Data Contribution: What’s in It for You?

Business woman portrait Like all credit managers, you surely understand the importance of checking the credit of every new commercial customer. But once you’ve extended credit to your customers, what information do you then have about their ongoing credit and how they’re using it? By providing a pool of data from multiple creditors, Experian helps businesses get ongoing information about their commercial credit customers to help them make decisions about late-paying customers.

Like individuals, businesses and other organizations build their credit ratings based on how responsibly they pay their bills. And the credit bureaus get that payment history information from the companies those businesses owe — and credit managers like you — who voluntarily participate in data contribution.

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What is data contribution?

The Experian Small Business Credit Share Program is a consortium of businesses and lenders who share extended credit data on their small business customers. It’s a “give to get” program that rewards those who share with in-depth information.

And because the information each participant provides is more in-depth than what you could get from a standard credit report, it gives you a lot more to work with when deciding whether to extend credit to a particular prospect.

Participation is secure and confidential, and it is open to companies, utilities, and financial institutions that issue credit in the form of loans, trade credit, payment plans, and more.

Benefits of participating in data contribution

As part of this program, you will gain access to Experian’s Management Reports. These include:

A Collections Priority Report, which shows how well your customers are paying other creditors on time and whether they are paying other invoices sooner than yours.
An Accounts Receivable Portfolio Summary that gives you a bird’s-eye view of how all the accounts in your portfolio are performing and categorizes them according to how they are aging.
A Marketing Report which allows you to divide customers into parameters, such as those owing a balance of over $5,000, so you can analyze how customers in that category are paying you.

The information in these reports is invaluable, giving you more leverage to collect debts and helping you make more proactive decisions about your commercial credit accounts. Participation in the program also makes you eligible for discounts on other Experian products.

Even your customers benefit

Your loyal customers also benefit when you participate in the Experian Small Business Credit Share Program. That’s because data contribution isn’t a one-sided program.

You not only receive information about your customers’ credit and payment activity with other vendors, but also actively report on how your various customers pay your invoices. When they pay on time and you report their responsible behavior to Experian, they build a positive credit history that boosts their credit rating. They then have better leverage as a high-value customer to your business and other vendors.

Credit bureaus don’t pull credit ratings out of nowhere. They are based on solid information from companies like yours — and contributing to that pool of information helps benefit the entire business community.

[cta]MSCCM is your direct connection to this valuable data contribution program. If you’re interested in participating in data contribution or would like more information, contact Tom or Jack at MSCCM and they’ll be happy to help you get started. Please call us at 800-457-8244, fax us at 303-806-5360, or send a request through our website.[/cta]