The unexpected fall in retail sales in September has exposed the fragile nature of the UK’s economic stability and could signal that harder times are ahead, according to the leading online credit checking service, Check that Company. It was the second month in a row that retail sales were down and the knock-on effect is already being felt in the small business sector, says Dennis Scott, Operating Director of the organisation.

“There is growing concern amongst small businesses. The slowdown in the High Street is starting to impact their sales. Fewer people spending money in the shops and that means less product distribution, fewer customer deliveries, less passing trade for cafes, bars and restaurants, fewer taxi rides, and so on. It’s beginning to expose the fragile position that many of the smallest firms are in. With higher fuel prices now in prospect again, the effect of government spending cuts yet to be felt, and VAT going up to 20 percent in the new year, the outlook is pretty bleak for small firms.”

Scott however, urged small firms not to become disheartened. They should however, ensure that they take proper steps to minimise risk to their business. “One of Sir Winston Churchill’s most famous quotes is ‘If you're going through hell, keep going’, and that’s exactly what small businesses need to do now. Things will get better and in the meantime, they need to look after number one and make sure that they don’t take unnecessary risks.” With challenging economic conditions likely to prevail both for retailers and businesses, small firms need to make sure that they keep a tight rein on their costs and also ensure that they are safeguarded from bad debt and late payment behaviour that will have an adverse impact their cash-flow. One way they can do that is by making sure that their customers are in a sound position and by running financial company reports and professional business credit checks before they extend credit to new customers. The Check That Company website enables them to do that quickly and easily. Anyone can go to the site and run a free quick search and get an initial detailed company report for just £1.99, with an additional report thrown in free of charge.

In addition, you can 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 also view and print copies of over 400 million original images of 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.