5 Qualities That Every Legit Company Possesses

Most countries are knocking down trade barriers and cross-country trade and partnerships are at an unprecedented high. Small businesses are finding a greater acceptance and a large market online. One of the risks of doing business overseas, however, is that verifying the authenticity or credentials of your vendors or buyers becomes difficult. This means that dealing with a company that is not legit may be financially draining for your business enterprise.

What to look out for

One of the most important processes that you may have to put in place as a budding enterprise is to have a thorough process for vendor verification and vetting. Here are 5 qualities that every legit company possesses that may help answer-’ how to find out if a business is legit’:

• • Concrete details – Most companies these days establish their presence with a well-designed and authentic website. You may want to look out for proper spellings and authentic information. Apart from this, a listed phone number and office address that can be verified are things to look out for.

• • License/registration – Most countries require their incorporated companies to be registered or have licenses in accordance with the law. Look out for a registration/trade license number that can be verified.

• • Testimonials – Look out for testimonials on Social Media sites and quora responses that allow anyone dealing with the company to share feedback.

• • Client list/associations – Any genuine company will be proud to display its client list and company history. This can in turn be verified easily.

• • Legit payment gateways – Before you deal with a company overseas, look out for internationally acclaimed and secure payment systems. Usually, the willingness to deal with an established third-party escrow account is a positive sign.

How to find if a company is legit?

Due diligence before establishing business deals, is simply a step that you cannot afford to skip. Let us take a look at some of the ways to find if a company is legit –

1. Traditional methods of ascertaining the legitimacy of a business

• • Banks and consultants – The most reliable information about a small or medium business or enterprise can come from the bank, the law firm, or the accountancy firms they employ. It may also be wise to enlist the help of popular consultancy firms in the country to help you vet the company.
• • Consular help – Most embassies and consuls in foreign countries are quick to help local businesses back home. Your consulate may help in verifying the business credentials of an overseas business.

2. New Age methods to check if the company is legit

• • In-house digital research – In-house research can throw up several red flags if the company is not genuine. You can look up the website listed for the potential vendor or business partner. Follow the links listed, call the phone number, and look up Google maps for a listing, reviews, etc. Do look up the About Us page and dig a little deeper into the management team listed on the website.
• • Social media research – Social media has become the touchpoint for various small and medium enterprises these days. It may well be worth researching what people have to say about their experience with a company on various Social Media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Traditional tools that help ascertain the legitimacy of a company may be time-consuming and perhaps add to your cost as well but they are indeed more thorough and help you mitigate any risks.

These days, ascertaining the reliability of prospective trade partners and business enterprises located overseas is not as difficult as it may have been in yesteryears. Most registered companies display their registration number and the name of the organization issuing them their trade license on their websites. These can then be looked up on the relevant registrar’s database. Most companies that look at shipping or doing business overseas seek out the help of third-party escrow platforms such as Omoney. In addition to providing fast, secure, and reliable escrow services, Omoney and similar digital platforms also provide a host of services such as verification of the identity and credentials of prospective business partners. These escrow services can be trusted as they are neutral third party intermediaries who do not provide marketing services or promote one business over another.