FAQ
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What is a D&B D-U-N-S® Number?
The D&B D-U-N-S® Number is a unique nine-digit identification sequence, which provides unique identifiers of single business entities, while linking corporate family structures together.
D&B links the D&B D-U-N-S® Numbers of parents, subsidiaries, headquarters and branches on more than 130 million corporate family members around the world. Used by the world's most influential standards-setting organizations, it is recognized, recommended and/or required by more than 50 global, industry and trade associations, including the United Nations, the U.S. Federal Government, the Australian Government and the European Commission.
In today's global economy, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number has become the standard for keeping track of the world's businesses. Once a number has been allocated to a business, it can be used to identify and link millions of companies worldwide.
How do I get a D&B D-U-N-S® Number?
At no charge to you, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number can make it easier for your business associates to do business with you. Some customers even require it of their suppliers. A D&B D-U-N-S® Number is a non-indicative nine-digit number assigned by D&B to identify unique business entities. D&B will assign a D&B D-U-N-S®S Number to any business location with unique, separate and distinct operations. However, generic departments at the same location or unstaffed operations points (automated teller machines, vending machines, etc.) will not be assigned a D&B D-U-N-S® Number.
If you would like to obtain a D&B D-U-N-S® Number for your business, please contact D&B Customer Service via telephone: 0043 (0)1 58861-155 or via e-mail:
What's the value of a D&B D-U-N-S® Number?
By embedding D&B D-U-N-S® Number at the core of your global marketing, credit and purchasing transactions, you can take data you already have and turn it into powerful business information. By combining your company's internal data with D&B's database and other marketplace information, you can create a value-added information source within your own organization.
Within Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Customer Resource Management (CRM), and Customer Information Management (CIM) solutions, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number can help ensure more accurate data rationalization. This means that you can have confidence in the quality of information you use to manage your business.
In database marketing applications, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number allows customers to quantify how much business they are already doing within a market sector or corporate family structure, to enable more effective planning of new sales and marketing activities.
In credit applications and decision-support software systems, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number can link customer files to respective parent companies to see total credit exposure. This insight into customers' corporate family structures means that credit limits can be managed intelligently and collection efforts prioritized.
In purchasing applications, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number enables a better understanding of your supplier base by helping identify duplicate records and providing linkage information on supplier family structures. This understanding allows you to leverage your purchasing power, cut purchasing process costs and reduce the number of redundant suppliers worldwide.
The D&B D-U-N-S® Number can help ensure that receivables management are carefully managed and properly targeted, by pinpointing customer locations and identifying important corporate relationships.
With the growing use of Electronic Commerce as a form of transaction within the global economy, the D&B D-U-N-S® Number has assumed a fresh importance as a unique means of identifying businesses during the online transaction and registration process. By leveraging the D&B global database and the D&B D-U-N-S® Number, companies can authenticate, validate and establish business credentials, which will facilitate smart transactions and decisions at the speed of e-business.
For companies with a serious e-commerce strategy, the use of the D&B D-U-N-S® Number as a means of identifying suppliers, trading partners and customers will be of fundamental importance as global standards are established in this area. Companies wishing to be recognized as a credible supplier of online services can use their D&B D-U-N-S® Number as a means of identification allowing potential customers to verify their business credentials before starting a trading relationship.
How do I start using D&B Access for the Internet (DBAI)?
If you are new to D&B, and would like to use ‘D&B Access for the Internet’, please call us on 0043 (0)1 58861-155 to obtain a subscriber number.
If you have an existing contract with D&B, you need to complete a registration form within the system before you can start using ‘D&B Access for the Internet Service’ for the first time.
This form takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete and you will be able to use DBAI immediately.
Note: If you require further assistance, or need to request your UserID in order to complete the registration form, please contact your local Customer Service at 0043 (0)1 58861-155 or send us an e-mail:
What is e-Portfolio?
e-Portfolio is not a new product but an entirely new concept. It is the first step towards an integrated portfolio management solution.
D&B's online Risk Management Solution e-Portfolio helps you still to enhance the efficiency of the management of your company and to give it a customized and more profitable shape. e-Portfolio offers a complete survey of all your domestic and European* business relations for which you have ordered online information in DBAI (reports, e-Alert, Early Warning System, View & Review).
e-Portfolio includes substantial advantages:
- Provided that you buy the report and at the same time enable the Early Warning System you can view at any time and free of charge all the updated reports on this company during the following 12 months (= View & Review Rights).
- It further provides you with a representation of the overall risk of your customer and supplier portfolio and risk trends (for View & Review cases).
- All your transactions in DBAI business reports, Early Warning System and e-Alert registrations are shown in a central survey for each user.
This portfolio can be filtered and analyzed in a user-friendly way on the basis of different criteria:
- demographic data like company name, country, D-U-N-S® number, etc.
- risk assessment (D&B Risk Rating, Score, etc.)
- early Warning notifications from a given period, product & service level
Analyze your portfolio with respect to opportunities and risks and always watch the overall risk - this will allow you to take single risks in a calculated manner.
* available for the following countries: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
Why are the reports I have ordered only stored in "My Reports" for one day?
You can change your profile on D&B Access for the Internet, to allow indate reports to be stored for 1 week (investigated reports for 30 days) and also to give access to My Data which will store the data elements from your reports for 13 months.
You will need to enable your database, by selecting User Preferences from the My Profile drop-down menu and check the Database Functionality box.
How is the credit limit calculated?
There are several factors that influence the credit limit:
- The overall financial and economic situation of a company
- Trading experience
- Data from official sources (Grundbuch, Firmenbuch)
- Balance sheets
- Activity
- Sales and all other financial information
What is a Score?
The D&B Failure Risk Score is designed to predict the likelihood that a company will obtain legal relief from creditors or cease operations without paying all creditors in full over the next 12 months.
The Failure scorecard looks for the onset of failure such as meeting of creditors, administrator appointed, insolvency, receiver appointed, petition for winding-up among others legal events
It is a percentile score on a 1 to 100 scale, which positions a company relative to all other companies in the D&B database. It is statistically derived and mathematically calculated.
Easy to interpret, the D&B Failure Score 1 indicates a good chance of a company being declared bankrupt, the D&B Failure Score 100 indicates a small chance.
The D&B Failure Score in Austria is calculated based on the following elements:
Legal form, age of the company, number of employees, activity code (SIC), site of the company, family trees, payment references from the D&B Trade Program, turnover, capital etc.
What is the D&B Rating?
The D&B Rating is made up of the Financial Strength Indicator and the Risk Indicator. The Financial Strength Indicator serves for the evaluation of the financial productivity of companies and is based on the (at a time up-to-date) available financial figures/data.
In case a balance sheet is available, the equity constitutes the basis which is characterised by a figure and a letter, for instance 5A. In case there is no balance available total assets or paid up capital will be consulted for an evaluation. This is defined by a figure plus double letter, for instance 5AA. Basis for the D&B Risk Indicator is the D&B Failure Score.
What changes could generate a red, amber or green Monitoring Notice?
When an important event occurs that impacts the creditworthiness or contact details of a business, you can be sure to be kept up-to-date by choosing Monitoring.
When a change occurs, you will receive a Monitoring notice in your Mailbox on D&B Access for the Internet, which will be red, amber or green, depending on the severity of the change.
Red Notices
A notice labelled RED indicates that information contained in the notice is of primary severity, is detrimental and warrants immediate attention.
For example the following types of information would be RED:
- Bankruptcy/Insolvency
- Any change in the Rating or Score of a company
- negative payment information (RMS Claims)
- Business Wound Up
Amber Notices
A notice labelled AMBER indicates that information contained in the notice is of secondary severity or for information purposes only. It is cautionary and should be reviewed as soon as possible.
Information labelled AMBER in the U.K. will be:
- New financials
- Updates from the chamber of commerce
- Change of address, legal structure or name
- Change of Principles Annual Return Filing
- Change of Partners Change of Name
- Press cuttings
- Changes in the payment behaviour
Green Notices
A notice labelled GREEN indicates that information contained in the notice is positive and does not necessarily warrant immediate attention.
A green notice means, that the content of the notice is positive and doesn’t need immediate action. If a Rating is changed positively a green notice would be sent out.
When several changes are detailed on a Monitoring Notice, each of them will be assigned the appropriate colour indicator and they will be listed in descending order of severity. The notice will however be given an overall grade which will always reflect the highest severity i.e. if AMBER and GREEN notices are included, the overall notice would be given an AMBER label. Likewise if the highest severity notice is RED, the overall notice will be red.
Which kind of legal forms are obliged to file financials in Austria?
In Austria each capital company (limited company, public company) has the duty to publish their balance sheet. There are three different forms of published balance sheets depending on sales, number of employees and balance sheet total of a company (two of three criteria must apply):
little (only assets & liabilities)
- balance sheet total till EUR 3,125 Mio
- sales till EUR 6,25 Mio
- employees till 50
medium-sized (assets & liabilities, profit and loss account in short form)
- balance sheet total EUR 3,125 Mio to EUR 12,5 Mio
- sales EUR 6,25 Mio to EUR 25 Mio
- employees 50 to 250
big (assets & liabilities, profit and loss account)
- balance sheet total above EUR 12,5 Mio
- sales above EUR 25 Mio
- employees above 250
When are the companies obliged to file and when are the financials available to D&B Austria?
Companies have to file the financials 9 month after the end of the fiscal year. Only AG (joint stock companies) that are listed on the stock exchange have to file their financials within 6 month after the end of the fiscal year.
These financials are available to D&B app. 2 weeks after publishing.
Which countries are not reported by D&B?
Antartica, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cambodia, Cocos & Keeling Islands, Cuba, Heard & McDonald Island, North Korea, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Mongolia, Nuie Island, Western Sahara