Check a company before you extend credit

A company name and number aren't a credit check

Late payment is the biggest cash-flow risk in UK B2B. The moment you ship goods or deliver work on terms, you're an unsecured creditor — last in the queue if the company fails.

Companies House holds the filed accounts, the charges register, the filing history and the people behind every UK company, for free. The hard part isn't access — it's reading it: small-company accounts are abbreviated, the detail that matters sits in the notes, and the figures only mean something in trend and in context.

Verif-AI reads the full filing package and lays out the figures a credit decision turns on, so you can weigh them yourself before you set terms.

What to check before you extend credit

Eight things the filed record shows about a company's ability to pay — and where each one comes from.

1. 01Is the balance sheet solvent?
   Net assets below zero means liabilities exceed assets — the company is technically balance-sheet insolvent. It can still trade, but it's a figure to weigh.From: latest filed balance sheet
2. 02Can it actually pay within terms?
   Cash and near-cash set against creditors falling due within a year shows whether there's liquidity to meet short-term bills — not just assets on paper.From: current assets vs current liabilities
3. 03Which way is it trending?
   One year is a snapshot. Turnover, profit and cash across several filings show whether the company is strengthening or sliding — direction matters more than any single number.From: up to 7 years of accounts
4. 04Does it file on time?
   Overdue or persistently late accounts are a behavioural signal. Companies in difficulty often go quiet at the registry before anything else shows.From: filing history + accounts-overdue flag
5. 05Who ranks ahead of you if it fails?
   Registered charges show which lenders hold security over the company's assets. A supplier on terms ranks behind all of them.From: the charges register (MR01)
6. 06What's the directors' track record?
   Look at the people, not just the entity: prior dissolutions, a run of short-lived companies, or a board that recently resigned together are all on the register.From: 27.8m director appointments
7. 07Is your customer a thin trading shell?
   The company invoicing you may sit under a parent or hold its substance elsewhere in a group. The structure shows where the assets — and the risk — actually are.From: PSCs + group structure
8. 08How much is actually disclosed?
   UK small companies can file abridged or audit-exempt accounts — often a balance sheet only, no profit-and-loss, no audit. Knowing what's been left out is part of the check.From: accounts type + exemptions

What filed accounts can't tell you

The register is powerful but not omniscient. Accounts are filed months after the year-end, so they describe the past, not today. Small companies disclose less than larger ones. And nothing in the public record reveals off-book arrangements or a customer's current order book.

Verif-AI reads everything that has been filed and connects it across years and people — and it flags when a filing is thin, abridged or out of date, so you know how much weight the figures can carry. It is not a credit reference agency and issues no credit score; it shows you what's on the public record and leaves the decision with you.

Set a credit limit you can defend

A credit decision is yours to make — and it's easier to stand behind when it's grounded in the filings. The figures above are the ones a credit controller weighs: liquidity to cover the invoice, the direction of travel, who ranks ahead of you, and whether the people behind the company have a clean record.

Verif-AI turns those filings into a plain-English brief you can save to the customer file and re-run when the next accounts land — so the same evidence sits behind every limit you set.