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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
I am a new business owner and would just like to know how to get my business registered to obtain or start a credit score or rating. Also is it good to do just the Dun and brad thing or both that and the experian?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Brunoisenhow,
Experian requires minimum information to generate a business credit
report and score. If a business doesn't meet the requirements, a credit
report and score are not generated. Minimum information is at least
one tradeline and/or one demographic element.
You can search Experian's database to find out if your business has a
credit profile by going to http://www.smartbusinessreports.com. You
don't have to be registered to locate a company in our database.
Nonmembers interested in purchasing a report automatically will be
directed to register.-
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
ChestnutLake,
Experian's report provides understandable business credit
information, including comprehensive demographic, financial and
public record information, as well as analytic scores:
Credit: Number of trade experiences, outstanding balances,
payment habits, credit utilization and trends over time
Public records: Recency, frequency and dollar amounts associated
with liens, judgments and bankruptcies
Demographic information: Years on file, Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) code and business size -
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Experian --
Do you have any suggestions for establishing lines of credit for young businesses (that report to Experian)?
In other words, can you give a list of 10-20 business suppliers that report, For example:
Staples
UPS
Home Depot
other ???
We do business with both Staples and UPS, but pay directly via credit card. Is there some way to move that payment history to Experian? Is it just persuading these firms to offer an open account?
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
A credit card can help with your business credit score. Not just any credit card......
A true business credit card is a line of credit that is taken in the name of the business, under the business' credit. Activity, whether good or bad, is reflected on your business' credit report through D&B and other financial institutions, and the liability for any debts incurred and bills owed is with the business.However, some companies out there offer "business" credit cards which they require a person guarantee for. These institutions will often ask for a personal guarantee, and will almost always ask for a social security number from the person applying for the card. If this is the case, the credit card is not a business credit card, but is simply a personal credit card which is used for the business. The business is not liable for bills and debts - you are.When applying for a credit card for your business, watch out for areas asking for your SSN (and not your TaxID or EIN) and be wary of any credit card that asks for a personal guarantee. By ensuring that your credit card is in the name of your business, you can help to build your business' credit, while avoiding creating problems with your own.
Many companies offer a list of credit cards that are issued under the business name only. Those lists typically run $300-$900, depending on the quality of the information inquiring. I would suggest starting your search online via google or yahoo. Search for "strong business credit" (just like that in quotes) to find services that sell the information.
Good luck,
Ilya Bodner
Small Business Owner
Initial Underwriting Group-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Ilya,
I appreciate your comments but my question is this. Other than the Home Depot Mastercard business card that's available without a PG do you really think there are multiple lenders out there who will offer visa/mc business credit cards without a PG? If you mean vendor lines of credit that don't have visa/mc option then of course there are many options but I wouldn't consider those to be business credit cards.
I'm not sure that I agree with you that a business credit card that requires a PG is not a "true" business credit card but we can probably just have a difference in opinion on that one. Unless you're running a multi-million dollar business I don't think it's very realistic to think there are lots of lenders who will issue their business cards without the PG. I would love to be proven wrong on this one but I do agree with you that if the goal is to get the credit card to help build a D&B paydex score then that's usually not going to work. Very few business credit cards report to D&B.
Perhaps I misunderstood you but please clarify if you know of multiple lenders who are currently offering business credit cards without PG's.
Thanks Ilya. I certainly hope I'm wrong on this one. -
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Ilya and Tomgaz,
It's true that many small-business owners fail to separate their business
expenses from their personal expenses. The credit card used to take the
family out to dinner also gets used to gas up a company vehicle or to pay for
supplies used by the business. Half of all small businesses use some form of
personal credit to finance their businesses.
However, the weakness of relying solely on personal credit is clear. If your
business ever becomes at risk, your personal credit score becomes at risk as
well.
Additionally, many creditors have begun moving away from relying on
personal credit alone when judging the financial health of the owner's small
business, as personal credit does not ideally predict future business behavior.
Instead, many creditors have begun taking advantage of new blended
commercial scoring tools that integrate both personal and business credit
attributes to predict small-business risk.-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
What are the most important factors in a businss credit score-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Jimsuem,
There are a number of factors that could have an adverse impact on
your company's business credit score. Those factors include, but are
not limited to:
The presence of derogatory public records on the business profile,
such as collections, liens, judgments and bankruptcies
The status, recency, frequency and dollar amounts of any
applicable liens, judgments or bankruptcies
An increased trend in slow payment of obligations
An increase in the number of business credit inquiries or
applications that are generated by the business or owner
The number of trade experiences, balances outstanding, payment
habits, credit utilization and trends over time
Years in business, line of business or SIC code, size of business
and other demographic data-
Checking score multiple times?
Does checking my business credit report multiple times affect my business credit score?-
Re: Checking score multiple times?
Checking your business credit report does not affect your business
credit score. Pulling your own business credit report is considered a
soft inquiry. Soft inquiries do not affect your business credit score, and
they are not revealed to potential lenders or creditors.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
What makes up a business credit score vs. personal credit score?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Howard,
The score model used to determine business credit is much like the score model
used to determine personal credit. However, while a personal credit score can
range from 350 to 850, a business credit score ranges from 0 to 100.
Don't assume that your favorable personal credit score will be enough
to secure a good business credit score. While lenders and vendors
may initially consider your personal credit history, once your business
pays its first bill, it will begin building its own credit history. -
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Here are some basic facts every small-business owner should know about
business credit ratings:
Business scoring is much less regulated than consumer credit scoring.
The process of scoring your business is much more complicated and
less clear than the consumer scoring process.
Just because you have a business, don't assume you have a business
credit score. Credit reporting companies require a minimum amount of
information before they can generate a report and score for your
business. To establish your business credit history, encourage
vendors to report your payment history to one of the major credit
reporting companies. Many credit reporting companies can provide
you with information on suppliers who report to them.
Don't rely on your personal credit rating to finance your business. If
your business becomes at risk, so will your personal credit score.
Keep in mind that many creditors are now looking at scoring tools that
consider both personal and business credit to predict small-business
risk.
Access to business credit scores and reports is not restricted like
personal credit reports. Business credit reports are available to the
public, and anyone - including potential lenders and suppliers - can
view your business credit report. This makes it imperative to monitor
your business credit score and report.
You can proactively manage your business credit score. Ensure your
vendors are reporting your business payment history, and monitor
your business's credit regularly. Experian's
http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com and
http://www.BusinessCreditFacts.com provide easy access to business
credit reports and information about the business credit scoring
process.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
I have been in busisness for ten years now
How can I improve my busisness credit score?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Tiresplus,
First, ensure that your company's vendors are reporting your business
payment history to one of the major credit reporting companies. The greater
the number of vendors who report a good payment history to the credit
reporting companies, the greater your business credit score will be.
Just as you might monitor your personal credit, it is incredibly important to
monitor your business credit consistently as well. Your business credit score
is one of the first things lenders, suppliers and even some customers look at
before deciding to do business with you. It's used to determine how much
money lenders will loan you, how much credit suppliers will extend to you,
what interest rates you'll be charged and what you'll pay for insurance
premiums.
By consistently monitoring your business credit score, you can ensure that
your business has not fallen victim to business identity theft or fraud, the
losses from which cost American companies billions of dollars each year.
Furthermore, it's important to scan your business credit file for mistakes. As
the business owner, you may request that the credit reporting companies
correct any mistakes to ensure that your credit file is accurate.
It's vitally important to be aware of possible inaccuracies or negative credit
data on your credit file if they exist. By simply increasing your awareness of
the factors that drive your current company credit score, you can begin to
effectively manage your credit behavior. As always, the best thing that you
can do is pay all financial obligations on time.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Questions about your business credit score? Join us for the event with Experian. We are collecting questions in advance, so if you have a question post now, by simply hitting reply.-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Where do I go to request my business credit report and score? I have a small business for about four years and it never accured to me to check for my business score.-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Mfh4tots,
SmartBusinessReports.com® provides access to Experian's business
credit database. Signing up is fast and easy. You sign up by clicking
on the Member Login link located on the top of most
http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com pages and following the
Create Account link.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Meston is top10 refill cartridge manufacturer in China, I take part in small business today and would like to find some US buyers here.How can a fresh member raise the credit score?And how can I find the business partners-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Menston,
Just as a consumer credit report can help assess credit risk, a
business credit report or score helps identify which businesses you
want to do business with, what credit limits should be, and what credit
or payment terms should be agreed to. The more you know about a
business’s current financial obligations and its past payment history,
the better you are able to either grow your customer list or protect
yourself from risk. Visit http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com to find
creditworthy business partners and customers.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
I am thinking about partnering with another company and am concerned about their financial stability.
Is it possible for me to order a business credit report on this private company? Is this information public? If so, what information do I need to obtain or provide to order it?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Antiques4me,
Yes. No approval is needed from a business owner to order a
business credit report. Unlike personal credit reports, which are
regulated under permissible purposes only, commercial business
credit reports can be ordered as often as you wish and for any
purpose.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
MY COMPANY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR TWO YEARS NOW,BUT I HAVE NO CREDIT HISTORY,HOW CAN I OBTAIN CREDIT TO MY BUSINESS?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
504man,
Just like we do on your personal credit report, Experian accepts only
company credit and payment history from creditors and suppliers. If
you would like to see your creditors or suppliers report to Experian so
your credit and payment history is displayed on your business credit
report, please write a letter of request to your supplier. Experian
http://www.BusinessCreditFacts.com provides you with the tools to
easily do this. Visit our supplier page to access our letter template.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Community - please welcome Experian to SBOC. Experian will be with us until 3:00PM ET.
If you have a question, simply login to you member account and hit reply. Please note that the event is moderated so you may not see your question post immediately. Experian will try to answer as many questions as possible but may not get to all of them. Also, don't forget to refresh your browsers so you can see Experian's latest response! -
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Welcome to today's forum! Before taking questions, here is a little more
information about Experian and its experience with business credit reporting.
Experian® has been doing business credit reporting and scoring for
more than 30 years. In addition to business credit reports and scores,
Experian also offers commercial portfolio management tools,
commercial fraud tools and collections tools.
Experian holds more demographic and credit information on
individuals and businesses than any other company in the world,
providing power and insight to better understand customer and
prospect needs. We maintain credit information on approximately 215
million U.S. consumers and more than 27 million public and private
U.S. businesses. -
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
I check my personal credit once a year, but what about my business credit? How often do I need to check/order that? And where can I do this?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Like your personal credit report, you should check your business credit
report at least once a year.
Experian's Business Credit AdvantageSM package - a business credit
monitoring service - gives you unlimited access to your business
credit report and score all year so you'll always know what's in your business
credit profile and be able to make it work to your advantage. Visit
http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com to learn more and sign-up.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
I know that the higher the score, the better & lower risk, but what is the normal/good range to be in?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Please visit http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com to view some sample business credit
reports and scores. There you will find a graphic that can show the spectrum of the score
range as well as other helpful information.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
What available credit monitoring tools are at my disposal? How do they work and which ones do you recommend?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Please see previous response to post number 21. You can also visit
http://www.SmartBusinessReports.com or http://www.BusinessCreditFacts.com to learn
more about Experian’s leading business credit monitoring service.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
In light of the current economy, how can a business credit report help my business today?-
Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
When the economy falters, small businesses face trying times- and there's no doubt that this is one of them.
After years of cheap and readily available funding, businesses
are finding credit harder to secure. For example, U.S.
structured financing - the financing behind the financing -
went from more than $300 billion per month in June 2007 to
less than $50 billion per month in November 2007. Rising
prices have put increased pressure on the cost of doing
business. Consumers are tightening their belts in the face of a
rising cost of living, a decline in home values and fears of a
sharp economic slide being stoked by the press.
For the moment, one downturn seams to lead to another, and
businesses - large and small, across virtually all sectors of
the economy - are feeling the squeeze. While the overall
business bankruptcy rate is climbing, small businesses -
particularly those whose owners used home equity or personal
money to fund their enterprises - are battling for survival and
are at risk for delinquency or default.
Business owners need every tool at their disposal in times like
these to avoid trouble and spot opportunities to grow. When
success depends on the ability to build capital, business credit
monitoring can help.
That's why it's no surprise that we see the use of monitoring
growing rapidly year after year - especially in the current
economic environment.
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Re: Event Apr. 28: Your business credit score
Experian - thanks so much for sharing your expertise with the Small Business Online Community today. Community - please visit the following websites to learn more about your business credit score.
http://www.smartbusinessreports.com
http://www.businesscreditfacts.com