New CreditHQ features launched as it’s revealed that the average value of invoices overdue to UK SMEs is £6,142

23 April – Fintech start-up Ormsby Street has launched a new Insight Engine for its free online tool CreditHQ, which will now provide straightforward, actionable insight to small businesses who check the financial health of customers, suppliers and partners.

The Insight Engine launch comes as new Ormsby Street data analysis has revealed that the late payments pursued within the CreditHQ platform average £6,142.* 

CreditHQ takes data from Companies House and from major credit data supplier Dun & Bradstreet, and uses that data to allow a small business to check the credit status, payment performance and general financial health of more than seven million companies. In addition to the clear signal that this information gives small businesses, the new Insight Engine now explains what each piece of information means within the context of the relationship that a business has, and gives options on what actions might usefully be taken.

“More than £6,000 is a sizeable amount for a business to be owed, and could well be the difference between being able to pay staff on time or hitting trouble: thriving or going out of business,” said Martin Campbell, Managing Director, Ormsby Street. “But trying to understand complex set of data about every customer is the last thing a busy small business needs, so our new Insight Engine looks at this information and decides what’s important, suggesting how businesses can respond when dealing with different types of customer or different circumstances.” 

“This means small businesses can review information quickly and understand what’s going on and what their options are, so that they can run their businesses efficiently and focus on growth. Because the CreditHQ platform is used by tens of thousands of small businesses, we are able to understand what works best to improve cash flow in all sorts of different circumstances and build that right back into the Insight Engine - bringing all the benefits of big data to any small business using the tool.”

The simple traffic light ratings system in CreditHQ is a simple guide that shows clearly the level of risk associated with the company in question. Users are given two different ratings, one addressing credit risk and the other payment performance.

CreditHQ also provides other useful information on a small business’ customers, including company number, trading and registered address. A free tool, once CreditHQ users have registered they just search for the company in question (by name or company number) and are presented with all the relevant information. 

It also provides regular updates on credit ratings, so a small business will be kept abreast of any changes in a customer’s ability to pay. A user adds a company to their Watch List and will receive alerts when the company’s financial details change.

“Late invoice payment is the biggest contributor to poor business cash-flow, which in turn is a major inhibitor of business growth,” said Martin Campbell. “We are addressing a significant problem for small businesses and to use data in this way, presenting the analysis in simple terms that any business can understand is an invaluable tool for any SME.”