Creditors’ Rights 41
A: A well-constructed credit application is a credit manager’s secret weapon. It can make the difference between recovery and write-off. This instrument combines basic business-related information with important credit terms and then asks for a signature so the information can be verified and relied upon.
For commercial credit applications I recommend collecting all of the following information. Each is important either for deciding a customer’s credit worthiness or in tracking down credit criminals.
- Legal business name
- Primary contact person
- Name of owner or CEO (the person you might have to track down in the event of problems)
- Names of officers and directors
- Mailing address
- Previous mailing addresses for businesses with this name
- Type of business: (Manufacturer, Distributor, Reseller, End User, Service)
- Business structure: (Sole proprietor, Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Company)
- Years in business under this name
- E-mail for primary contact person
- Company website
- Federal identification number or owner
*Learn more about credit policies and the Payment Gap with Bob Bernstein’s new book, Get P.A.I.D.TM A Guide to Getting Paid Faster (and What to Do if You Don’t!) at www.getpaidsystem.com
