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- Bank Loans and Bank Credit
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- Bounced Checks; Collecting on Bounced Checks, NSF Checks
- Business Credit; Trade Credit; Open Account Credit Terms
- The Five Cs of Credit Analysis
- Check Acceptance
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- Classification of Risk; Customer Risk Score
- COD Terms; Slow Pay; High Risk; Risk Mitigation;
- Code of Ethics
- Confidentiality Agreement
- Consumer Credit Granting
- Commercial Credit Application; Necessary Components
- Credit Approval Process
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- Offering Open Account Terms; Credit Extension
- Customer Credit File; Credit File
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- Credit Insurance; Trade Credit Insurance; Export Credit Insurance
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- Customer Purchase Orders, Errors on POs and their Impact on Collections
- Customer Retention
- Grace Periods and Cash Discounts
- Direct and Indirect Credit Investigations
- Unearned Discounts; Unearned Cash Discounts; Cash Discounts
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- Open Account Sales; Open Account Terms; Extension of Credit on Open Account Terms
- Order Approval; Order Hold; Credit Reviews; Pending Order Review
- Order Controls / Order Approval
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- Requesting Financial Information from Customers
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- Seller's Invoice
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- Terms of Sale: Examples
- Types of Credit: Consumer Credit; Bank Credit; Commercial Credit; B2B; Business to Business
- Written Credit Policy Manual
- Handling Post Audit Claims More Effectively; Post Audit Claims
- Do's and Don'ts of Business to Business Debt Collection, Debt Collection Practices
- Bad Debt Reserves
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Purchasing Credit Insurance
- A Letter of Introduction
- Addressing Chronic Slow Pay Customers
- More about Cash Forecasting
- Streamlining Order Processing
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- Generating Effective Credit Correspondence
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Direct and Indirect Credit Investigations
Direct investigations are those where credit information is collected by the creditor either directly from the customer or through direct contact with non-commercial sources of information such as individuals, banks or other trade references. Customer supplied financial statements or information from a telephone interview are examples of information gathered through direct investigation.
Indirect credit investigations usually refer to acquiring information from sources that are in the business of preparing information on companies. A credit report purchased from a commercial credit reporting agency is an example of information obtained by indirect credit investigation.
Types of Direct Investigation
Direct Correspondence
Order Acknowledgment
Request for Financial Statements
Terms of Sale
Refusal of Credit Letter
Acknowledgment Letters
Personal Interviews
Telephone Contacts
Sales Representatives
Bank Information
Telephone
E-Mail or Telefax Inquiry
Personal Visit
Bank-to-Bank
Trade Information
Trade References
Trade Sources
Standard Practices
Newspapers
Internet
Directories and Other Reference
Types of Indirect Investigation
Credit Reporting Agencies
Dun & Bradstreet Reports
Business Information Reports
D&B Ratings
Payment Analysis Reports
FCIB Reports
Graydon Reports
Rundt's
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Edited by Michael C. Dennis, author of "1001 Collection Tools and Tips."