When we are looking to place our hard earned cash with any company or business, we are going to have to trust that what we are buying is legit and what we are expecting it to be. So if we find e have either an interest in a company from what we have seen or heard about them, or have been introduced to them via a third party, we may want to buy their products as a straightforward customer. Of course with a little more persuasion, we may be impressed enough to invest and back them. Whatever the scenario, we want to know that the company is run in a correct way, with no side issues to devalue their standing. The only way to be fully informed about them is to check with a business information company. The sort of data that can be gleaned is whether the company have filed their tax returns within the statutory timeframe and whether all the company officers are properly listed at companies house as directors and shareholders if the catagory of company calls for that detail. The entry in the companies house register tells us the official trading name/s and communication numbers for reaching said company. It will also hold details as to who the treasurer is and how much the company was worth at the last year end and whether they have had bad debtors in the last five years etc.