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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;
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- Consumer Credit Granting
- Commercial Credit Application; Necessary Components
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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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- Enterprise Resource Planning
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- Evaluating Financial Health
- Exchange of Credit Information
- Extended Dating Terms
- Credit File Documentation
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- History of Credit
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- Internet as a Source of Credit Information
- Late Charges
- Minimum First Order Without Credit Investigation
- New Account Checklist
- Non-Disclosure Agreement
- 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
- Pro Forma Invoices
- Requesting Financial Information from Customers
- Restrictive Endorsements
- Returned Checks
- Return Merchandise Authorizations
- Root Cause Analysis of Past Due Balances
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- Security Agreements; Secured Debts
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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
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- Do's and Don'ts of Business to Business Debt Collection, Debt Collection Practices
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- Advantages and Disadvantages of Purchasing Credit Insurance
- A Letter of Introduction
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Credit File Documentation
Although companies are moving closer each day towards paperless environments, most companies still have credit files on each of their customers. Items usually found in the credit file include the following:
- The credit application,
- A sales tax exemption certificate,
- Customer contracts, and special agreements,
- Security documents (such as letters of credit and personal guarantees),
- Check copies,
- Credit bureau reports (such as Dun & Bradstreet and Experian)*,
- Financial statements,
- Bank references,
- Trade references,
- Press releases,
- Customer correspondence,
- Copies of information from the customer's website
A credit bureau is an agency that gathers information about the creditworthiness of customers, both consumers and businesses. This information is sold to creditors for a fee. The larger credit agencies keep files online on millions of companies.
Edited by Michael C. Dennis, author of "1001 Collection Tools and Tips."