CMA Daily News

anscers Video Tutorial - Submit an Alert

We are creating short video tutorials on how to use the anscers.com system. Click here to view the first one "Submit an Alert".

Send your feedback on the video to damadril@creditservices.org.

Average Days to Pay – New Tradeline Measurement on anscers.com

CMA launched anscers.com with the tradeline measurement Days Beyond Terms (DBT) as an option on each tradeline. A DBT measurement tells you, on average, how many days beyond terms a customer pays.

The DBT measurement sparked conversation among anscers users, some claiming this measurement was the best to use, others suggested the use of Average Days to Pay (ADP). We surveyed users and found the split about 50/50 at the time.

Now that anscers is accepting full accounts receivable contributions we find a lot more customers using the ADP measurement and the data in the DBT field is misleading. ADP measures how many days to pay from the date of the invoice, DBT measurement starts on the invoice due date.

Since full accounts receivable contributions are the focus of anscers and key to building a substantial database, CMA has made a decision to change the tradeline measurement from DBT to ADP on anscers.com.

To accomplish this:

1.    All data that currently exists in the DBT fields will be removed from the anscers database.
2.    The DBT field will be changed to ADP on all anscers screens and group worksheets.
3.    Starting in May 2008 full accounts receivable contributors that include ADP or DSO (a similar measurement) will be added to the anscers database.

Our goal is to have this completed by April 28, 2008, and we will keep anscers users informed of our progress.

For those who prefer to view DBT calculation, there is still a way to make the new ADP data work for you. Simply take the ADP on a company subtract your terms and that will give you a DBT estimate according to your terms (ADP 54 minus your terms of 30 = 24 Days Beyond Terms).

If you would like to contribute your full accounts receivable to anscers.com please contact Teresa Campos at 818-972-5361 or tcampos@creditservices.org.

For any concerns or questions please contact Customer Service at 818-972-5332.

Thank you for using anscers.com!

anscers Testing New Search in Reports

anscers is testing a new company search in the anscers Business Credit Reports area. To try the new search log into anscers.com, click the Reports tab, then click on anscers Business Credit Reports.

For a great comparison of the old search and new search - try a search today in anscers Business Credit Reports (new) - then click on the RFI tab, click Start RFI button and search for the same company (old).

We would love to hear what you think about the new search. To give us your feedback:

• Comment to this post on CMA Daily News
• Email Mike Mitchell direct at mmitchell@creditservices.org
• or Contact Customer Support at 800-541-2622 Option 6

FREE anscers RFI Tutorial Webinars

anscers RFI Reference service, comes out of BETA on 9/1/07. As we officially start charging for anscers RFI (outside of a group) and anscers Business Credit Reports we want to make sure you get the most for your money by learning how to use anscers. For more info about the services Download anscers_rfi_and_report.pdf

Register for one of the three FREE webinars in September by clicking on the anscers Events tab and selecting one of the following dates:

• 9/5/07 8:30 to 9:30 am
• 9/12/07 8:30 to 9:30 am
• 9/19/07 8:30 to 9:30 am

anscers RFI - Second Notice By Fax

anscers Users who use the RFI Reference feature (sending the RFI to references outside their trade group) had requested a second notice be sent to those who had not responded.

The second notice by fax is now in place. Here is how it works. If the RFI Reference has not responded to the first fax request within 48 hours, a second fax is automatically generated and sent by anscers.

Click here to see what the fax forms look like.

The second request has already proven to increase the amount of responses received during the RFI process.

Reminder: anscers will start charging for trade responses to the RFI from outside references on 9/1/07. To find out more about this Download anscers_rfi_and_report.pdf

anscers Recorded Webinars

Training for one, or more. anscers Recorded Webinars $79 each. View as many times as you like for 60 days.

Access the training you need, when you need it. anscers recorded webinars are available 24/7 from anscers.com. Here are just a few ideas how you could use anscers recorded webinars:

• Train during your lunch break
• Arrive early and train on anscers.com
• Forget the traffic train from home
• Reserve the conference room and train your whole staff at once
• Throw a staff training & lunch event

Train one or more people all for the same $79 charge.

What’s available now on anscers.com:

• "Lean Six Sigma" for Effective Management
• How to Determine if You Need Credit Insurance 
• Spotting and Avoiding Business Credit Fraud 
• Start Down the Path of Success with the NACM Professional Designation Program FREE
• How Letters of Credit Work (..and Why They Sometimes Don't) 
• Bulldog Collection Techniques 
• Perfect Credit Applications 
• Phone Power 
• Results Driven Communication 
• The Art of Credit Management: A Fundamental Checklist for the Success of Every Credit Professional

More webinars are being recorded weekly. Check the Events area of anscers for the latest recordings.

anscers Business Credit Report and RFI Information Sheet

anscers Business Credit Reports consist of tradelines and credit alerts added to the system through Groups, RFIs, and accounts receivable contributions.

Contents of the reports include:
1. The last 12 months of trade data
2. The last 12 months of credit alerts
3. Past inquiries on the subject in the last 12 months

The report price is determined by the number of tradelines on the report. For NACM Members the price is 0.99 a line, with a Cap price of $9.99. If the user is a member of a credit group, all lines from their group members are FREE. All credit alerts are FREE. The anscers Business Credit Report price will be displayed on the Purchase Credit Report button:

anscers Request For Information (RFI) is a service that allows the user to obtain fresh information on a company. Users choose a company to RFI and then enter the references they want information from. If the user is a member of a group they can request data from their group, in addition to references. In many cases anscers will identify additional references the user can add to the RFI . The anscers references are:
• Companies who have inquired on the company in the past
• Companies who have tradelines older than 12 months
• Companies who have been identified as a reference in the past but have not responded with a tradeline

Pricing is determined by how many references respond with trade information. NACM Members are charged 0.99 a tradeline, no experience responses are FREE. Group and Network responses are FREE. For example; an anscers user submits an RFI with 6 references, 4 respond with tradelines 2 with no experience. The charge for that RFI would be $3.96 (4 x .99).

anscers User Billing Section
Click on My Account   to get to User Billing and see how many RFI’s and anscers Business Credit Reports you company has used each month. The data is displayed on a monthly basis. RFI’s do not display in User Billing until they are expired. The following image is a User Billing display. You can track your billing, review reports, and view RFI confirmation pages.

anscers Database stats:
• In the last 12 months anscers has collected over 673,000 tradelines and credit alerts on more than 172,000 companies.
• anscers has more than 500,000 subjects in our database.
• anscers has processed over 19,500 RFIs since June 2005.
• There are over 13,100 tradeline comments in the anscers system.

anscers RFI and Business Credit Report Information Sheet

We have fielded many questions regarding the anscers RFI and Business Credit Report pricing starting 9.1.07.

The download attached explains more about the pricing, the size of our database, the services offered, and what you will see in User Billing.

Download anscers_rfi_and_report.pdf

Thanks for using anscers.com - we look forward to providing you valuable services now and in the future.

anscers Business Credit Report Pricing - starts 9/1/07

Credit Reports are still in Beta and are free until September 1, 2007

To offer your company the best value for anscers Business Credit Reports, you only pay for the number of tradelines that appear on a given credit report, up to a maximum amount per report (see pricing below):

NACM Members - 0.99 per tradeline, up to a maximum of 9.99 per report.

Non-members - 1.99 per tradeline, up to a maximum of 19.99 per report.

For information about how your company can become an NACM member, contact Customer Support at (800) 541-2622 Option 6.

anscers Metals Credit Network expands regionally

Participation in the new anscers Metals Credit Network has increased to 26 members, which now includes representatives from the Steel Warehouse and the Aluminum Suppliers/Extruders Groups in Southern CA, the Metals Supply Group in Northern CA, the Las Vegas Materialman's Group, and the Northern Nevada Construction Group.

If you are interested in joining the anscers Metals Credit Network please contact Teresa Campos at 818-972-5361.