Account Receivable Electronic Contribution
Many companies enjoy the benefits of sending their AR file electronically to BCI. Here are some FAQ’s asked by our member companies who are considering submitting their AR electronically:
Q: If my company submits a monthly file, can we notify our customers that we are reporting to a National Commercial Credit Reporting Bureau?
A: Yes, we recommend you notify customers so they pay you first! See our website for a sample notification letter that you can adapt for your purposes. You may also download our “We report customer payment information to BCI” image from our website for use on your invoices, website and email footers.
Q: Are there any other benefits my company will get if we submit our AR electronically?
A: Yes! Your company can utilize BCI’s Portfolio Management Suite – a set of tools including Portfolio Benchmarking, Customer Account Monitoring and Online Customer Credit Reference Services. Additionally, you will be able to pull our credit reports at a discounted rate! Companies that participate in Industry Trade Exchange groups will no longer have to manually report information – a significant time saving for your staff!
Q: If my company submits a monthly file, do I still have to complete my group “worksheets” or respond to group “inquiries”?
A: No, your information will automatically be included in BCI group reports and your group book will automatically be available to you online.
Q: What fields are we required to send?
A: The fields we recommend you include are:
| Customer Account (AR) # | Recent High Credit (if available) |
| Company Name | Account balance |
| Address | Current balance due |
| City | 1-30 days past due |
| State | 31-60 days past due |
| Zip code | 61-90 days past due |
| Country (if available) | 91+ days past due |
| Telephone number | Date of last sale (if available) |
| Sold Since or # years a customer (if available) |
Q: How frequently should we send in our file?
A: Monthly is the preferred submission frequency.
Q: If I already submit a file to another credit reporting bureau, will that file work for BCI?
A: 99% of the time we can accept the same file you send to another reporting bureau(s). It is best to send in a test file that we can run through our system to be sure all of the fields needed are included.
Q: I don’t have access to IT support to help me create a file. Can you help?
A: Yes. Most times ERP systems have export tools available to download a “report” into an excel or .pdf file. We can work with you to figure out how to extract the data. Often, it is best for us to set up a web-based meeting so we can see your screen and work “hands on” with you to get the file created.
Q: Our company system has customer name, address, telephone, etc. in one report or file, and our AR aging information in another. Can I send in two separate files?
A: Yes, we can accept multiple files as long as there is a common field (e.g. customer/account number) on all files so we can “join” them together.
Q: Once our file is tested and found acceptable, what is the monthly process for submitting our data?
A: You will submit your file monthly to datasubmission@nacmne.com . Be certain that your file is named (saved) with your member number and the date of the file contents (e.g. MMDDYR).
Q: Our company sells globally and in different currencies. In what denomination should I report currency?
A: We prefer to receive all currency in US dollars.