Click on the questions to see the answers
Q: Is Credit Guardian different than a credit report?
A: With a credit report you get a one off snapshot of the company when you purchase the report. Credit Guardian allows you to monitor companies for up to a year at a fraction of the price of an average traditional credit report. The information in Credit Guardian is always up to date therefore you don't need to pay again.
Q: If I monitor a company in Credit Guardian do I have to pay each time I look at the information?
A: No, unlike a credit report, Credit Guardians allows you to look at the information as many times as you want during your subscription and it's always up to date, at no extra cost.
Q: How do I buy more monitored companies if I run out?
A: You have the option of upgrading your account to include additional companies or indeed of taking out a new contract.
Q: What do I do if I need help with Credit Guardian?
A: All Credit Guardian users have free access to the Credit Guardian User Forums.
If you have a support contract
Call the company who looks after your Credit Guardian support, this may be a Reseller or Draycir. If you're not sure please email us on sales@draycir.com.
Without a support contract
You can always check the Credit Guardian User Forums for help or contact the person you purchased Credit Guardian from to discuss taking out a support contract.
Q: I've downloaded Credit Guardian but I didn't link it to my accounting system, can I link at any time?
A: Yes, you can link Credit Guardian to your accounts system at any time - load Credit Guardian and follow the instructions within the software.
Q: A box saying "Connect to Credit Guardian server" appears when I click on the "Monitored Companies" list. What do I do?
A: Your computer requires an internet connection to talk to our server. Please ensure you have a working internet connection on your computer. If your computer does not have internet access then someone else will need Credit Guardian on their computer with internet access to update the business information and to receive alerts.
Q: How can I protect my company with Credit Guardian?
A: Credit Guardian enables you to monitor your own company to see if unauthorised changes are being made. For instance, has someone added or resigned a director or changed your company's registered office address?
Q: Can I monitor businesses outside of the UK?
A: Credit Guardian provides information from Experian on over 5 million UK businesses including limited, PLCs, LLPs, Partnerships and Sole Traders. Businesses outside of the UK cannot be monitored.
Q: Can I get credit information on individuals?
A: Credit Guardian provides information and helps you monitor UK businesses but not individuals. Some information on directors, company secretaries and shareholders is available for the businesses you are monitoring.
Q: What do I do if the company I am monitoring is a subsidiary of another company?
A: Parent company information is shown on the "Company Information" tab, if you wish to monitor the parent company or ultimate parent then click on their registration number (if applicable).
Q: Should I monitor the parent companies of the companies I deal with?
A: Yes, if a parent company fails then the entire group including subsidiaries could also fail. Not monitoring a parent company could expose you to unknown risks.
Q: Can I see which of my customers are most at risk?
A: Yes, click on the monitored companies list and filter by "Customer" you can then sort them by "Risk Rating".
Q: Can I see which of my debtors is most at risk?
A: Yes, from the "Customer" dashboard your total debt is broken down into different types of risk on the "Risk category (by amount owed)" chart. Double click on any segment of the chart and Credit Guardian will display the companies that make up that segment.
Note: this is only available if you have linked Credit Guardian to your accounting system.
Q: Should I monitor my suppliers?
A: Yes, if an important supplier fails and you are unable to find an alternative supplier your business will be put at greater risk. Also remember you may have paid for stock in advance, be unable to get credit with another supplier or be unable to deliver your goods or services due to the lead time in delivery from the alternative supplier.
Q: Can I control who has access to purchasing company information?
A: In Credit Guardian Professional you can set a user to be a 'Non-subscriber' which means that they can interact with existing companies but cannot monitor new ones.
Q: If I am monitoring a prospective customer or supplier can I link them to an account in my accounts system once we start trading with them?
A: Yes, select "Import a trading account", select the company from the list and click on the "binoculars" and Credit Guardian will search for the company and you can select monitor the company.
Q: Can I see how well I am being paid?
A: By linking Credit Guardian to your accounting system it can see how quickly you are being paid. Use the dashboards to see your own "days beyond terms" averages.
Q: How do I purchase Credit Guardian?
A: You can purchase Credit Guardian through a reseller or direct by credit/debit card. To purchase direct, first download and install the Credit Guardian software. After completing the setup and configuration wizard select the 'Purchase a subscription' option which is shown on the main window. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete your purchase.
Q: Why is Credit Guardian better than a credit report I can buy online?
A: Credit Guardian has many advantages over a credit report, for example the information is always up to date without repurchasing it, information can be merged from your accounting system giving you a fuller picture of the company and dashboards give you an overall view of all of the companies you are monitoring or working with.
Q: What accounting systems does Credit Guardian work with?
A: Credit Guardian integrates with the following accounts software:
We are also working on integrating Credit Guardian to the following accounts software:
Q: Do I need accounting software to use Credit Guardian?
A: No, you do not need any accounting software. Credit Guardian can be used as a stand-alone application to monitor and track from 50 up to 1,000 UK businesses.
Q: How many companies can I monitor?
A: This depends on the subscription you have purchased. There are subscription packages available for monitoring 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1,000 companies.
Q: Can I purchase a subscription to monitor more than 1,000 companies?
A: If you want to monitor more than 1,000 companies please contact Draycir to discuss your requirements. See our contacts page for more details.
Q: Why is the credit limit history/credit rating history/risk score history empty when I first monitor a company?
A: This information it built up over time as you monitor the company. As the information changes, Credit Guardian will update itself and build up the history for the company.
Q: Where does the information on the company come from?
A: A lot of the information comes from Experian, a global leader in providing information. However if you've linked Credit Guardian to your accounting system then details such as balance, turnover and pay performance are also merged with the information coming from Experian.
Q: Why should I monitor a competitor?
A: Monitoring a competitor enables to you see how viable their business is. Is the company stable, expanding or contracting? It is always worth keeping an eye on your competitors as you never know what opportunities may arise.
Q: What is a dataset?
A: A 'Dataset' is a term used to describe a set of accounts for a company, made up of sales and purchase accounts and normally a nominal or general ledger. For example if you have an accounting system and you run two separate businesses within your accounts system with each business having its own sales and purchase ledgers then that would be seen as you having two 'Datasets'.
Q: What is BI (Business Intelligence)?
A: The term 'Business Intelligence' describes the gathering, analysing and display of information. It is designed to give you up to date, clear and understandable information about your business at a glance. For example, you have a number of clients currently owing you money. If you need to know if that money is at risk you would have to spend a lot of time working this out, however the Credit Guardian BI chart 'Risk category (by amount owed)' shows you this instantly.
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