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Unsecured Business Credit Lines vs Business Credit Cards

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Unsecured Business Credit Lines

In a previous post we talked about the benefits of using our unsecured business credit lines. Now I have to say this definitely was a very popular post that generated quite a bit of questions and conversations so I thought it would be a good idea to cover this in today’s blog post. unsecured business credit lines

Now for all you credit savvy business owners I’m sure we can all agree that access to unsecured credit lines that protect your personal credit while building business credit is the optimal choice.

In a previous post we compared our unsecured business credit lines with traditional business lines of credit, we covered the benefits, how to qualify and where to apply.

In this post I wanted to compare our unsecured business lines of credit with traditional business credit cards. Although each client that qualifies for our business credit lines gets issued a business credit card that carries either the Visa® or MasterCard® logo, there are big differences that need to be pointed out.
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Why File a DBA? Breaking Down: Doing Business As (DBA)

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Why File a DBA?

Have you wondered why a business files a DBA?

Do you know if your business needs to file one? why file a dba

In this post I’ll be breaking down the DBA also known as the Fictitious Business Name or Assumed Business Name to see if your business actually needs one.

First things first, let’s cover what a DBA is and what it’s not. A DBA is an abbreviation for “doing business as.” Filing for a DBA is necessary if your business operates under a name other than its legal name.
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Need to Add Trade References? 11 Things You Should Know

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Add Trade References

A trade reference is the payment experience information that a supplier has on its customer. For Dun & Bradstreet there are seven factors that represent the creditworthiness of a suppliers’ customer. These factors are: reporting date, payment history, highest amount of credit used, amount owing, total past due, terms, and date of last sale. add trade references

For quite some time you’ve heard me talk about how Dun & Bradstreet is the only business credit reporting agency that allows you to add trade references to your business credit file.

While there are over 500,000 suppliers here in the U.S. that extends credit to businesses like yours less than 6,000 actually share their payment data with a business credit reporting agency.

Unfortunately, for many business owners they find out the hard way that just having accounts established in the company’s name doesn’t mean the company’s building a credit file. If you find that your existing supplier based relationships are not reporting why not add those trade references so they do?
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FICO Score vs Credit Score: Which Score Matters Most?

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FICO® Score vs Credit Score

Banks, lenders, credit card issuers, auto lenders, etc. use credit scores to decide what interest rate, loan, rebates & credit card terms to offer you if any. Your score is vital to you because it determines how much money you can borrow, how much interest you’ll pay, and what payment terms you’ll receive. fico score vs credit score

For business owners it’s just as important. Although it’s crucial to establish the creditworthiness of your business; having strong personal and business credit scores opens you up to much more funding opportunities. For example, to acquire unsecured lines of business credit that only report to your company’s business credit reports requires that the business owner or credit partner have a strong FICO® Score.

It’s like your credit grade point average (GPA). It indicates the measure of your credit achievements so lenders can quickly assess your current credit health. A strong score can save you thousands of dollars by enabling you to gain access to the best rates, loans, rebates, and premium credit cards.
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Choosing a Business Name That Costs Clients, Cash, and Credibility

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Choosing a Business Name

In a recent article I wrote for Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, I covered how to choose a business name that’s effective and legal. Did you know that a poorly chosen company name can end up costing you clients, cash and credibility? choosing a business name

Hard to imagine that just by selecting the wrong business name can potentially wind you up in court or cause you problems obtaining credit and/or customers.

Now if you’re thinking what’s in a name anyway, I’m sure after reading this post you’ll get the big picture and take some cautionary steps in order to protect yourself.

First things first, from a business credit building perspective it’s important to pick a name that does not automatically trigger a red flag with certain creditors and lenders. Avoid a company name associated with a high risk industry such as real estate.
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