--- title: "Risk Report on Your European Customer | Before You Ship" description: "Your European customer's limit, score, payment behaviour and adverse records in an independent report, clearly explained. For exporters." canonical: https://www.incassomentor.com/en/credit-report lang: en updated: 2026-11-01 --- Company risk report # Know your customer before you ship When you sell on deferred payment terms, you carry the risk until the payment arrives. An independent report shows you where a new or existing customer actually stands. We read that report for you and set out the limit in the report, along with the points worth watching. [Request a risk report →](https://www.incassomentor.com/en/credit-report-request) In under a minute ## On deferred payment terms, you carry the risk until the payment arrives The goods leave and the invoice goes onto payment terms. Here is a short explanation of how your customer's situation can change in that time, and how you can see it. Definition ## What is a company risk report? A company risk report brings together, in one document, the traces a company leaves in official and commercial records: the trade register, filed financial statements, court and insolvency records, and the payment experiences of suppliers who sell to it. It also goes by other names: a business credit report, a trade reference or a business information report. Whatever the name, it answers the same questions: what is the foreign company's financial position, how does it pay its invoices, and are there any adverse records against it? The report we provide comes from an independent information source, with an analysis on top that explains what the data means. ## What the report covers What you need in order to decide, without the noise. ### Trade limit The limit the information source has calculated for this customer — a reference for your open-account decision. ### Score and rating The company's risk score and payment score, so you see the risk level at a glance. ### Financial statements Equity, liquidity and profitability, and how they have moved over the years. ### Payment behaviour Signals of how promptly the company pays its own suppliers. ### Company details Legal form, date of incorporation, directors and ownership; changes of name and address. ### Adverse records Insolvency and restructuring filings and other signals that deserve attention. **The real risk sits with the customer you have had for years.** With a new customer you are alert: you ask questions and you check. With the customer you have dealt with for years, nobody looks any more — nothing is asked and nothing is verified. Yet that is usually where your largest open balance sits, and when the picture changes you tend to find out only when a payment fails to arrive. An independent report gives you an objective view that owes nothing to the relationship. **Trust is good; control is better.** ## When is a report requested? A report is particularly useful at moments like these. ### Before the first shipment on credit When you want to see how a new customer, met at a trade fair or through an intermediary, looks on the record. ### As the balance grows When order volumes at an existing customer rise, and the open balance rises with them. ### When payments slow down When payment discipline slips and you want to know whether it points to a wider picture. ### At the start of the season and year end When you review your existing customer base before the new season's orders are placed. The report is written for business owners, managing directors and export, finance and accounting managers. Two layers ## An independent report, plus our reading of it The report itself comes from an independent information source. We do not simply forward the raw data: we explain what the report says and point out what deserves attention. The decision itself, whether to sell on credit terms and with what limit, is yours. ### Tell us the company Share the name and country of the customer you want assessed, new or existing. ### You receive our quote Within one working day we email you our quote. Once you have confirmed it and paid, we obtain the current report. ### You get our analysis We assess the report and deliver our analysis together with the original document. SAMPLE #### 2 · Our analysis Where we add value: a plain explanation, the points to watch and what the report's figures mean. This sample is in Turkish. This is an entirely fictitious example; it does not represent any real company or person. Report content varies by country and company, depending on what data is on record at the source: some reports are more extensive than this example, others more concise. Every Company Risk Report we deliver carries its report date and the financial year it covers. Real reports are confidential and shared only with the client they concern. After the report ## Customer monitoring A report is a photograph of your customer on the date it was issued. A company's score, ownership or register status can change in the months that follow. Twelve months of customer monitoring keeps following the company from that point on: marked drops in score and limit, insolvency and restructuring filings, company changes and newly filed accounts are screened daily, and you receive an e-mail when something changes. [About the 12-month monitoring option →](https://www.incassomentor.com/en/customer-monitoring) Getting the match right ## Checking the right company Across Europe, many companies are registered under the same or a very similar name. If a report is produced on the wrong legal entity, the information you hold belongs to a different company altogether. That is why the form asks for the address, website and, if known, the registration or VAT number alongside the company name. These details make sure the trade register search reaches the right company. If all you have is a name and a country, you can still send your request; if any doubt remains about the match, we will tell you. ## Data sources and currency We say plainly what the report rests on and how often each layer is refreshed. ### What the report rests on Every report is built on an international business information infrastructure sourced from **thousands of data sources**, fed and shared by participating institutions and organisations around the world: national trade and insolvency registers, filed annual accounts, court and gazette sources, credit insurers and collection agencies, and pooled payment experiences from companies that supply the business in question every day. Specialist information bureaux bring these sources together with data-matching and compilation algorithms, match them to the correct legal entity and compile them into a single report. ### Each layer at its own rhythm Registry status and insolvency signals are refreshed daily, payment behaviour continuously, and financial statements as soon as a new financial year is filed. That is why the report shows payment behaviour and current registry status alongside the balance sheet: they move before the accounts do. ### Score and trade limit Not opinions, but the output of statistical models calibrated on the history of millions of European companies and recalculated with every change. The score typically measures the likelihood that a company will be unable to continue trading within the next 12 months. These values are calculated, not set by opinion. ### Date and transparency Every report carries its compilation date and states, section by section, the financial year or reference date it relies on. Where a source's coverage is limited, the report says so; we neither hide it nor fill the gap with estimates. With twelve months of [Customer Monitoring](https://www.incassomentor.com/en/customer-monitoring) the company is followed after the report as well. ### How often is each data layer updated? | Data layer | Update rhythm | |---|---| | Identity and company status | Daily to weekly | | Insolvency and adverse records | Daily | | Annual financial statements | Yearly, with a filing delay; the most recently filed financial year | | Payment behaviour | Monthly to continuous; coverage varies by country and company size | | Ownership and group structure | As changes occur | | Score and trade limit | Recalculated with every data change | **What a report cannot know.** No report can show a development that has not been recorded anywhere. For micro-sized or newly founded companies the data is thinner, and in some countries payment-behaviour coverage is limited; the absence of records is not a positive signal. Where coverage is limited, the report says so itself. The balance sheet, by its nature, belongs to the most recently filed financial year; company status, insolvency records and payment behaviour are current. Monitoring closes that gap: twelve months of Customer Monitoring follows the fast-moving layers and notifies you when something changes. ## Frequently asked questions ### How current and reliable is the report? The report is not our opinion; it is the combination of what official and commercial sources have recorded about the company: the trade register, filed accounts, court and insolvency records, and the payment experiences of suppliers who sell to it. Each layer is refreshed at its own rhythm, and the report states its compilation date and, section by section, what it relies on. The one thing a report cannot do is know about an event that has not yet been recorded anywhere; that is what twelve months of Customer Monitoring is for. ### Where do the data come from? From a European business information infrastructure that works with local information bureaux and official registers in each country. In line with normal practice in this sector we do not name the source bureau, just as a bank does not disclose which bureau it consults. ### Can a report be wrong? No bureau in this sector guarantees accuracy, and neither do we. The most common error is a report on a different company with the same name, which is why our form asks for the address, website and registration or VAT number. Where a source's coverage is limited, the report says so and our Turkish analysis states it explicitly. ### Is every report the same scope? No. A report's content depends on what data is on record at the source for that company, and that varies by country and by company. Some reports arrive very extensive, including the ownership structure, the board and several years of financial statements; others carry more limited data. The sample report on this site is a rich example; the report you receive may be more extensive or more concise than it. We always state that difference in our analysis. ### How old are the financial statements? Across Europe the balance sheet is always the most recently filed financial year, which usually means 6 to 18 months ago. That is why the report also includes payment behaviour and current registry status, and why our analysis always states the financial year the figures refer to. ### What does the limit in the report mean? It is the amount the information source has calculated for that company using its own model. It is not a recommendation and does not set the limit you give that customer; it is one of the facts in front of you. Whether to sell on credit, and with what limit, is entirely your decision. ### How is the price of a report set? There is no fixed price list on the site. Your request does not commit you to anything: within one working day of receiving it we e-mail you our quote, setting out the scope of the service, the price and the delivery time. A pro forma invoice is issued once you have confirmed the quote; after payment we obtain the up-to-date report. Until you confirm, you have no obligation. The report and our analysis are for information only and are not financial, legal or tax advice. Whether to sell on credit terms, and at what limit, remains your decision. If you want a customer followed over time, see [Customer Monitoring](https://www.incassomentor.com/en/customer-monitoring). ## Check your customer before you ship Tell us which company you want assessed and we will take it from there. [Request a risk report →](https://www.incassomentor.com/en/credit-report-request)