Company Credit Checks

A recent survey has shown that only a minority of companies make company credit checks on suppliers and customers in the normal course of business.

Obtaining a credit report on a company has never been easier with a multitude of suppliers providing analysed data online from as little as under £2.

The information available ranges from accounting and statutory information filed at Companies House right through to detailed credit scores and credit checks based on information drawn from a variety of sources.

Whilst credit scores are a subjective measure, sophisticated software systems have now been able to provide much guidance to users of such reports to at least raise alerts and the need for guidance when dealing with specific companies.

In these difficult times, taking out a company credit report on a potential customer is only the start of the process. Apart from ensuring you implement excellent credit control procedures, regular reports should be obtained as a company’s circumstances can change very quickly.

One way of dealing with this is by making use of Companies House monitor service which for a very low cost, provides an alert by email every time a change takes place on the official record. Whilst Companies House offer this for a low cost, you need to have a monthly subscribed account with them and an alternative is by taking advantage of the same service provided by independent service providers.