The legal entity
Confirm the exact legal name, country and an active registry record. Trading names and look-alike companies are common, so match the entity on the contract to the one you checked.
For exporters and sellers
A new overseas buyer is the biggest unknown in an export deal. Find out how they really pay, from sellers who invoiced them, before the container leaves your dock.
Shipping on open account means you are the buyer's bank. If they pay late, short or never, recovering money across a border is slow and expensive, and the goods are already gone. A credit report can tell you a company is registered. It cannot tell you whether it honours payment terms with its other suppliers.
Peer references fill that gap. TradeRepute collects references only from verified businesses that can prove they actually traded with the company, so you see payment behaviour reported by people who were on the other side of an invoice.
What to check
Six checks on any new overseas buyer
Payment behaviour
Do they pay on the agreed date, or stretch terms? Late payment to other suppliers is the earliest sign of cash-flow strain.
Contract discipline
Do they honour quantities, specifications and incoterms, or renegotiate once the goods are shipped?
Dispute history
Problems happen in every trade relationship. What matters is whether they resolve claims professionally or go silent.
Order size against history
A large first order from a recently formed company, with pressure to ship fast, deserves extra scrutiny and tighter payment terms.
Payment security
Where the risk justifies it, ask for a letter of credit, advance payment or trade credit insurance instead of open account.
Process
Check a buyer in three steps
- 1
Search the buyer
Enter the company name, website or registration number. Search is free and matches across legal forms and spellings.
- 2
Unlock the report
If verified references exist you see the price first. One payment unlocks the full report and any references added later.
- 3
Set your terms
Use the scores and written references to decide between open account, partial prepayment or a secured payment method.
Frequently asked questions
No single check is. Use peer references alongside a credit report, your own order history and, for larger exposures, trade credit insurance or a letter of credit. References tell you how a buyer behaves. They do not guarantee future payment.
Related guides
Know who you’re trading with before you commit.
Search is free. You only pay to unlock a report when verified references exist.