Trade-reference checklist
A useful reference is more than “good customer.” Ask consistent, factual questions that help your credit team understand the relationship, exposure, and payment experience behind the response.
Step 1
Verify the business name, respondent's name and role, business contact details, and their authority to provide the reference. Confirm the applicant gave permission for the supplier to contact the selected business.
Step 2
A long-standing active supplier relationship may be more informative than a small or dormant account. Ask when the account opened, whether it is currently active, and whether the purchasing pattern resembles the new request.
Step 3
Collect comparable facts rather than a broad endorsement. Ask for normal payment terms, current credit limit, highest recent credit, current balance, past-due balance, and the respondent's factual description of payment performance.
Step 4
Look for differences between the applicant's requested exposure and the experience the reference can actually confirm. One reference should not decide the outcome; use the response with the rest of the file and the supplier's policy.
Step 5
Record who responded, when they responded, what factual information was provided, and which application used it. Limit access to people who need the reference for the credit review and follow the supplier's retention and privacy requirements.
TradeCredit.ca organizes the application, reference responses, follow-up, and audit trail. Your team evaluates the evidence and makes the credit decision.
Questions credit teams ask
It is information from a supplier or other business relationship that helps describe an applicant's payment experience, credit terms, and account history.
Common questions cover relationship length, account status, normal terms, current credit limit, high credit, current and past-due balances, and factual payment experience.
No. A reference describes one relationship and may be selected by the applicant. Use it as one input alongside the application, bureau information where appropriate, financial evidence, internal history, and the supplier's policy.
Follow the supplier's documented escalation policy. That may include reminders, asking the applicant for a replacement reference, requesting other evidence, or pausing the review rather than treating silence as a positive or negative result.
Canadian supplier pilot
TradeCredit.ca sends, tracks, and organizes trade references beside the commercial credit application.