Good Business Practice: Getting To Know Your Customer
First, a business should ask for the full legal name of the company that it plans to do business with. Get to know the business structure. Is it a corporation or a partnership? The names, addresses and titles of the principal members should be collected.
It is key to find out the federal employer tax identification number. The telephone number, ship to address, name, fax number and email address of the main contact should be established as well. Also, the bill to address, fax number and telephone number of the accounts payable contact is a useful piece of information to know. Individuals authorized to submit orders should be listed.
Bank references should be inquired about. What is the banks name? The branch address, fax and telephone numbers, account types, account numbers and dates opened can be useful information. The name of the bank representative should be collected as well.
Finally, the terms and conditions of sale should be accepted and acknowledged by the client's signature. The customer's signature, printed name, date of signing and title should be gathered, and always have the company's attorney look over any documents before use.
Get to know the customer's credit history and maintain good communication via personal visits or phone calls. Keep a timely delivery of goods and services, and up to date records and accounts receivable information. Mail out memos and letters to remind the client about the money owed and keep them up to date.
Join an industry credit group and actively participate. It is important to know the laws in the state where the company is doing business regarding collections and business proposals. To protect the integrity of the company, be sure to collect references. Bank references, including the bank name, branch, account type, account number and trade references are important to know. Collect at least three trade references that include the name, address, telephone number and email addresses.
