Mountain States Commercial Credit Management Blog

Most businesses today rely on extending credit to its business account customers. Unfortunately, there is always risk involved in lending, and it’s up to the lending company to perform due diligence before extending credit. One good source for information that will help you analyze the risk for a potential credit customer is a credit reporting…

When you think of credit fraud, you typically think of the toll that ID theft and phishing scams have on personal financial accounts, but fraud takes a significant toll on businesses — by other businesses. Here’s what credit and financial professionals need to know about B2B credit fraud. Is B2B credit fraud really a problem?…

Is excessive overtime a financial burden for your credit department? Does your sales department complain about the length of time the credit approval process takes? Is your Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) higher than it should be because you don’t have enough staff to stay on top of accounts receivable? As credit departments are being asked…

In a B2B environment, the sales and credit departments represent two different perspectives on growing the business. Sales wants to sell products or services to any interested customer. The credit department wants to make sure the sale represents revenue rather than uncollected debt. Although both departments are critical to the financial health of the organization,…

A company’s cash flow is a critical factor for its success. Collecting outstanding accounts receivable will help keep the cash flowing. One method for evaluating how efficient your accounts receivable processes are is by measuring Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). Here is a review of DSO, its significance to your company, and how you can lower…

You’ve weighed your options and realize that without the help of a credit agency, you likely won’t retrieve the money owed to your business. So, where do you start? What should you be looking for in a collection agency? When is it time to call in a collection agency? Businesses are often hesitant to call…

In a perfect world, businesses would extend credit and the borrowing company would pay their invoices on time until fully repaid. Unfortunately, the business-to-business (B2B) credit world is not perfect, and businesses sometimes need to instigate collections procedures to recover bad debts. However, collecting on bad debt is a tricky path if you want to…

Does your company offer lines of credit to customers? Being able to conduct business by providing customers with credit options opens your company to important opportunities for better business relationships, cash flow, and growth. But that’s only if your credit accounts stay in good standing. If they don’t, your business could experience major financial turmoil….

A business’s credit policy is an essential guide for how the business manages credit risk. However, if you don’t document your policy clearly, different people may understand or apply it differently — which can lead to confusion, inconsistency, and even legal problems. Here are some tips for creating an effective credit policy for your business….

Most businesses must deal with credit risk. It’s unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to ignore it. Although credit risk can’t be eliminated, it can be managed and mitigated through sound commercial credit risk management practices. Whether you’re the sole member of your credit management department or you work alongside a team of…