|
|
|
| |
 Close Window | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Glossary of Terms Used in D&B Business/Credit Reports Banking Section / Banking Relationships Reported Bankruptcy Branch Business Registrations Business Summary Section
The Business Summary section displays basic company profile information, such as name, trade styles, address, phone number, parent company name and location, chief executive officer name, sales volume, net worth, number of employees, line of business and the D&B D-U-N-S® Number. Use this summary of the full report to get a quick view of the business, and locate areas to investigate more closely. This section may include the following terms: D&B Rating Domestic Ultimate D-U-N-S® Number
Financial Condition Provides an overview of a company's financial statement with a designation of - Strong, Good, Fair and Unbalanced. Financial Condition is calculated by reviewing up to 11 financial ratios and comparing them to industry averages for each of the company's lines of business. Financing Designated as
Evaluates how a company is doing financially compared to its industry in order to understand the company’s profitability and solvency. D&B calculates five key financial ratios and provides industry benchmarks against a peer group of companies. Financial Stress Class Assesses the likelihood of a business experiencing financial stress over the next 18 months. Financial Stress Summary The company's Financial Stress Class is given as a 1 to 5 rating and as a percentile ranking to determine the likelihood of business experiencing financial stress as compared to the national average and the company's industry. Financial Stress Score A statistically derived score that helps predict the likelihood that a company will obtain legal relief from credits or cease operations without paying creditors in full over the next 18 months. Financial Stress Norms Compare the company's Financial Stress Class to average ratings for firms with similar demographic characteristics to help you determine where the firm stands in relation to the norm. Financial Summary This section summarizes key financial data such as balance sheet and income statement information, plus key financial ratios to help you determine the firm's profitability, liquidity, and debt-to-capital position as compared to industry medians. G Global Ultimate D-U-N-S® Number The D-U-N-S Number belonging to a business' worldwide ultimate parent company. H Headquarters A headquarters is a business location that has branches or divisions reporting to it, and is legally responsible for those branches or divisions. If the headquarters is more than 50 percent owned by another corporation, it will also be a subsidiary. If it owns more than 50 percent of another corporation, then it is also a parent. History Designated as
HQ/Parent D-U-N-S® Number The D-U-N-S Number belonging to a business' immediate headquarters or parent. I-L Inactive Business A business is considered inactive if it meets any one of the following criteria: 1) is out of business, 2) has an undeliverable mailing address, or 3) is delisted (i.e., the customer has requested D&B to exclude its information from our database). Judgment(s) The final resolution of a suit; the official court decision regarding the parties' rights and obligations, including whether the plaintiff is entitled to relief defined in the suit. Lien(s) A claim or encumbrance which one party holds against the property of another party until a debt or obligation is satisfied. LOB Line of business. M Marketability Code Indicates whether or not a record meets D&B's standards for direct mail and marketing applications. See Marketable Record. Marketable Record In general, a record that meets the following criteria is considered marketable: 1) has been updated within the last 24 months, 2) contains a complete business name, valid physical or mailing address, and valid Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Code, 3) is believed to be in business, and 4) is not delisted (i.e., the company has not requested D&B to exclude its information from its database). N-O Net Worth This gives a picture of a company's financial size. 'E' indicates figures are estimates provided by the owners, partners or officers of the company; 'F' means figures were taken from a financial statement; Operations Section This section provides background information on the business operations of a company. This may include the identity of a parent company, the number of accounts and geographic scope of the business, typical selling terms, and whether the firm owns or leases its facilities. The names and locations of branch operations and subsidiaries may also be identified in this section. Other Payment Categories Miscellaneous indicators of a firm's payment habits, including the highest dollar amounts owed; the highest dollar amounts past due; number and dollar value of cash payments and placed for collection experiences. P Parent A parent is a corporation that owns more than 50 percent of another corporation. The parent company may also be a subsidiary of another corporation. If the parent also has branches/divisions, then it is also a headquarters. Parents can have both direct and indirect subsidiaries, indirect subsidiaries being those that have another company in between the subsidiary and the parent. PAYDEX® Score D&B's unique dollar-weighted numerical indicator of how a firm paid its bills over the past year, based on trade experiences reported to D&B by various vendors. The D&B PAYDEX Score ranges from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating better payment performance. D&B PAYDEX® Score Key Use this key to help you interpret the D&B PAYDEX Score.
Payment Analysis by Industry
An overview of how a firm pays suppliers in up to 10 lines of business where it has recorded the highest number of credit transactions. This information can help you evaluate how quickly you can expect to be paid, based on a company's payment history with your industry peers. Payment Summary Section This section highlights how quickly a company is likely to pay its bills in the future by reviewing its payment patterns with other vendors in the past, as reported to D&B. Payment performance is outlined relative to aging, dollar amounts, and industry groupings. Specific information includes:
Spot trends in a company’s business by analyzing how it pays its bills. D&B's PAYDEX Score compares a company’s payment records with others in the industry -- for up to two years. This unique indicator gives you an instant overview of how a firm pays its bills. It is calculated based on up to 875 payment experiences reported to D&B by various sources. Primary SIC Represents a company's activity with the largest percentage of sales revenue. See Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Public Filings Section/ Public Filings Summary This section informs you of past and present legal activities that could impact a company's financial stability and operations. Public filings can include bankruptcies, lawsuits, liens, judgments and Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) statements, which contain details on assets pledged as collateral in secured financing agreements. Public record information is collected from multiple sources in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, D&B covers all federal bankruptcy courts and tracks nearly all business-related failures filed in the U.S. The following are the types of filings that may appear in a report: Bankruptcy, Judgment, Lien, Suit, UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) Filing. R Rating Helps you quickly assesses a company's size and composite credit appraisal, e.g., a company rated 3A3 has a worth of $1,000,000 - $9,999,999 based on a current interim or fiscal balance sheet and a composite credit appraisal of 'Fair'. Rating Key/Rating Summary The D&B Rating can help you quickly assess a firm's size and composite credit appraisal, based on information in a company's interim or fiscal balance sheet and an overall evaluation of the firm's creditworthiness. The "5A" to "HH" Rating Classifications reflect company size based on worth or equity as computed by D&B. Company size can be an effective indicator of credit capacity. These Ratings are assigned to businesses that have supplied D&B with a current financial statement. The Composite Credit Appraisal is a number, 1 through 4, that makes up the second half of the company's rating and reflects D&B's overall assessment of that firm's creditworthiness. The Composite Credit Appraisal is based on D&B analysis of company payments, financial information, public records, business age and other important factors (when available). Note: A "2" is the highest Composite Credit Appraisal a company not supplying D&B with current financial information can receive. The "1R" and "2R" Rating categories reflect company size based on the total number of employees for the business. They are assigned to company files that do not contain a current financial statement. ER (Employee Range) Ratings apply to certain lines of business that do not lend themselves to classification under the D&B Rating system. Instead, we assign these types of businesses an Employee Range symbol based on the number of people employed. No other significance should be attached to this symbol. For example, a rating of "ER7" means there are between five and nine employees in the company. "ERN" should not be interpreted negatively. It simply means we do not have information indicating how many people are employed at this firm. The D&B Rating field in a report may also display the following designations when certain conditions are present:
Key To Employee Range
ER1 1,000 or more
ER2 500-999
ER3 100-499
ER4 50-99
ER5 20-49
ER6 10-19
ER7 5-9
ER8 1-4
ERN Not Available
Rating Classification (Based on
Worth from Interim or Fiscal Composite Credit Appraisal
Balance Sheet) HIGH GOOD FAIR LIMITED
------------------------------- --------------------------
5A $50,000,000 and over 1 2 3 4
4A 10,000,000 to 49,999,999 1 2 3 4
3A 1,000,000 to 9,999,999 1 2 3 4
2A 750,000 to 999,999 1 2 3 4
1A 500,000 to 749,999 1 2 3 4
BA 300,000 to 499,999 1 2 3 4
BB 200,000 to 299,999 1 2 3 4
CB 125,000 to 199,999 1 2 3 4
CC 75,000 to 124,999 1 2 3 4
DC 50,000 to 74,999 1 2 3 4
DD 35,000 to 49,999 1 2 3 4
EE 20,000 to 34,999 1 2 3 4
FF 10,000 to 19,999 1 2 3 4
GG 5,000 to 9,999 1 2 3 4
HH up to 4,999 1 2 3 4
Rating Classification Composite Credit Appraisal
(Based on Number of Employees) GOOD FAIR LIMITED
------------------------------- -------------------
1R 10 employees and over 2 3 4
2R 1 to 9 employees 2 3 4
Reference Record A record that does not meet D&B's standards for direct mail and marketing applications and, therefore, is not classified a Marketable Record. Any one of the following conditions would classify the record as a Reference Record: 1) has not been updated within the last 24 months, 2) does not contain a complete business name, valid physical or mailing address, or valid Standard Industry Classification (SIC) code, 3) is not believed to be in business, or 4) has been delisted (i.e., the company has requested D&B to exclude its information from its database). S Sales Provides a snapshot of a company's financial size in terms of sales/revenue volume. "Projected" indicates an estimated sales volume provided by management; "F" means figures were taken from an income statement. See the Finance Section for details. SIC See Standard Industrial Classification. Single Location A single location is the only location of a business, therefore it has no branches or subsidiaries reporting to it. If it is more than 50 percent owned by another corporation, it will also be a subsidiary. Special Events Section Special Events alert you to any recent developments D&B learns about that may impact your potential relationship with a firm, such as bankruptcy filings, changes in ownership, acquisitions and other events. Information reported in this section may also include announcements on the release of earnings reports. Special Events may help explain unusual company trends. For example, a change in ownership could have an impact on manner of payment, or decreased production may reflect an unexpected interruption in factory operations (i.e. labor strike, fire). Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) SIC is a standardized numbering system developed by the Federal Government that classifies business establishments according to the industries they belong to. It is particularly helpful when you're looking to segment markets, analyze customer relationships, and conduct general business research. SIC codes divide all major economic activity into ten major divisions. Businesses are then further classified within each division. The first two digits in the code represent a company's major industry affiliation and its subdivision. For example, the first two digits in "Manufacturing," one of the ten major SIC divisions, range from 20 to 39. The remaining digits break down the divisions into specific activities and "sub-industries." If more than one SIC Code is listed, the first one is the company's primary line of business, with others comprising at least 10 percent of the company's revenue. A maximum of six SICs will be listed for a company. Details can be found in the Operations section of reports. Started (Control Date) Indicates the year the company was started or present management took control. Statement Update Section This section includes information D&B has obtained directly from the company since our last full interview with the principals of the business. It may include pertinent information such as updated financial data, commentary on recent business trends or operating details. Subsidiary A subsidiary is a corporation that is more than 50 percent owned by another corporation and will have a different legal business name from its parent company. A subsidiary must be either a single location, a headquarters, or a parent. A subsidiary may have branches and/or subsidiaries of its own. Suit(s) A proceeding filed by a plaintiff(s) against a defendant (s) in a court of law, in which the plaintiff(s) seeks monetary or non-monetary relief. Summary Provides a summary of the full report to get a quick view of the company, and locate areas to investigate more closely. Summary Analysis Section This section displays the current D&B Rating, when it was assigned and why. Additional content may include rating changes that have occurred during the past year so you can spot trends and evaluate the stability of a firm over time. Summary of Payment Habits Gives you a detailed look at payment practices reported to D&B to support your assessment, such as number of payment experiences by dollar amount and percent paid promptly. Supplier Risk Score Helps you evaluate the level of risk involved with a supplier. This predictive score helps you understand the general financial status of a supplier and benchmarks this supplier against others. Presents an at-a-glance 1 to 9 rating based on financial, public records and operational information, with 1 being the lowest and 9 the highest risk. T Top 10 Industries Offers a summary of how a firm pays the industries it most frequently does business with as reported to D&B. Review this section to see how quickly you can expect to be paid as compared to your industry peers. Understanding how your existing or potential customers are likely to pay can help you better manage your company's cash flow. U UCC Filing(s) A legal document creditors use to secure their rights to collateral specified in a secured financing agreement. This document, which the creditor files with the appropriate state authority (Secretary of State office), gives the creditor a legally recognized interest in the collateral until payment is received in full. It also provides legal title to these assets in the event a debtor suffers financial hardship and is unable to meet its promise to pay. Update Information obtained since our last full interview with the business principals. May contain such pertinent information as updated financial data, business trends or updated operating details. W Worth The net worth of the business. "E" indicates figures are estimates provided by the owners, partners or officers of the company; "F" means figures were taken from a financial statement. This element offers another view of the company's financial size. See the Finance Section for details. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Close Window |
||||||||||||||||||||||||