| Credit Topics
| Credit Providers
| Credit Club
| Free Credit Newsletter
| Industry Credit Groups
| Information Center

Information Management

One of the most important functions of the Credit Department is to keep people informed of what you are doing and the progress you are making toward meeting the goals of the company and the various departments where important relationship have been formed.  These people and departments could include:

• Management
• Credit Staff
• Sales Staff
• Accounting
• Operations

Lets now go over what information could be provided to these groups of people.  We want to inform them and in some cases to provide the means for interaction. 

Management Reports

Management will probably inform you as to what they want in the way of management reports.  More than likely, they will want these reports on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis.  They will want these reports to keep them informed as to whether or not you are meeting the goals they have established for you and to get an overall sense of the results you are obtaining.  Here is an example of a a very basic report.  Only 1 month is shown, but you should show columns for all 12 months. 

Credit Staff Reports

In most cases, the credit staff should receive the same reports that management receives, plus additional reports pertinent to their responsibilities.  If the staff is divided by region, branch, industry or even customer, then the reports should also reflect these specific responsibilities.

Sales Reports

The Sales reports are provided to members of the Sales Staff, including Managers and Account Managers.  The reports to the Account Managers could include a listing and credit and collection status of their individual customers, including customer lines of credit, unused credit facilities, and status of collection efforts.  This report may include a way for the Account Managers to interact by being able to write remarks and returning it to the Credit Department.

Accounting Reports

The accounting department assists the credit department by maintaining the accounting records for all customers.  This could mean posting all transactions, including payments, credits, adjustment, etc.,  to the customer accounts in a timely and accurate manner.  Both departments should work closely to meet the requirements that both have from each other. 

Operations Reports

The first thing to consider is what type of operations does the Credit Department affect?  As an example, holding orders will probably affect  warehousing and delivery of orders. It may also affect purchasing of product and maintaining inventory levels.  It could even affect manpower requirements and working normal or over time hours.  As a result, your reports may need to address some of these issues.