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Paydex is a system developed by financial reporting giant Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) to provide reports to credit agencies, banks and financial institutions, as well as other businesses on the payment record of other companies. Dun and Bradstreet compiles this information from data collected through banks and credit agencies and individual businesses who report on the payment habits of their dealers, distributors and suppliers.
This information is then recorded in Dun and Bradstreet’s massive data bank which produces a score on how well each company performs in paying its bills. This score is called a Paydex Score. The Paydex system is a dollar weighted numerical system and a higher Paydex Score means that a company almost always pays their bills on time to suppliers and other businesses. A lower Paydex score means that a company is more often late in making these payments.
The Paydex Score is regarded by many in the business community as not a sign of being good corporate customers, but even more as an indicator of the management and financial health of the business. Companies with a low Paydex Score often have difficulty making supply and credit arrangements with other businesses and in some cases have to pre-pay all or part of their orders in advance. That makes it very difficult to operate in many areas of business and can even cause a business to go under.
Banks, other lending institutions, and credit reporting agencies rely heavily on the Paydex Score to determine the creditworthiness of individual businesses. Low Paydex Scores will usually mean limited access to business credit and almost always result in higher interest rates and higher costs to the company in question. On the other hand a higher Paydex Score is seen as an attractive element of a business portfolio and can often lead to expanded business credit opportunities and the most advantageous lines of business credit.
In order to maintain a high Paydex Score companies must be vigilant in making payments to suppliers and other creditors within the agreed upon terms of payment. There may often be situations when it is not possible to meet these deadlines but businesses are encouraged to contact their creditors and make alternative arrangements if they want to keep their favorable Paydex Score and business credit rating.
If a business has difficulties that lead to a poor Paydex Score they can take actions to have Dun and Bradstreet review their file and their Paydex Score. That includes making arrangements with creditors of course, but it can also help to provide letters of reference from satisfied customers and suppliers who are prepared to signify their satisfaction with the payment capacity of the business.
The best way to keep a high Paydex Score is of course to pay all outstanding bills on time and within the allowed time frame
2 – Understand what the Paydex score means
So, your business has a paydex score of 75. What does the paydex score mean? Is this good or bad? Well, for this example a 75 Paydex score would be the equivalent of a FICO score of about 700 or above. This is a good Paydex score.
You can use this D&B key to help you interpret the PAYDEX Score.
Key to the D&B PAYDEX® Score
PAYDEX PAYMENT SCORE
100 - Anticipate – Payment detail may state: payments are received prior to date of invoice (Anticipated)
90 - Discount - Payment detail may state: payments are received within trade discount period (Discount)
80 - Prompt - /i>Payment detail may state: payments are received within terms granted (Prompt)
70- 15 Days Beyond Terms
60- 22 Days Beyond Terms
50 - 30 Days Beyond Terms
40 - 60 Days Beyond Terms
30 - 90 Days Beyond Terms
20 - 120 Days Beyond
UN - Unavailable
