Manufacturers, distributors and other merchants of goods who sell their products on credit terms routinely accept a high level of risk of defaulted payment from their customers. In good times, credit-related losses are relatively predictable as a percentage of sales and can be offset by variations in pricing and volume across a seller’s sales transactions. Unfortunately, we are far removed from the good times. The prolonged economic slump has resulted in increased payment defaults and a 150 percent rise in business bankruptcies since the summer of 2007.