Which warning signs should you review before granting a client payment terms?

Administrative inconsistencies

• —Purchase order without a clear legal entity
• —Unexplained change of billing address
• —No identified approver or accounts-payable contact
• —Recently changed legal information

Financial and operational signs

Public data matters, but your own payment history with the client is also valuable.

• —Repeated delays, even for small amounts
• —A sudden request for unusually high credit
• —Old accounts, repeated losses or weak equity
• —Vague and changing payment promises

How to respond

Clarify approval routes, secure a usable purchase order and record the due date and terms before starting. Depending on risk, request a deposit or split the work into stages.

• —Common mistake: ignoring alerts to preserve a sale
• —Remain factual and avoid undocumented conclusions

Conclusion

A warning should trigger checks and a proportionate decision, not an automatic judgement.