Industry Credit groups are an important part of Business Credit for many credit professionals. The DTA Credit Management program promotes this fact by providing a highly confidential Dealer Account Status Report on 230+ Dealers, 60+ Universities and 255 International Companies in 68 countries. DTA supports members' participation in Credit Management Meetings to verbally exchange credit information that is a valuable and legitimate function of a trade association.

The prime goal of the DTA Credit Management Committee is to enlist participation of all members, who do business with dental dealers, to participate in the exchange of credit information.

To ensure confidentiality, all information generated through the DTA Credit Management program, by whatever means, is treated as strictly confidential by the DTA staff. Confidentiality is also expected from members who receive the completed DASR's and/or who attend a Credit Management meeting. A confidentiality statement is to be signed by a CEO or credit official within a participating member company.

The DTA Dealer Account Status Report and the University report (DASR) are published quarterly. These reports, for the periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, are reviewed dealer by dealer at Credit Management meetings. Participation in the quarterly reporting enables members to compare their collections against others in the industry. The reports are valuable tools when making credit decisions, reviewing credit limits and tracking the payment trend of dealers in the industry in order to answer questions, such as "What is the customer's payment trend"? "Does the customer pay one creditor on time, but not others"? The International DASR report is published twice a year, June 30 and December 31, although it has not been published in 2004.

Only contributing members have access to the DTA DASR. Only members that contribute their information to all DASR's are eligible to receive these quarterly reports free of charge. If a contributing member misses two consecutive reports, they will be ineligible to receive further reports, free of charge, until they begin to participate again. Members who do not do business with dental dealers may receive a copy of each completed Dealer Account Status Report for an annual fee of $500, which includes four reports a year. The fee of $500 is extremely reasonable considering the mounting cost involved in the enlarged DTA credit process, and it is a small percentage of what a company may pay to outside credit bureaus who know less about the dental industry than the collective knowledge of DTA members.


DTA Credit Management Meetings are held in Chicago and New York in conjunction with Dental Manufacturing Trade Shows, and an Educational Credit Management Symposium is held in the early fall.

Members review the most recent Dealer Account Status Reports and are provided with a properly structured environment for the exchange of credit information on existing dealers and member-to-member credit inquiries on new dealers. The opportunity to exchange information on payment experiences and common problems is a means of verifying information and other credit determining facts that the credit executive can use for his/her own credit decisions. Verbal interchange sessions are an important aspect of account discussions. The meetings also provide meaningful information to association members about the industry by inviting guest speakers from within the industry to speak to the group. Credit professionals are also invited to discuss the latest developments on credit department procedures and other credit management functions. Unparalleled networking opportunities with other Credit Professionals that are developed within these meetings are invaluable. Members often rely on each other for advice and information on credit and collection matters.

All account discussions are carefully governed by the antitrust guidelines established for the credit group meetings. A legal statement is read prior to the meeting, and all attendees are required to sign a confidentially statement at the conclusion of the reading.

This mailing is providing you the unique opportunity to participate in and receive these reports in the future, and to attend the Credit Management meetings, as only members are invited to participate in the DTA Credit Management program. If we do not receive an indication from you about your interest, you will not receive the DTA Dealer Account Status Reports in the future. We look forward to your participation and cooperation. Please feel free to telephone either the DTA offices (703.379.7755) or me, and we will assist you with further questions you may have. Thank you for your anticipated interest to participate.

    Sharon McQuirns
    Chair, Credit Management Committee
    The DentalEZ Group
    (610) 725-8004, Ext. 1329