To offer credit can and does enable the small business to increase there sales dramatically what we must all remember is although we can increase our sales we also need to ensure the sales invoice we generate can be liquidated with the funds from your customer .

The Association of credit protection was formed with this one theme in mind to offer the small business man all the tools to ensure they can control and enforce there sales ledger yet keep full control themselves .

Offering credit is a complex procedure and become more complex in an ever decreasing world .with people and companies moving location at ease, gone are the days when you can offer credit because you believe you can trust them to pay or because they live or trade not far away.

Intodays complex would you first aim when offering a customer credit is to document who he is what i mean by this is there "legal entity" ?

Example :

• Mr and Mrs Smith trading as "legit& co"
   
• Mr smith Trading as "legit& Co"
   
• ABC Ltd Trading as "Legit& co"
   
• Smith Associates trading as "Legit& Co"

as well as other option !

A "credit application form"is the usual and most trusted method and enable you customer "John Smith" to inform you who he is requesting credit on behalf of as he would only be solely liable for one of the above option .

After you have understood the exact legal entity that the individual is representing you will need to check there ability to pay you the total value of the invoice in X days or completion/delivery of your work. There are many methods to do this and the "The Association of Credit Providers" offer most of them as a service to its members " credit checking"

A copy of " terms of credit " should be delivered with correspondence indicating approval or refusal of credit .The aim of agreeing terms is simple to agree the arrangements of the credit you offer and ensure you don't loose your customer because of misunderstanding . The terms of credit should be signed by the customer and faxed back to use for forwarding to you we hold a copy for you in our "document bank"

On receipt of the signed "terms of credit" we activate the credit limit on your customer and update the "credit community" to inform all other members of the "credit community" of the positive information.

Inclusion of the above information into the " credit community" will assist your customer to get credit else wear and there for aid in there prosperity .