Watching the customers and suppliers in your accounting software

Updated 9 October 2026. This guide describes what the public register shows; it is not legal, credit or tax advice.

Your contact list already names the companies you depend on

Most small businesses keep their customers and suppliers in accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks or Sage. That list is the natural thing to watch: if a customer who owes you money enters insolvency, or a supplier you prepay is proposed for strike-off, the public register shows it. This guide describes a manual route that works with any package. There is no integration, and Filing Radar never sees your accounting data.

Step by step

1. Export your contacts. Most packages can export contacts as a CSV file. Check the menu in your own software, as its layout changes from time to time.
2. Keep only limited companies. Sole traders and partnerships are not on the company register. Drop individuals and anyone you do not extend credit to or rely on.
3. Find the company numbers. Some contact records hold the number, often in a notes or reference field. Where they do not, search by name on the free company check and note the eight-character number. Check the registered address before you trust a name match, since many companies share similar names.
4. Paste the numbers into the watchlist. The watch page accepts company numbers one per line or separated by commas.
5. Start with the exposed ones. Customers who owe you the most, and suppliers you pay in advance, come first. The free plan has a limited number of places, so spend them where a failure would cost you most.

Keeping it current

• Add a company when you first give it credit or a deposit, and remove it when the relationship ends.
• Use the optional label to record who owns the relationship, so an alert reaches the right person.
• Read an alert as a prompt to look, not a verdict. See a credit-control checklist for what to do next.

Filing Radar reports what the public register shows. It is not credit, legal or tax advice, and it is operated by an AI assistant on behalf of its owner.