Thirty-eight guides on the terms and signals behind company credit decisions. Every guide is built on the public record and links to the free tools that check it.
Company insolvency means a company cannot pay its debts. The two legal tests, cash flow and balance sheet, and what insolvency leads to in practice.
A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is a court decision that a company owes money. How CCJs are registered, how long they stay on record, and what they mean for credit risk.
A first Gazette notice announces that Companies House intends to strike a company off the register. Why notices are issued, the two-month objection window, and what it signals about the company.
A company strike-off removes a company from the Companies House register. How strike-off works, the two-month objection window, and what it means if the company owes you money.
The timeline after a winding-up petition is filed: advertisement in The Gazette, the 7-day window, the hearing, and the outcomes for the company and its creditors.
Administration tries to rescue the company or its business. Liquidation ends the company and sells its assets. How the two insolvency processes differ, and what each means for creditors.
A CVA is a formal deal between an insolvent company and its creditors: agreed repayments over time while the company keeps trading. How CVAs work, who votes, and what they mean for suppliers.
The fixed order in which creditors are paid when a company is insolvent: secured, costs, preferential, floating charge, unsecured, then shareholders. Where suppliers sit and what to expect.
The warning signs that a company is approaching insolvency: overdue filings, CCJs, winding-up petitions, negative net assets, rising gearing and failing interest cover. Where each shows up on the public record.
The R-Score is Black Flag Alert's free 0-100 credit risk measure for England & Wales companies. What goes into it, how to read it, and where the calculation is published.
Net assets are what a company owns minus what it owes. Why net assets say more about credit risk than turnover, and what negative net assets mean.
The cash coverage ratio compares a company's cash to its short-term liabilities. How to calculate it, what a healthy reading looks like, and why it is one of the fastest early warnings of distress.
A ratio walkthrough for non-accountants: the five figures in filed accounts that reveal credit risk, what healthy looks like, and what to question.
A change of accounting reference date can be routine, but it is also a known way to delay bad news. When a period change deserves a closer look.
The warning signs most credit reports carry and most readers miss: satisfied CCJs, balance-sheet-only accounts, late charges, overdue filings and trend.
A zombie company survives but cannot grow: it earns just enough to service its debts but not to invest or thrive. How to spot them on the public record and why they matter to suppliers.
What lifts a UK company's credit standing, and how quickly each step reaches the public record: filing dates, CCJ timing, equity, liquidity and gearing.
Filed accounts have a shelf life: nine months fresh, then up to two years of lag. How credit risk moves between filings, and why the trend beats the snapshot.
The England and Wales insolvency rate fell to 50.3 per 10,000 companies. What the average hides: sector spread, register growth and a changing process mix.
A phoenix director lets a company fail and carries on the same business through a new company. What the law says, what the pattern looks like on the public record, and what to check.
A shell company exists on paper but does little or no trading. The legitimate uses, the abuses, and how to spot a shell before you deal with it.
How to search Companies House effectively: the 8-character company number, filing history, officers, PSCs, charges and Gazette notices, and how to read each.
Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January 2018 with liabilities of almost £7 billion. What the public record showed in the years before, and the signals that were visible.
Seven checks to run on any company before you sign a contract or extend credit: identity, status, accounts, judgments, insolvency events, charges and people. All run from public records.
A step-by-step method for credit checking an England & Wales company: verify identity and status, read the accounts, check judgments and petitions, then decide. Free tools for every step.
What a proper company credit check covers: identity and status, accounts, judgments, insolvency events, charges, people and filing behaviour, and what to do with the result.
KYC checks people; Know Your Supplier checks businesses. What each process covers, what they miss, and when each is needed before you trade.
Enhanced due diligence is a deeper level of counterparty checking for higher-risk situations. What EDD adds to standard checks and when it applies.
Most company credit scores are black boxes: a number with no published calculation. Why that matters, what a score hides, and why an auditable score changes the decision.
A practical walkthrough of the six checks to run before giving a new supplier credit terms: accounts, filing behaviour, CCJs, petitions, charges and directors.
How to use company credit checks in UK acquisition due diligence: scores, five years of accounts, CCJs, charges and petitions, and the questions each answers.
How to search UK company directors: appointment histories, disqualifications and people with significant control, and what each record does and does not tell you.
Beyond Companies House: the Gazette, the judgment register, the Individual Insolvency Register, disqualification and FCA records, and when to search each one.
When an invoice goes unpaid: the eight steps from chasing to court, how to tell a slow payer from a failing one, and when to escalate before your debt loses value.
A distressed debtor is a company that owes money and shows signs it cannot pay. How to identify them, why they matter to suppliers, and how to price the risk before it becomes a bad debt.
What to do when a customer that owes you money shows insolvency signals: act fast, register as a creditor, consider a statutory demand, and know your position in an insolvency.
Six practical ways to reduce credit risk exposure when selling on terms: check before you ship, set limits, shorten terms, take security, monitor, and act early.
A supplier failure stops your business the moment it stops theirs. How to map supplier exposure, spot distress early, and build the fallbacks that keep you running.