Building Business Credit for Small Business
Do you believe you and your company’s identity are safe? 
Think again!
Identity theft is a crime that impacts the lives of over 10 million consumers each and every year and the numbers are increasing. It’s hard to imagine that one out of every 20 consumers is at risk of being a victim this year alone.
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One of the most important things you should know creditors look at to determine your company’s creditworthiness is your business credit score.
Does your business have a positive credit file established with Small Business Equifax, Corporate Experian, and Dun and Bradstreet? The reason why this is so significant is because each creditor, lender, or supplier may pull a business credit report from one, two, or all three of these bureaus when you apply for credit. 
So, here are 5 ways to understand your business credit score making it easier for you to grasp how the scoring process works.
1) Credit:
The number of trade experiences, balances outstanding, payment habits, credit utilization and trends over time all play a role in what makes up your scores.
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Business Credit is borrowed money that your company can use to purchase products or services it needs and repay the funds at an agreed upon date or time frame. It can also refer to the amount of capital your business can secure without the use of personal assets.
The good news for you is that businesses of all sizes and entity types have the ability to create its own corporate credit identity completely separate from that of its owners.
Unfortunately most entrepreneurs are not aware of this and operate as a sole proprietorship which is a form of business structure in which the individual takes on all aspects of funding, starting and operating the business.
As a sole proprietor you keep all the net profits but you’re also taxed on them too. This is why entrepreneurs often rely on the strength of their personal credit reports to determine the amount of financing they are able to obtain for their business.
Unless you incorporate the IRS will automatically default your business as a sole proprietorship leaving you personally liable for all debts and actions made by the company.
By incorporating your business it now gets to be treated as a separate legal entity like a human being created through a legal process.
Similar to a social security number which is tied to your consumer credit files your business can obtain a Federal Tax Identification Number and establish its own business credit report.
Once you begin building business credit you can obtain everything from equipment, office furniture, supplies, and inventory or even lease automobiles through corporate fleet programs.
You should limit the use of your personal credit or guarantee by applying for vendor credit and if you apply for other sources of financing like a business line of credit then you will also need to maintain a solid bank rating too.
Business credit cards are another source of credit that your company can obtain with each card containing its own approval criteria and terms and conditions. Some cards may not be a good fit especially the ones who base its approval and payment reporting on the owner’s personal credit and not the business.
Your company can also apply for business loans which are either secured or unsecured and are traditionally funded by banks.
Each of these sources of business credit can provide the short or long term capital your business needs while protecting your personal credit and personal liability.
While it does take time to build a creditworthy company you can expect to save more money and obtain much greater financing than you would ever personally.
Are you ready to start building business credit for your company? 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 building system for small business owners. 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.
In today’s challenging economy, business owners should be diligent in protecting and, if necessary, repairing their business credit reports.
Unfortunately there’s not much helpful information regarding business credit repair and how you go about correcting errors, inaccuracies or obsolete information on your files with the three main business credit bureaus.
Just the other day one of my members was debating whether to purchase a shelf corporation or work on his existing entity which had two derogatory marks on its DNB file.
He felt it would be much easier to start over instead of working on repairing his existing file because he had no idea of how to go about correcting it.
I suggested he follow some simple steps to initiate an investigation and after one business day his file was updated and the negative marks were both deleted on his file.
This is why it’s so important to monitor your files because the only one who is policing them and ensuring that the data being reported is accurate is you!
There are currently no laws that protect business owners from unfair business credit reporting, like the Fair Credit Reporting Act does for consumers. Business credit repair starts with you and in order to help you I’ve put together several steps you will need to take to initiate an investigation with the business credit bureaus.
Dun & Bradstreet
DNB’s eUpdate enables you to view your business credit report and edit your information all online. If you uncover a derogatory mark that is inaccurate then you will need to contact D&B at 888-814-1435 to request an investigation. They are very fast to respond and I have found that once they complete an investigation the results are updated on your files quickly.
Equifax Small Business
If your business has a profile listed with Equifax Small Business you can get a copy by contacting them and supplying the member (business) name of a company that plans to pull your business credit report. Keep in mind that Business Equifax will provide you a copy of your report ONLY if you supply them with a member name.
Another option to obtain your report is if you have been declined credit based on a member pulling your report. You can contact Business Equifax at 1-800-727-8495
After reviewing your file and if you identify errors that you want to correct then complete the research request form which is provided with your Equifax Business Credit Report. Simply fill out the form and submit it via fax or mail to initiate an investigation.
Corporate Experian
You can order your business file at Smart Business Reports and once you locate any items that you want to dispute call Corporate Experian at 888-808-8242. The dispute process with them is simple and less time intensive then most people are led to believe.
So I encourage you to be diligent with monitoring your business credit files and use this business credit repair information to guide you through the process if you uncover any negative items in question.
To your business credit success!
Looking to rebuild your business credit? 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 corporate credit builder 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.
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.