Originally published as Chapter 13, in the book titled The Real Business of Photography , Allworth Press, NY ISBN 158115-350-3Checking Credit
A great way to avoid deadbeats is to check a prospects credit. I have been surprised at the number of photographers who will complete an assignment for a prospect for whom they have never worked before, is in a different part of the country, or they know practically nothing without checking the credit worthiness of the prospect. There are five ways to check credit. One of them costs money. The others only take a little bit of your time.
A basic credit report can be obtained from one of many commercial credit-reporting companies. Basic credit reports can be acquired over the Internet and cost as little as eight dollars. A Web search under the heading company credit reports will produce a number of companies that offer such services. One company, Collection Industry can be found at www.collectionindustry.com . It offers a variety of reports, which vary in detail and prices vary accordingly. D&B at www.dnb.com is another supplier, and it offers a collection service too. You should investigate and evaluate different services before you need them. Then, when some company asks you to lay out thousands of dollars in time and money to do work for them, you will at least know something about the level of risk you are taking by having a report on their credit history.
Credit references are a good way to check payment habits (not credit history). When you seek credit at a local supplier you will normally have to supply credit references of other businesses that have already given you credit. That is an everyday, normal request. You may not want to ask the buyer for a credit reference, but you can ask the accounts payable department, which normally handles such requests. The problem with such credit references is that companies generally know which suppliers they are not paying on time, so they are unlikely to give you those names. Still, it is a good idea to check. Sometimes one supplier knows what is happening to another by virtue of the commercial grapevine.
Peer credit checks are also a good idea, and easy to make. They amount to contacting other photographers who have worked for the company. You can ask your contact for a couple of names. Be honest about why you want them. Any person you call could report your call back to the person who gave you the name. You can put out a request for information on photographers Internet bulletin boards and e-mail list services. Be sure to word any such request carefully to avoid any liability. Heres an example of a request for credit information:
I have been asked to do some work for (name of company), which is located in (city, state). If anyone has had any dealings with this company would you please e-mail me at (your e-mail address).
The message is worded in a manner to discourage any negative replies online. You do not want to initiate an Internet discussion about a company, if negative things might be said about it. That is not to say that replies will be private as you asked them to be. But you will have asked properly, and if the person replying chooses to go public with negative information, it is their choice. You asked for a private reply.
If you are checking on a local company, you might be able to find a local photographer or two who has worked with the company, depending on how deep your peer network goes. If you belong to any local photographers organization or chapter of a national organization, you should be able to ask at one of its meetings, assuming the scheduled date of the meeting is compatible with your need for information.
Advances
If you are working with a company whose credit worthiness is questionable, you should consider asking for an advance payment. An advance on fees and expenses is best, but at least an advance for expenses is in order. That way you only risk a loss of your time and not of money spent to buy materials and services to compete the job. Getting advances from poorly funded companies is not easy. Companies that cannot pay their bills on time are unlikely to have the money to make an advance payment. Obtaining an advance on fees is not easy. You have neither done work nor delivered any product. Yet asking for an advance or a partial advance on expenses is reasonable especially when the expenses will be substantial. You are a small business and your ability to finance the expenses of a larger business is limited. You can make a reasonable argument for an expense advance. If your request is turned down, it might be a reason to exercise more caution from that point forward.
Go to Part 8
(c) 2004 Richard Weisgrau [contact] [bio]
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