By International Credit Reports
Use this as a business information request
A credit application helps your team collect consistent information before considering payment terms. The template below is an editable starting point for a business information request. It is not a credit agreement, personal guarantee, privacy notice, or an automatic authorization to obtain information.
Adapt the fields to your process and jurisdiction. Ask only for information needed for the review, explain how it will be used through your normal process, and have any contractual or authorization wording prepared appropriately. Do not ask a customer to send account passwords, authentication codes, or unrelated personal documents.
Customer information template
Copy the fields into your existing customer onboarding form or a document. Keep ‘not supplied’ and ‘not applicable’ as separate responses so a blank field does not become an assumption.
| Section | Fields to request |
|---|---|
| Company identity | Full legal name; original-language name; trading names; jurisdiction; registration identifier and authority |
| Addresses | Registered office; billing address; delivery address; explanation of different entities or locations |
| Commercial request | Expected order amount; currency; requested payment terms; likely ordering frequency |
| Business context | Activity; website; trading history of this entity; relevant parent or group relationship |
| Contacts | Purchasing contact; accounts-payable contact; established business contact channel |
| Financial information | Documents available; entity covered; period; currency; whether audited or company supplied |
| Trade references | Reference business; contact role; relationship; permission and appropriate contact arrangements |
| Submission | Name and business role of person providing information; date; unresolved fields |
Keep the internal decision separate from the application
Add an internal review section for identity matching, research obtained, discrepancies, proposed exposure, decision owner, conditions, and review date or trigger. The customer’s requested terms belong in the application; your company’s approved terms belong in a separately recorded decision.
A completed form does not independently verify every answer. Match the legal identity to relevant records, check whether accounts cover that company, and label references as customer supplied. Keep the original submission so later corrections remain traceable rather than silently replacing the initial answers.
Example: the requested terms change before approval
Suppose a customer initially requests 30 days but later asks for 60 days and twice the order volume. Save the revised request and reassess the expected unpaid balance. A previously completed form is still useful identity evidence, but the commercial proposal under review has changed.
If a new legal entity is substituted at the same time, treat that as an identity change as well. Establish which company the available report and references concern before carrying them into the new review. Complete the file with the approved terms, the responsible decision maker, and any conditions still outstanding.
Add company information to the completed application
Once the customer is identified, use a report request to address the business questions your internal review still needs answered.