Credit Control - Company Credit Checking
Smart information for smart people - Find out about the companies and directors who you do business with. |
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As a small business, you will not doubt realise that although it is good to have many potential customers, it is even more important that they settle their debts to you on time. If your customers do not pay on time, this will adversely affect the cash flow within your business and can eventually lead to bankruptcy.
The best way to reduce the risk of this happening to your business is to perform a credit check on every potential customer or supplier before you start to trade with them. You will find that you cannot rely solely on the apparent size or age of the company as this does not necessarily mean that they will settle their debts on time. In many instances, larger companies tend to take a longer time to pay as they feel they have the power to do so.
Other than seek financial information from the company which is sometimes impractical, the most reliable way to choose which companies to trade with is to perform a company credit check on them. All limited companies within the UK will regularly file documents into Companies House – the UK company registrar, this will therefore verify the existence of the company. The financial data filed by the company into Companies House will be used, along with other information available on the company, to score the company according to how good they are at paying up their debts. The credit score and suggested credit limit will then give you a guide as to how much credit you can extend to the company if you wish to trade with them.
Working in association with checkSURE Ltd, provider of online commercial credit checking and directors’ information, Forest Software is pleased to offer our clients the ability to obtain credit reports on all UK and Irish limited companies as well as credit reports on sole traders, partnerships and company directors.
The checkSURE Ltd service is an online company credit checking service where clients can obtain both Full and Comprehensive Company Credit Reports. Registering online is simple and reports can be purchased at £9.95 + vat. All checkSURE users will receive a personal online account so that they may keep copies of all reports that they have purchased. For an additional £5 + vat, up-to-date copies of the reports can be maintained for a year through the “Keep it Live” reports. Snapshot reports are the best value at £5.95 + vat if you only wish to obtain a credit rating and suggested credit limit.
Just like Forest Software, you may realise that reviewing information about company directors is just as important as company credit checking. checkSURE are also able to offer comprehensive directors reports at a great value of £10.95 + vat.
If you require the actual legal documents filed into Companies House, these are available at £7.95 + vat.
checkSURE can also offer credit checks on sole traders and other unincorporated businesses for just £8.95 + vat.
checkSURE reports are generated and displayed immediately after purchase and can be emailed out to you in attached html format if you wish. All reports and documents are stored within your online checkSURE accounts and you can access them in your secure area from any computer with an internet connection.