Is it the end of the recession in the UK? As the Financial Times 'Recovery Watch' series eloquently puts it:

"How do we distinguish the green shoots of recovery from the weeds of recession? For a nervous nation, assailed by a wealth of conflicting signals, clarity has rarely been more elusive."

Clearly the jury's still out, but one useful indicator is the credit checking experiences of the thousands of UK businesses using CREDITFOCUS. In the third quarter they actually saw a significiant rise in the volume of their customers in higher risk categories (rising to 23%, from 20% in the second quarter). Equally, the number of businesses in the lowest risk categories fell to 26% from 31%.

This may be because, as Begbies Traynor (a firm who specialise in salvaging struggling companies) recently commented, "Statistics from recessions over the past 40 years confirm that insolvencies peak between one and two years after GDP stops shrinking." To read the full article, click here.

No one, it seems, can be sure about whether recovery has started or not. However, CREDITFOCUS users can be certain they will continue to receive up-to-date information on their customers, significantly helping them to reduce the risks of unpaid invoices and bad debt, whatever happens.

Preventing debts from turning bad

CREDITFOCUS gives you the option to send a debt recovery solicitor's letter to recover
bad debts, but it's obviously better (for both you and your customers) if things don't
get that far.

FICO, a company recognised internationally for their expertise in business
decision-making, recently released a detailed "White Paper" about best practice in
this area. Here - in our own words - are some key tips, which we hope you find useful:

• Timing is important – Taking early action (and then taking the right actions at
  the right time), makes you more likely to receive due consideration from
  customers, who are often struggling to pay back a number of different debts.
• Identify customers who need attention – Try to identify those customers
  showing signs of financial problems or rising risk (the credit checking and
  credit monitoring features within CREDITFOCUS are crucial aids here).
• Don't treat all customers the same – For example, you could encourage lower
  risk customers to contact you (such as a message on your invoices suggesting they call you if they are having payment issues), whereas you might proactively call
  your higher risk customers.

Click here to read the full report from FICO.

Through monitoring, the average CREDITFOCUS Pro user has been warned about more
than two new County Court Judgments (CCJs) against businesses they trade with...

CREDITFOCUS is
National Business
Awards 2009 finalist

We announced in the July e-news that CREDITFOCUS won the Regional Business Awards for 'Best Use of Technology', which made us finalists for the prestigious National Business Awards. Click here to read our
Awards case study.

Watch this space for an pdate, as winners will be announced at the Awards dinner on
10th November.

Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is set to speak at the Awards ceremony and said: 

"The National Business Awards recognise the professionals who give British business
its huge capacity to innovate and its relentless ability to grow. That is why I am so pleased to be invited to this year's National Business Awards. It is the pinnacle of business awards ceremonies and this is where Britain's
best, from across the public and private sectors, get the recognition and reward they deserve"

If your business has made a significant achievement, why not apply for the 2010 Awards? The awards are open to any business in the UK, from large corporations to SMEs.

Click here to read more about the Awards.