Credit ratings services

[LeeMills77]

Hi all,

I'm researching a topic relating to a company's financial health and hope to receive some guidance in this.

I'm aware of credit ratings websites/services in which you view a company's financial position. I haven't often used them but wish to become proficient in understanding the financial information provided on things like DSO Ration, Liquiditity, Gearing etc.

Can anybody provide any information on understand this information? I'm due to start a role soon and part of my role is to decide if new customers are worth providing goods and services to, but I don't have the background info or experience to undertake this.

If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Lee.

 

[ChrisCallaghan]

Myself and the firm I work at use Creditsafe. It gathers a lot of info from various data sources, and it's rating system is pretty self explanatory, including recommendations for credit limits. Also very good for AML checks and continuous monitoring if you need that sort of thing. It's for from the cheapest, but would always be my go to.

I've used RedFlag in the past, but found their reports a little more effort to unpick, but that was nearly 8 years ago, so they may have improved since.

 

[japancool]

Can anybody provide any information on understand this information? I'm due to start a role soon and part of my role is to decide if new customers are worth providing goods and services to, but I don't have the background info or experience to undertake this.

Umm - if your role involves doing this, should the company you work for not provide you training on it?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Umm - if your role involves doing this, should the company you work for not provide you training on it?

Yeh but f££k it, Its not the OPs money anyway He wont be worrying about the bad debt

 

[Frank Wessely]

Hi all,

I'm researching a topic relating to a company's financial health and hope to receive some guidance in this.

I'm aware of credit ratings websites/services in which you view a company's financial position. I haven't often used them but wish to become proficient in understanding the financial information provided on things like DSO Ration, Liquiditity, Gearing etc.

Can anybody provide any information on understand this information? I'm due to start a role soon and part of my role is to decide if new customers are worth providing goods and services to, but I don't have the background info or experience to undertake this.

If anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Lee.

Hi @LeeMills77

I also use CreditSafe which provides a range of information that helps you make decisions about the creditworthiness of your customers. My preference, however, is Tracker which allows you to "slice and dice" corporate data depending on your requirements.

You will need to bear in mind that there are 5 main credit rating agencies (including CreditSafe) and each has its own areas of focus dependent upon the industry sector(s) and the public sector. So do make sure that you are using the right one for your requirements.

In my experience, although a company credit rating is used by business owners and professionals, very few appreciate the factors that can influence a rating, directly or indirectly. If you would like further insight into this just send me a DM and I will be happy to have a call.

Thanks.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I think the main players are pretty similar - that's based on feedback from a large accountancy firm who spent a long time evaluating them!

In many cases, small businesses simply use their credit limits and possibly set alerts for any changes.

If you plan to really use them, then I'd suggest you select your trainer based around the package you choose.

The middle ground can be tricky 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - all sorts of knee-jetk reactions to insignificant information

 

[LeeMills77]

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses.

Regards,

Lee.