others in the same industry;

• Statutory, directory and other information providing an objective view of who your partners really are.

Possessing these data may help significantly reduce the risk of dealing with financially unreliable companies and take instant actions to minimise or prevent losses if your partner is facing a tough situation. Therefore, сompany credit records may help you make the following business decisions:

• Whether to enter into an agreement with a new business;

• What terms and conditions to base the contract on;

• How much money to lend;

• For how long to extend your current partner’s loan;

• What interest rate to charge etc.

Getting data on the credit standing of a prospective partner or receiving financial updates on your current customers and supplies may be quite easy. Company credit reports are normally available for you on the Internet so you may have the data on your desk within minutes. You can have access to a large database of companies and view numerous archives online as well as download and print out original document images of millions of companies. Easy to read, they give comprehensive analysis of the credit status featuring the company’s balance sheet, summaries of county court judgements, bank loans, annual returns, monthly/quarterly payment practices, growth rates, cash flow etc.

Unfortunately, you can’t afford to base your business on trust only. The highly competitive business world requires you to take preventative measures each time you are about to make a business choice, be it a low or high-risk decision. Ordering сompany credit records could be the first step you should take to protect your company from losing principal or a financial reward or even go bankrupt because of your partner’s inability to pay you back.