Collecting payment can be a hassle, no matter who you are. There’s nothing more frustrating for B2B credit professionals than collecting payment from customers with outstanding debt. Before thinking of sending a customer to collections—or worse, court—you have the option of sending a demand letter to communicate the severity of the issue and help prompt payment.

Regardless of the industry you work in, or whether you’ve been in the credit field for decades or only a matter of months, it is vital that you know and understand the federal laws that regulate a credit managers’ activity. Credit managers across industries are beholden to the regulations set by the Equal Opportunity Credit Act (ECOA), which prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit. ECOA forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, creed, national origin, age or marital status in the extension of credit.  

Whether you are conducting an initial credit investigation on a potential customer or reviewing the credit line for a long-held account, commercial credit reports play an important part in the decision to extend credit to a customer. Despite their usefulness, many companies are hesitant to share their accounts receivable data to commercial credit reporting companies. 

Credit professionals who earn designations from NACM’s and FCIB’s six-level Professional Certification Programs always have an inspiring story to tell. Their enthusiasm and sense of accomplishment is evident as they speak of their designation journey. Each designee leaves with a higher level of knowledge and insight to guide them and help them grow in their career. 

When it comes to credit management, no other certification class can supercharge your credit analysis skills quite like NACM and FCIB’s Professional Certification Programs.

After years of high inflation debt and trade deficits, Pakistan’s economy is on the road to recovery. This positive trajectory is fueled by improved macroeconomic management, inflation control measures and enhanced fiscal and external accounts stability of their government.

For most credit managers, a credit application is a vital step in the credit approval process. It’s a document that neatly outlines all the pertinent information that a credit manager needs to know about their customer, from its corporate legal name to the number of years they’ve been in business. No step epitomizes the oft-repeated mantra of credit management, “Know Your Customer,” quite like the credit application.

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) improved 1.9 points to 54.9 in February. This comes after two months of declines.

As a credit professional, a large part of your job involves engaging with customers–whether they’re next door or overseas. However, the task of properly identifying a customer can be challenging when businesses operate under similar names, use DBAs (Doing Business As) or are part of a parent-subsidiary structure.