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ClientChecker™ Launches New Credit Rating Service for Small Businesses, Freelancers

Moraga, CA, February 6, 2003 - ClientChecker, the freelancer's credit bureau, today announced the launch of a new credit rating service dedicated to freelancers and small businesses that provide business services to other companies. The new service, at http://www.ClientChecker.com, enables independent contractors to check out potential clients before beginning work. By providing quantifiable information aggregated from actual billing and payment data, ClientChecker presents a quick and highly cost effective way to review companies' track records regarding payments to freelancers and small business vendors. It empowers vendors to make informed decisions about the risks of entering into a contract with a potential client and allows them to negotiate terms from a point of strength.

The service comes bundled with BillingTracker™ invoicing software, a unique time billing and logging application designed specifically for independent professionals and small businesses that serve other companies. BillingTracker is integrated with the ClientChecker website, enabling automated reporting of payment aging data to a central, searchable database. The data is aggregated to provide clear, up to date reports of individual companies' history in paying their smaller vendors.

ClientChecker also provides a professional forum for vendors to post complaints and compliments about their clients, supplementing the credit history data with anecdotal information about real working experiences.

"Clientchecker meets the needs of a business sector that has so far been ignored or inadequately considered by other credit bureaus," said Jeremy Gerber, General Manager of ClientChecker. "Companies' payments to small vendors, such as freelancers and small service businesses, do not necessary follow the pattern of their treatment of larger vendors. Now, ClientChecker makes it possible for smaller vendors to evaluate the risks and costs of doing business with a potential client. It enables them to answer such questions as: 'Will this client pay on time?', 'What payment terms are expected?', and 'Are the deadlines and deliverables likely to be reasonable?'."

ClientChecker enables freelance professionals and small business people to:
* Learn from the experiences of other professionals who have previously done contract work with a particular company. 
* Report clients' payment habits, commercial credit terms, and any debt collection efforts undertaken to recover payment. 
* Add comments, compliments, or complaints about client companies. 
* Search for companies by any criteria. 
* Save time, money and headaches by being pre-warned and well informed. 

Subscription to the ClientChecker service is available at two levels - paid and free. Paid subscribers ($19.99 per year) can post information, do unlimited searches for company credit information and receive the BillingTracker Standard invoicing software application for free (a $49 value). Subscribers to the free service can also post information, and do unlimited searches. However, they will be able to view the credit reports only once they become paid subscribers. In addition, they receive a Lite version of BillingTracker, which offers the same functionality but is limited to managing two clients and two projects per client.

Paid subscribers can also stay competitive by making full use of the Going Rate Index™, which provides a measure of hourly rates that fellow freelancers are getting paid, categorized by profession and geographical area. Data is gathered from ClientChecker members, and also from users of BillingTracker. 

About ClientChecker
ClientChecker is the only credit bureau dedicated to the needs of freelance professionals, contract workers, and small business people. It is operated by Moraga, CA-based Fifth Walk LLC, which also developed and markets the BillingTracker invoicing software application. Please visit http://www.clientchecker.com. 


For more information, contact:

Jeremy Gerber
General Manager
Fifth Walk LLC
+1 (866) 893 8741 
Jeremy.g@ClientChecker.com 
www.ClientChecker.com  



(c) Fifth Walk LLC.
Fifth Walk, the Fifth Walk logo, ClientChecker, the ClientChecker logo, BillingTracker, the BillingTracker logo, PayQuo, and Going Rate Index are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fifth Walk LLC and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.