Mobius Insights | Company Due Diligence Solutions - Nov 2026
Every credit limit you approve is a loan. You make it before the first invoice is paid, and the money may not come back for months.
Most finance teams check the new customer’s name, look at its website, pull a credit score, and move on. That is often where the risk starts, because none of those checks tell you who really controls the business or whether its accounts still make sense.
What a quick check misses
A website shows what a company wants you to see. A credit score shows how a company has paid in the past, if it has a record at all. Neither shows you who owns the business, whether the directors are the same people who signed the last contract, or whether the company has been quietly changing shape.
That gap is where bad debt tends to come from. Not from the obvious cases, but from the company that looks fine on paper and has no real history behind it.
What to check before the first order
Registration and name history. Companies change names, and some reappear under a new one after a problem. A company renamed twice in three years deserves a question before you ship anything.
Directors and ultimate owners. Who owns the company, and who can decide whether it pays? Following the chain of ownership to the people at the top is where many problems show up.
Shared addresses and linked companies. Several firms at one address, or with the same directors, can mean a group that moves risk from one name to another.
Accounts and filing history. Late or missing filings, sudden changes in the accounts, and unexplained gaps are early warnings. None of them proves anything alone. Together, they tell you where to look harder.
Sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEPs). The customer or its owners may be on a sanctions list, or closely linked to a politically exposed person. The check takes minutes. Missing it can cost far more than that.
Adverse media and litigation. Court actions, insolvency notices and press coverage often show a pattern before the payments do.
Questions to ask the customer
Documents tell you what was filed. Questions tell you whether the customer can explain it. Ask who the ultimate owners are, which bank the company pays from, who signs for it, and what its largest current contracts are. A customer who answers clearly has nothing to hide. A customer who avoids the questions has told you something useful.
How we approach it at Mobius Solutions
At Mobius Solutions, we run these checks as part of a company due diligence report. Each counterparty is screened for sanctions and PEP exposure before we start work on it. We handle personal data under UK GDPR and follow our anti-money laundering obligations.
The report sets out what we found, what we could not confirm, and what each finding means for the credit decision. It does not tell you to approve or refuse the customer. That decision stays with you, and the report is there to make it an informed one.
Two reports, two levels
Standard company due diligence report: £200. The core company checks described above, delivered as a written report.
Advanced company due diligence report: £295. Adds litigation and ownership checks for higher-value or higher-risk credit decisions.
Reports are delivered through our store, so you can see the price and what you are buying before you pay.
Before you send the first order
Run the checks before the first order, not after the first missed payment. Set the credit limit against what you have verified, not against what the customer has told you. Review the limit when the company’s details change: a new director, a new address, or a sudden change in payment behaviour.
A check done once at the start costs far less than a debt written off a year later.
Get the Standard report for £200: https://mobiusmind2.gumroad.com/l/bexyy
Not sure whether a customer is worth checking? Send us the file for a free file review: business@mobius-solutions.net
