With a multitude of credit reporting bureaus in the market providing business credit checks, understanding that not all are equal is vital to your decision making. Business credit checks give you invaluable information when you are extending credit to customers.
You might think running any business credit check is adequate to safeguard against bad debt but this is not the case. Every credit check or report is different. No credit report can cover everything, but you need to ensure yours is covering the essentials.
In this article we will cover what a business credit check is and how CreditorWatch compares to other providers.
It’s a good idea to check the credit of your own business every so often. This can give you a gauge on what you’re lacking or areas you can improve on to enhance your credit score. A credit check on your own business can also show you if anyone has used your name or business to conduct fraudulent behaviour.
A good credit report should give you all the information you need to make better financial decisions for your business. You need highly specific insights that are backed by comprehensive and reliable data.
What is a business credit check?
A business credit check is performed through reviewing a company’s credit report. Be aware that not all credit reporting bureaus are able to report the same level of data.
CreditorWatch’s credit reports include details of:
- A business’s RiskScore.
- A business’s default risk – from A1 to F.
- Number of credit enquiries.
- Defaults registered against the business.
- ATO tax defaults.
- Court actions.
- Cross directorship information.
- ASIC notices published against the business.
- Other important adverse data.
A business credit score is a number that’s been calculated to depict the financial health of an individual or a business. Different bureaus use different numerics to determine this. CreditorWatch’s RiskScore tool calculates a numerical credit score between 0-850 (The higher the number the lower the credit risk of the business) and bases riskiness with one of 14 credit ratings; from A1 to F. Credit scores are calculated based on the content of your credit reports.
This process is similar to the one used by banks when applying for a credit card or loan. This information can help you to make better business decisions and to protect your business and cash flow.
CreditorWatch’s business credit checks are the most comprehensive in the market. Our credit reports draw data from more than 50 sources to give you an accurate risk assessment on any potential or current debtors.
Gathering payment information directly from small businesses, CreditorWatch is the only Australian bureau to do this and the first global bureau to create a one-click integration with Xero and MYOB. Through this integration, our unique trade payment data is the most predictive warning indicator for any future defaults and credit risk.
Packed with risk indicators to showcase payment defaults, ATO tax debt defaults, court actions, debt collection records and administration appointments for anyone you plan to conduct business with, a CreditorWatch business credit report is unmatched in the industry.
We tell you the business lifespan and the company status, alongside any information about the director and shareholders. Examining cross directorships and phoenix activity to help you identify any directors with other previously failed, or failing companies, your cash flow is safeguarded with CreditorWatch’s business credit reports.
An Unmatched Credit Assessment
Join the CreditorWatch community to safeguard your business and thoroughly assess your potential or existing debtors. Contact us today to see how your business can avoid bad debt.
What are the early warning signs and how can you best utilise your debtor management?
DebtorLogic shows you how your customers are paying you in comparison to the market. In regard to payment terms, if a customer is paying you late but others on time, they may be deliberately withholding payments or using you as a bank. If a customer is paying you on time but has stopped paying other suppliers, this is also a red flag.
Deteriorating payment behaviour is a warning sign that a debtor is in financial difficulty and could be at risk of payment default, court action or insolvency. With government subsidies masking these warning signs, keeping on top of trade payment data is vital.
CreditorWatch has an extensive database of corporate and SME data – the best and worst paid companies – to provide the clearest picture with live updates of how the market is really getting paid and the number of outstanding debts growing. Unlike most complicated trade programs, our interactive user interface presents easy-to-read graphs enabling you to identify trends, predict payment behaviour and cash flow problems.
Access valuable customer insights with DebtorLogic
We’ve taken customer feedback on board and transformed our Customer Insights page to make it easier to understand. Interact with the charts to breakdown the data even further and review a list of your customers and how much customer debt there is.
Access the Payment Analysis page to see how your customers are paying you compared to others, including risk levels and collection priority. Toggle to the Risk Analysis page to review how your customers are paying you compared to the entity’s RiskScore rating. This a great way to identify high risk & low risk debtors or accounts to prioritise for collections & accounts to target for further growth and opportunity.
If you need recommendations on which of your customers you should collect from first, click on the How To Guide for help deciphering the data.
Get a free ATB analysis to improve your debtor management
An ATB analysis helps you understand who your best and worst customers are with state and industry information. It will also reveal the following:
- Debtors who are paying you late but others on time and vice-versa
- Debtors with adverse risk or cash flow issues
- Collection priority based on data and market insights
- Historical payment behaviour and trends
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Key Accounts Business Development Manager
Ada joined CreditorWatch in August 2022 having moved from Belgium to Melbourne. She has five years of experience empowering organisations to make data driven decisions and mitigate their risks through best-in-class data and technology across the globe. She is passionate about business innovation and the positive impact that best practices and a disruptive solution that is customer centric can have on any organisation.
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