GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE THREE TOP BUSINESS CREDIT BUREAUS

Your business relies on the information provided by the top business credit bureaus. These companies collect information regarding your payment history and relay it to people who are considering loaning you money for your business. It can take years for a company to begin building business credit. If you are trying to establish business credit you will want to learn all you can about the top credit bureaus.

Dun and Bradstreet, D&B, is the most popular credit bureau for businesses. Dun and Bradstreet are most known for its D-U-N-S numbers, which are internationally recognized. They now have over 70 million businesses registered, which is why many banks and loaning companies going to them first. D&B has a special PAYDEX system that ranges between 0-100. A good score is 70-80, but you can get higher if you make payments before they are actually due.

Coming in second is Experian Business. They have 14 million registered businesses and give scores just like D&B. Your score is based off of your payment history, but other loaning companies have to report this information to them. This means that you may not have corporate credit, even if you have loans, if the company does not report your payments.

Equifax Business is the last top business credit bureau you should know about. Equifax gets their information from a variety of places. If you take out a lease in a business building, the Small Business Financial Exchange reports your history of payments. They derive other data from public records and personal credit. Interestingly enough, Equifax has a number of different score types banks and lending companies can look at. These include the Small Business Financial Account Management Score, the Small Business Financial Account Acquisition Score, the Small Business Non-Financial Generic Risk Score, and the Small Business Principal Score.

There are several other business credit bureaus, but you don’t need to check on them as often unless they apply directly to your business. Some of the other top corporate credit companies include ClientChecker, BusinessCreditUSA, and FDInsight. Most of them get your credit information the same way as the top companies; they just have fewer registered companies.

Building business credit is a step by step process, and it takes a lot of time to do properly. Check your own credit score every so often to see what it is, and once you have built it up high enough you can get extended loans for your business. Once you establish business credit you can create a safety net for your business in case it has low times. If you are having problems getting the credit for your business started, try getting a business credit card. Don’t fill out any applications that ask for your social security number or personal information, as this gears the card more towards you, and not your business. Many people are able to get a credit line of about $1,000, which can increase if you continue making your payments on time.

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