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What You Need to Know About the 3 Major Business Credit Bureaus

Apart from personal credit, you, as a business owner, also have a business credit score, which is also known as a trade or commercial credit score. Your business credit score helps financial institutions to figure out whether you’re a good or bad candidate for financing.

There exist several business credit bureaus that offer business credit scores, which may vary based on the way they’re calculated. Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian are the 3 largest business credit bureaus gathering data about your business.

It’s important to note that with reputable business loan providers like firstamericanmerchant.com you can easily secure business funding even you don’t have excellent credit scores. To get answers to all your questions concerning a credit business bureau, turn to First American Merchant. FAM is an award-winning alternative online lender and high risk payment processor that has an A+ rating with the BBB.

Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B)

Dunn & Bradstreet is the only bureau that focuses exclusively on business credit, taking into account how you, as a business, interact with vendors and other suppliers. So, the main focus is on your business-to-business data submitted by suppliers, public records, industry data, and other historical data.

D&B provides:

  1. Predictive-Based Scores showing how your business will perform over the next 12 months:
  • Delinquency Predictor Score that predicts whether or not your business will pay their bills on time
  • Financial Stress Score that predicts whether or not your business is likely to fall into financial distress
  • Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating that predictswhether or not your business might stop offering its goods/services

Be aware that D&B will look even at the SIC (Standard Industry Classification) codes.

  1. Performance-Based Scores showing your business’ past performance over the last 24 months:
  • PAYDEX Score, which is a 100-point score. The higher it is, the better. Make sure your current vendors report your credit history to D&B.
  • D&B Rating that’s created based on your company size, industry information, and other general factors. An accurate and up-to-date financial statement can help you improve this score.

Equifax

Equifax builds a report based on data collected by the Small Business Finance Exchange (SBFE). The SBFE is comprised of the largest small business lenders in the US and where they report loan data. This report shows how you make credit card and other loan payments. Also, like the other business credit bureaus, Equifax collects trade credit information and data from the public record.

Experian

Where does Experian collect information from and what’s important for Experian 100-point business credit score?

  • Suppliers and lenders
  • Public record, including legal filings from local, county, and state governments
  • Credit card companies, collection agencies, corporate financial information, and other databases
  • Bank information (the number of credit transactions, outstanding balances, payment habits, how much of your available credit you use, and the details of any current liens, judgments, or bankruptcies)
  • Time in business
  • Your business’ SIC codes

Here is the Experian 100-point business credit score:

  • High Risk – 0-15
  • Medium Risk – 16-30
  • Good Credit – 31-80
  • Excellent Credit – 80-100

Experian keeps information on your credit report this way:

  • Trade Data: 36 months
  • Bankruptcy: 9 years, 9 months
  • Judgments: 6 years, 9 months
  • Tax Liens: 6 years, 9 months
  • UCC Filings: 5 years
  • Collections: 6 years, 9 months
  • Bank, Gov., Leasing Data: 36 months

A 2015 survey showed, of small business owners surveyed, 45% didn’t know they have a business credit score, 72% didn’t know where to find information on their business credit score, and 82% didn’t know how to interpret their score.

Your personal credit score will always be taken into account as a small business owner. To get approved for a business loan without major challenges, make sure to have a strong business credit profile as well.