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Know Whether Your Customers’ Financial Situation Has Changed with Company Credit Reports

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Chamsi Pirson

The COVID pandemic in 2020 has taken a financial toll on companies. More than half of the businesses in the U.S. reported operational or financial stress since the pandemic began. A significant number of companies (14%) say they are currently in financial distress and may struggle to pay their bills or meet other financial obligations.

Uncertain economic conditions can quickly change a company’s fortunes. When changes occur with your customers, you need to know. A company credit report can help you stay on top of changing conditions and provide you with an early warning when one of your customers is facing potential financial problems.

How Does a Company Credit Report Help My Business?

Pulling a company credit report can help you make important decisions about your customers, including:

  • Whether to extend credit
  • What credit limits you should offer
  • What terms you should offer

Because economic conditions continue to evolve, it is important to know how customers are handling their current obligations and whether there are signs of distress. When you pull a company credit report, you will get a summary credit score that indicates creditworthiness. It works much the same way as a personal credit score does. You can use this score to evaluate the risk involved in extending credit from your business.

A company credit report can also provide you with details to help you further assess the risk, including:

  • The risk of repayment and loss predictions
  • Customer viability over the next 12 months
  • Credit limit recommendations
  • Current payments that are days beyond term
  • Comparisons to similar businesses

You can also view any derogatory legal filings, such as bankruptcy, liens, judgments, and UCC filings. UCC filings can show you what assets a business has used as collateral in securing credit.

Depending on the level of detail you need, some company credit reports include summaries and details of tradelines, including high credit alerts, account balances, and account status.

Company credit reports can prevent you from extending credit to customers that are in financial distress and may be unable to pay their bills. This information helps you make better business decisions for projecting your cash flow and managing your business plan.

Economic Conditions Continue to Evolve

Some of the largest companies in existence have seen their financial situation change over the past year. Just weeks into the pandemic, more than 150 of the biggest name companies warned investors that they were experiencing financial stress. While some have recovered, others have not. Many small and medium-sized businesses have struggled as well. Chapter 11 bankruptcies were up nearly 20% last year compared to the previous year.

While some of these businesses make public announcements about their situation, most do not. If one of your customers has seen a significant downgrade in their financial situation or ability to pay their bills, you need to know.

There is another reason that you should be checking on your customers now. Many businesses have taken advantage of government loans and programs such as the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP). As these loans come due or the funds run out, it may have a significant impact on your customer’s financial health moving forward.

Some businesses have prospered during the pandemic. Others have been able to survive. For many, however, there are still too many unknowns. Many in industries hit hard — such as retail, dining, and entertainment — continue to struggle. A 2021 survey of CFOs in retail, for example, uncovered that 49% report they only have enough cash on hand to survive the next three months. Another 41% said they have cash reserves to maintain operations for the next three to six months.

Look Beyond a Credit Application

Financial stress can be hidden when customers fill out a credit application. Typically, potential customers will provide references for other businesses where they have established credit. On an application, businesses will want to put their best foot forward, so they may only include credit references for suppliers where they keep accounts current.

You will not be able to tell if there are other suppliers where customers are failing to pay their bills or showing signs of financial stress. A company credit report can look beyond what a customer offers as references to provide a more comprehensive financial picture.

Where Can I Get a Company Credit Report?

Company credit reporting agencies include Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian. Each service provides slightly different information, so you will want to compare them to decide which company’s credit report provides the information you need.

Getting a corporate credit report from any of the three credit reporting agencies is easy. Simply select the report you want, and instantly download your corporate credit report. You do not need to sign up for a subscription.

 

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Chamsi Pirson
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