Check that Company, the leading online credit checking service, is warning businesses not to be deceived by recent reports that the time that companies are taking to pay their bills is falling and make sure that they are fully in control and aware of the true position of their debtors.

According to recent figures from Experian, the average time companies take to pay their outstanding bills improved during Q3 2010, compared to the same period last year. But the difference is marginal, with bills being paid on average 22.61 days late during the third quarter of this year, compared to an average of 23.17 days in Q3 2009.

Dennis Scott, Operating Director for Check that Company, says that the figures mean nothing and warns small businesses to stay on their guard. "Half a day won’t make any difference for most businesses. Banks and creditors will not be that precise or discerning when they start demanding payments or a reduction in borrowing. Our advice to small businesses in the UK is to keep on top of their debt position, make sure that they have a good, clear picture of the position with every major debtor, and keep communicating."

Scott also notes that while businesses with 500 or more staff while have cut their average overdue payment days from 39.33 to 35.31 days, they are still allowing their bills to go unpaid for over a month beyond their due date. “These businesses are the ones who will owe the most to small firms so they are the ones we should be most worried about. If they are paying bills four days earlier, that is welcome, but it still means that they are not paying in most cases for more than two months and if the fiscal position tightens, that could be life-threatening for SMEs.”

Small firms need to keep checking on the financial and credit status of all their customers, says Scott, especially with the impact of government cuts yet to be felt in the UK economy. The Check That Company website enables them to do this quickly and easily. Anyone can go to the site and run a free quick search and get detailed company report for just £1.99, with an additional report thrown in free of charge.

You can also access the accounts of more than seven million companies in the UK and Ireland and run director reports on 9.3 million individual directors. You can view and print copies of over 400 million original document images, financial reports and other official company documentation. Businesses can register with the service simply by going to www.checkthatcompany.co.uk . The service operates on a pay-as-you-go model so it is very flexible and easy to manage and, after taking up the initial offer, registered users will pay as little as £2.49 for full company reports and just 99p each for document images.

For more information on Check that Company please contact:

Dennis Scott Check that Company Tel: 07860 567940 Email: info@checkthatcompany.co.uk Web: www.checkthatcompany.co.uk