Building Business Credit for Small Business
Access to credit is crucial for business owners at various stages of development and growth. If your business credit rating has been damaged, however, securing a business loan or credit line can be difficult. 
While you may be required to agree to less favorable terms and conditions, there are a number of ways you can obtain a traditional loan with a lower credit standing.
Put down more collateral
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Why do company credit ratings play such an important role in your success? 
Well I’m sure you can think of quite a few but let’s cover some of the main reasons why others may want to know the financial history of your business.
As you know a business credit report can paint a very positive or negative picture of your company’s creditworthiness so ensuring that you have solid ratings should be a top priority.
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Is your company listed with the major business credit bureaus?
Would your company’s credit ratings be considered creditworthy in the eyes of lenders?
Like personal credit scores your business credit scores or ratings play a significant role in the amount of financing your company can obtain. It also affects the interest rates and level of terms a creditor will extend to you.
So a better business credit rating equals greater opportunity, lower rates, and better terms.
Here are three ways you can improve your business credit scores:
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Similar to your personal credit rating, businesses also have a business credit rating that potential lenders use to determine its credit worthiness. Unlike the FICO® credit score, there is no universal scoring system lenders use for determining the credit worthiness of a business.
While the majority of lenders utilize FICO® for basing the credit worthiness of a consumer when it comes to businesses lenders take many other factors into consideration. This includes but not limited to your business credit score, company size, annual sales, classification, years in business and financials.
Where a personal credit rating is based on financial information provided by credit card companies, retail establishments, financial institutions and public records a business credit rating is determined by information supplied by the business owner and data gathered from lenders, vendors, suppliers, and other trade accounts.
For this reason, potential lenders may be different from one another in their evaluation of your business’ credit history by emphasizing certain qualifications more than others. Like most industries, there is a specialized language involved with business credit ratings.
The following is a sample of the most common terms used as well as their definitions from Dun & Bradstreet (a business credit bureau):
Here are a few sample business credit reports:
Dun & Bradstreet business information report sample
Dun & Bradstreet enhanced comprehensive report sample
Corporate Experian Business Credit Score Report sample
Small Business Equifax Commercial Credit Report sample
To order your business credit reports:
Equifax Small Business Enterprise
Experian SmartBusinessReportsTM
I also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the top ten business credit bureaus in the industry. It’s important that you understand your business credit rating and what you can do to build a stronger business credit file. This will enable your business to obtain the financing it needs at the best available rates.
To access business credit insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>
To Your Success!
Marco Carbajo
About the Author 
Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.
There’s been quite a stir on the integration of FICO® 08 which is the credit scoring system used by the majority of lenders to determine a consumer’s credit worthiness. Similar to your personal credit ratings, businesses and corporations also have business credit ratings that potential lenders use to determine its credit worthiness.
Unlike a personal credit rating, there is no designated standard for determining the credit worthiness of businesses. However, the main tool used to determine and establish company credit ratings is D&B’s PAYDEX system.
Where a personal FICO® score is based only on credit history that includes information on how much a person borrows and how well they repay loans, a credit rating for a business takes into consideration company size as determined by assets and number of employees.
Where personal credit ratings are based on financial information provided by credit card companies, retail establishments, and financial institutions, a business credit report and rating is determined by information supplied by the business owner and gathered from vendors, suppliers, and other trade accounts.
For this reason, potential lenders may be different from one another in their evaluation of a business’ credit history by emphasizing certain qualifications more than others.
Like most industries, there is a specialized language involved with business credit reports and ratings.
The following is a list of some of the most common concepts and terms as well as their definitions:
Average High Credit / Highest Credit
In order to put a business’s credit in perspective, these are based on the total amount of credit owed as compared to the industry as a whole.
Business in Good Standing
Includes any problems with the business overall.
Commercial Credit Score
A D&B prediction regarding the chances of an account becoming severely delinquent within one year.
Comprehensive Report
This is a combination of several D&B business credit reports that paints a more complete picture of the company’s credit history. It includes the results of the PAYDEX analysis, a company’s credit score and Financial Stress class, as well as any public filings or liens, the business’s history and operations (including when it filed for incorporation, annual financial statements, facilities, affiliations, and number of employees).
Credit Score Class
This is part of the D&B assessment that gauges payment habits to determine how likely it is that a potential account will be delinquent in the next 12 months. The scoring can range from 1 to 5 with 1 being the score assigned for the lowest risk and 5 for the highest.
Financial Stress Score
This is part of the D&B assessment that analyzes the Financial Stress that a business is experiencing in order to predict how likely it is that a business will fail in the next 12 months.
PAYDEX
This is D&B’s primary assessment that analyzes how likely it is that a company will make its future payments on time. An 80 paydex score for a business can be compared to having a 720 personal credit score.
Sample business credit reports:
Dun & Bradstreet business information report sample
Dun & Bradstreet enhanced comprehensive report sample
Dun & Bradstreet Credit eValuator Plus Report sample
Corporate Experian Business Credit Score Report sample
Small Business Equifax Commercial Credit Report sample
To order business credit reports:
Equifax Small Business Enterprise
Experian SmartBusinessReportsTM
Every business will at one point require an influx of cash in order to cover operating expenses, expansion costs, legal fees, inventory or a range of other items the business may require in order to operate. The worst mistake you can make is seeking funding when your business needs it most. Lenders extend cash credit lines to businesses that don’t need the capital and have strong business credit ratings. Start digging your well before your business gets thirsty!
Are you ready to start building your business ratings? Become a member of my Business Credit Insiders Circle and gain access to a proven step by step business credit building system. A system that provides you access to premium vendors, business credit cards, funding sources and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>
About the Author
Marco Carbajo is a business credit expert, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle. A business credit solutions membership helping business owners build small business credit. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.