Resources
Business credit report guides
Learn what to look for when researching an overseas company, understand your report options, and see examples before placing an order.
Report essentials and samples
Report essentials
What is an international business credit report?
Understand what a company credit report can include, how to identify the right overseas business, and what to prepare before ordering.
Choosing a report
Same Day vs Freshly Investigated credit reports
Compare the two report types, their sources and delivery estimates, and the country-specific details to check before you order.
Reading a report
How to read a business credit report
Follow an actual sample report to understand company identity, payment information, financial dates, credit assessments, and missing fields.
Comparing information
Company registry search vs business credit report
Compare a company register search with a credit report, explore official registry examples, and identify the information your business needs.
Sample reports
See sample business credit reports
Open our US and Canadian sample PDFs to explore report layout and the types of company information available.
Identify the right company
Resolve names, identifiers, addresses, and group relationships before researching a business.
Legal name vs trading name: which company should you check?
Match a supplier or customer’s brand to its registered entity using a practical name-reconciliation worksheet before ordering a company report.
Parent company vs subsidiary: whose credit should you check?
Separate group reputation from the company signing your agreement, and prepare the right subjects for a parent or subsidiary credit check.
Branch vs subsidiary: identifying your overseas counterparty
Trace a branch or local subsidiary to the business behind your contract, using registration details and a practical entity-mapping example.
Company registration number, tax ID, or LEI: what do you need?
Label company identifiers correctly, avoid mixing tax and registration records, and assemble a useful identity pack for international research.
Company address mismatch: what to check before ordering
Work through differences between registered offices, factories, invoice addresses, and delivery locations without assuming every mismatch means fraud.
Research a supplier
Prepare financial checks alongside the operational questions behind a purchase.
Supplier credit check checklist before a purchase order
Use a transaction-focused checklist to identify the supplier, review available financial evidence, and record unresolved questions before committing.
Supplier credit report vs factory audit: which check answers what?
Compare financial research with a factory audit, map the seller and manufacturer, and identify the evidence your sourcing decision actually needs.
Checks before an advance payment to an overseas supplier
Prepare a deposit review covering the contracting company, payment recipient, order milestones, and financial information available before payment.
Supplier bank details changed: a verification checklist
Document a supplier payment-change request, verify it through an independent channel, and distinguish account verification from company credit research.
How to assess a small supplier with limited financial information
Build an evidence request for a small or newly established supplier when public accounts, payment history, or comparable figures are limited.
Assess a customer
Collect useful evidence before offering payment terms or reviewing an existing account.
New customer credit check checklist for international sales
Prepare an overseas customer review using legal identity, expected unpaid exposure, financial information, and a documented approval decision.
Business credit application template for overseas customers
Use a practical business information template to collect customer identity, requested terms, purchasing contacts, and trade references consistently.
Trade reference questions for a business credit check
Ask useful questions about payment experience, account age, terms, and disputes, then record the limits of each customer-supplied reference.
Who owes the invoice? Check your international customer’s identity
Reconcile the buyer, invoiced company, delivery recipient, and payer before using a credit report to review an international sales account.
Reviewing an overdue business customer before the next order
Separate invoice disputes from wider account concerns and prepare a focused credit review before approving further unpaid customer exposure.
Understand financial information
Read company figures with their dates, units, entity scope, and missing information in view.
Working capital and current ratio in a company credit review
Follow a worked example of working capital and current ratio, then check receivable quality, inventory, dates, and limits before drawing conclusions.
Cash flow vs profit: why both matter when checking a company
Use a simple sales-and-cash example to understand why reported profit and available cash can tell different stories about a customer or supplier.
Consolidated vs standalone accounts in a business credit check
Identify whether financial statements cover a group or the exact contracting company, and avoid applying group figures to a subsidiary without context.
Business credit report dates: report age vs financial year
Distinguish the report date, accounting period, filing date, and source-check date using a timeline you can apply to a company research file.
Missing financial information in a credit report: what next?
Distinguish unavailable, unreported, inapplicable, and zero values, then prepare a precise follow-up request when company financial data is missing.
Work through country documents
Practical identity and document checks for five international trading markets.
China supplier business license check: match the seller to the company
Reconcile a Chinese business license with an English quotation, factory details, and a separate trading company before requesting a supplier report.
UAE mainland or free-zone company: checking the right license
Identify the UAE licensing authority, compare the trade license with commercial documents, and resolve mainland and free-zone entity differences.
Canada company search: federal and provincial records explained
Work through an unsuccessful Canadian company search by separating federal incorporation, provincial records, business numbers, and operating names.
Mexico supplier checks: matching the RFC and legal company name
Compare a Mexican supplier’s RFC, razón social, invoice identity, and commercial registration details before ordering a company credit report.
Using UK company accounts for a customer or supplier credit check
Read Companies House account filings with their period, entity, filing type, and missing information in view before making a commercial assessment.
Build a research file
Organize evidence, define a report request, and decide what needs a fresh check.
Company ownership chart template for a due diligence file
Build an evidence-based company relationship table with identifiers, relationship types, source dates, and unresolved gaps instead of assumed ownership.
Conflicting company information: how to reconcile your sources
Use an evidence log to resolve disagreements between registry entries, company documents, websites, and credit reports without merging different entities.
When should you update a business credit report?
Set company review triggers around new orders, overdue balances, ownership changes, and information age instead of assuming a report stays current.
Company credit report request checklist: what to prepare
Prepare a clear report brief with legal identity, transaction context, required information, and timing so the team can assess the right company and scope.
Business credit report vs trade credit insurance
Compare company information with contractual insurance protection, and clarify the separate roles of a credit report, insurer decision, and buyer review.