The short answer
You can learn most of what you need about a new client’s payment behaviour before anything is signed, and in the US most of it takes about 20 minutes:
Look up a business credit report, which is built from how the company actually pays its suppliers.
Check the public record: state registration, court judgments, and lending filings.
Ask your own network, and whoever referred them.
Listen to how they negotiate terms, which tells you more than any report.
None of this is about turning work away. It decides the structure: how much deposit, how many milestones, and how much you are willing to be owed at any one time.
1. A business credit report
In the US this is the closest thing to a payment record, because the scores are built from what other suppliers report about being paid.
The best known is Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX score, a 1 to 100 measure of past payment performance drawn from trade experiences that suppliers submit. D&B puts 80 at prompt payment, with 50 to 79 signalling moderate risk of late payment and anything under 50 high risk. Above 80 means paying early. Experian and Equifax publish their own business scores on similar lines.
How to read it
Compare the score with the terms the client is about to offer you. A company with a PAYDEX in the 60s proposing net 60 is describing a 3-month wait. A score in the 80s tells you the structure can be normal.
What it costs, and when to bother
Reports are paid, so use them where the exposure is real: a first project over roughly $10,000, or a retainer you could not quickly replace. The cost worth naming: a score describes the past and says nothing about the client’s intentions towards you specifically.
2. The public record
Free, and worth the 10 minutes on any client you have not worked with:
The state business registry. Every US state publishes entity status, registration date and standing. A company formed 4 months ago asking for net 60 is carrying your work on very little history, and an entity not in good standing is worth a question before you invoice it.
Court records. State court portals and the federal PACER system show judgments and suits. A pattern of suppliers suing for payment is the clearest signal you will find.
UCC filings, usually searchable at the Secretary of State. These show which lenders have security over the company’s assets. Several recent filings can mean a business leaning heavily on financing.
None of these is proof on its own. Treat them as reasons to ask for a deposit rather than reasons to decline.
3. In Europe
There is no EU-wide payment performance register, but 2 things help. Business registers across EU countries have been interconnected and searchable since 2017 through the European e-Justice portal, which gives you company status, legal form and filings from one place. Credit agencies such as Creditsafe, Coface and Altares cover European companies the way D&B covers the US.
The negotiation itself also has a legal backdrop worth knowing. Under the EU Late Payment Directive, businesses are expected to pay within 60 days unless both sides expressly agree otherwise and the terms are not grossly unfair. A European client pressing for 90 days is asking for something outside the default, which is a reasonable thing to say out loud.
4. In the UK, payment records are published by law
The UK is the exception, and it is worth knowing if you take UK work. Large UK companies must publish how they pay suppliers, and anyone can search the data for free at check-payment-practices.service.gov.uk.
The duty applies to businesses meeting at least 2 of: £54 million turnover, £27 million on the balance sheet, or 250 employees, and they report at least twice a year. Each report shows the average days taken to pay, the share of payments made in 30 days or fewer, in 31 to 60 days and in 61 days or longer, and the share not paid within the agreed period. For context, government statistics put the 2025 average across large UK businesses at 32 days.
5. Ask the people who already know
The cheapest check, and the one most often skipped. If the client came through a referral, ask the person who referred them how payment went. If you know other suppliers who serve their industry, ask them too.
Ask a specific question rather than a general one. “Are they good to work with?” gets a polite yes. “How long did it take from invoice to payment?” gets a number.
6. Listen to the negotiation
The most reliable signal is free and arrives on its own. A client who pushes for net 60 or longer, cannot say who approves invoices, has no purchase order process to describe, or resists a deposit on principle is telling you how the payment will go. The 6 payment questions to ask before you start are built to surface this, and the answers come faster before a contract is signed than after.
What to do with what you find
What you find | How to structure the work |
|---|---|
Strong payment score, pays close to terms | Normal terms, standard deposit |
Moderate score, or a habit of paying beyond terms | Shorter terms, invoice before their payment run, milestone billing |
Weak score, or suppliers have sued for payment | Payment in advance, or decline |
Young company, thin public record | Deposit, and stage the work so you can stop cleanly |
Pressing for terms beyond 60 days | Price the terms in, or hold at your own |
Cannot name an approver or describe a process | Ask again before signing, and treat vagueness as a finding |
The second column is the point of the exercise. A deposit and the right terms turn a mediocre payer into a manageable client, and a limit on what one client can owe you covers the rest.
FAQ
How can I check if a company pays its invoices on time?
In the US, pull a business credit report: Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX score is built from payment experiences reported by other suppliers. Add the state registry, court records and references. In the UK, large companies publish their payment performance and you can search it free.
What is a good PAYDEX score for a client?
Dun & Bradstreet treats 80 as prompt payment, 50 to 79 as moderate risk of late payment, and below 50 as high risk. Read it against the terms the client is proposing rather than on its own.
Is it rude to credit check a client?
No. Larger companies run checks on their suppliers routinely, and you extend credit every time you invoice in arrears. The checks use public records or paid reports, so there is no need to mention it.
What if the client has a poor payment record?
Change the structure rather than the answer. Take a larger deposit, bill in smaller milestones, shorten the terms, and cap how much they can owe you at any one time.
What is the most reliable warning sign?
How the client behaves in the negotiation. Pushing for long terms, refusing a deposit, or being unable to say who approves invoices predicts the payment experience better than any report.