How to Check Your Business Credit Score

3 days ago

Your business in installments people is each spot arsenic important arsenic your individual in installments people erstwhile it comes to qualifying for business financing. Yet mini business owners often find it difficult to fig retired really to cheque their business in installments score—and, indeed, really business in installments moreover useful successful nan first place.

Business in installments is very different from your individual credit. There are galore different in installments bureaus creating business in installments scores, and each 1 offers respective types. Furthermore, you mostly person to pay to position your business in installments score; they’re not ever offered for free. We’ll thief you make consciousness of each this truthful you tin support due tabs connected your business credit.

Key Takeaways

Business in installments scores aren’t arsenic standardized arsenic individual in installments scores.
You mostly person to salary to cheque a circumstantial business in installments score, though immoderate are offered for free.
Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX, Equifax’s Business Credit Risk Score, and Experian’s Intelliscore Plus are nan astir communal business in installments scores.

How to Check Your Business Credit Score

There are dozens of business in installments scores successful operation. Each business in installments bureau offers aggregate business in installments scores, each prioritizing a different metric that definite stakeholders mightiness beryllium willing in.

For example, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) offers a Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating that imaginable vendors mightiness usage to spot really apt you are to spell retired of business successful nan adjacent future, causing supply-chain disruptions. D&B’s general-purpose PAYDEX score, connected nan different hand, tin thief others judge really apt you are to salary your bills.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you galore authorities regarding erstwhile you tin position your individual in installments reports, really you tin hole errors, and who other tin spot them. The business in installments world has nary specified laws and is simply a spot much of nan Wild West.

It’s a bully thought to fig retired successful beforehand which business in installments scores you’re astir willing successful checking. You whitethorn request to salary for each 1 of these scores separately, aft all, and there’s nary constituent successful paying to cheque scores that aren’t useful to you. If you’ll beryllium applying for financing, for example, cheque pinch your lender to spot which business in installments scores they’ll reference.

Luckily, each business in installments bureau usually has a signature, general-purpose business in installments people that you tin cheque if you’re conscionable willing successful getting an thought of what’s connected your business’s in installments study and whether it’s accurate.

Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet is 1 of nan oldest companies successful nan industry, and business in installments scores are its breadstuff and butter. It offers galore types of business in installments scores that group and organizations usage for different purposes:

D&B Rating
Failure Score
PAYDEX Score
Cyber Risk Rating
Delinquency Predictor Score
Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating
Maximum Credit Recommendation

D&B’s PAYDEX people is its astir celebrated general-purpose business in installments score, measuring really good your business has paid bills successful nan past. PAYDEX scores scope from 1 to 100, pinch 100 being nan best. You tin position nan scope of your PAYDEX people (plus 3 others) for free pinch a Dun & Bradstreet Credit Insights subscription. To get existent scores and position your D&B rating, too, you’ll request to salary a $49 monthly subscription fee.

Sign up for a DUNS number done Dun & Bradstreet if you don’t person 1 already. You’ll request it to get your PAYDEX score, and businesses whitethorn require it to found moving relationships pinch you.

Experian Business

In summation to personal credit, Experian besides operates a business in installments division. It offers 2 business in installments people models:

Intelliscore Plus
Financial Stability Risk

You’ll get some scores erstwhile you cheque your Experian business in installments report, but nan Intelliscore Plus is nan 1 that lenders astir often use, according to Experian. It ranges from 300 to 850, conscionable for illustration your individual in installments score. You tin position yours for a one-time interest of $39.95 aliases $49.95 (depending connected really in-depth you want to see) aliases a subscription interest of $189 per twelvemonth (for 1 business) if you’re willing successful ongoing in installments monitoring.

Equifax Small Business

It’s imaginable to cheque your Equifax business in installments scores, but it’s little transparent than immoderate of nan different business in installments bureaus. Most of its website appears dedicated to trading business in installments accusation to different businesses, alternatively than for businesses trying to cheque their ain credit.

According to Equifax, it provides a “robust suite” of 2 types of business in installments scores:

Business Risk Score
Business Failure Score

Unfortunately, Equifax does not publically supply pricing accusation astir its business in installments scores aliases accusation astir really you tin cheque your ain report. Instead, it offers a lonely interaction shape to get successful touch pinch nan income team, which you tin usage to cheque different business’ in installments study aliases for “keeping way of your ain business credit.”

FICO Small Business Scoring Service

It’s not a large subordinate successful nan business in installments arena, but FICO does connection a FICO Small Business Scoring Service (SBSS). The Small Business Administration (SBA) really requires lenders to cheque this in installments people erstwhile you use for an SBA 7(a) loan of $500,000 aliases less, and you’ll request a FICO SBSS in installments people of astatine slightest 155 to qualify. FICO SBSS in installments scores scope from 0 to 300.

Unfortunately, FICO doesn’t person a measurement for business owners to cheque their ain FICO SBSS in installments score. This people is only made disposable for lenders, truthful you’ll fundamentally conscionable person to transverse your fingers that your study is meticulous erstwhile you use for an SBA Small Loan.

How Your Business Credit Score Is Calculated

Your business in installments people is calculated successful a akin mode arsenic your individual in installments score: Credit bureaus commencement by collecting information astir your business’ history and its wide health. Other companies, specified arsenic lenders that you’ve borrowed from, whitethorn study this accusation straight to nan in installments bureaus, but it tin travel from publically disposable records, too. The in installments bureau past compiles that accusation into a business in installments report, which it uses to make your business in installments score.

Your business in installments report, therefore, contains nan data. Your business in installments score puts that information each together into 1 easy-to-digest number. Business in installments reports tin incorporate a batch much accusation than your individual in installments report, including:

Liens revenge against your business
Names and interaction accusation for each proprietor of nan business
Government grants, loans, business registration, and different ineligible details
Business nett worth, income volume, superior assets, and different financial details

That accusation tin beryllium utilized to cipher galore business in installments people types depending connected nan scoring model. For example, D&B’s PAYDEX Score only uses accusation astir your business’ costs history, not lien filings aliases business financial metrics. And since not each businesses study your payments to nan in installments bureaus, you whitethorn not moreover person a business in installments people if you tally a caller aliases very mini business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I Check My Business Credit Score for Free?

In immoderate cases, you tin cheque your business in installments people for free, depending connected nan type of people you’re looking for. You tin position your scope successful immoderate of nan astir communal types of business in installments scores for free straight from definite in installments agencies themselves, for illustration Dun & Bradstreet, though you mightiness person to salary for existent scores. You tin besides often motion up for free accounts done third-party business in installments monitoring websites for illustration Nav.

What Is Considered a Good Business Credit Score?

The meaning of “good” depends connected nan circumstantial business in installments people you’re looking at. Some business in installments scores, specified arsenic D&B’s Supplier Risk Evaluation Rating, run connected a standard from 1 to nine, pinch 1 being a cleanable score. Others, for illustration Experian’s Intelliscore Plus, run connected a accepted 300 to 850 range, pinch 850 being considered a cleanable score.

How Can I Improve My Business Credit Score?

The biggest point you tin do to improve your business in installments score is activity pinch suppliers, vendors, lenders, and different business partners who study their dealings pinch you to business in installments bureaus. That’s really accusation connected business in installments reports is obtained. Not everyone does, truthful you whitethorn request to activity them retired by asking successful advance. Then, erstwhile you’ve established these relationships, make judge to ever salary connected time.

What Is nan Difference Between a Personal Credit Score and a Business Credit Score?

Personal in installments scores are reasonably standardized, usually connected a standard from 300 to 850, and are wide utilized by businesses to cheque your likelihood of paying your bills connected time. Business in installments scores, connected nan different hand, aren’t standardized astatine all, usage galore different standing scales, and tin measurement galore different aspects of your business.

Does My Personal Credit Affect My Business Credit and Vice Versa?

Yes, individual in installments tin impact business credit, but indirectly. Lenders often measure your individual in installments erstwhile you use for a business indebtedness if you person a caller business. As your business grows, lenders whitethorn displacement to utilizing your business in installments score complete your individual in installments score. So, your individual in installments tin unlock nan doorway to business credit, but it doesn’t straight effect it.

The Bottom Line

Checking your business in installments people isn’t arsenic straightforward arsenic checking your individual in installments score. But it’s good worthy nan trouble, particularly if you scheme connected applying for mini business financing successful nan adjacent future.

Just for illustration your individual in installments reports, it’s imaginable for your business in installments reports to incorporate errors that could consequence successful an unfairly denied indebtedness application. So, checking up connected your reports regularly is simply a bully idea. And, successful general, anyone can entree that accusation if they salary nan fee. Even if you person nary plans to use for financing, being acquainted pinch your business in installments reports and checking your in installments people tin thief protect your business against fraud.

Source investopedia