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There is a right way and wrong way to do almost everything. The same is very true for building strong business credit scores with the three national business credit reporting agencies: Experian Smart Business Reports, Equifax Small Business Financial Exchange and Dun & Bradstreet.
For example, many businesses set up as sole proprietors and operate for years under the mistaken assumption that they can, and have, built business credit scores. This mistaken assumption is actually fostered, in part, by the business credit reporting agencies themselves because they will give a sole proprietorship a credit file and even assign business credit scores.
So if that is true, then what makes it a mistaken assumption? Well, in the case of sole proprietorships and partnerships, all loans and credit lines extended by lenders, banks, business credit cards, vendors, etc. are tied directly to the owners personally. As an owner or partner you are 100% personally responsible for the repayment regardless of what happens to your business. You are “doing business”, but are not truly ”a separate business".
In order for your business to build business credit scores that are completely separate from you personally, your business must either be an incorporation (INC or S-Corp) or a limited liability company (LLC). These business formations create a stand-alone "entity" which lenders and credit providers then treat as a entity that is separate from you personally. Now, when you build business credit scores, the loans and lines you receive are not tied to your social security number and will not show up or report on your personal credit reports.
The following is another common misconception about business credit, “I already have a PayDex score with Dun & Bradstreet, so I have built business credit”. It is true that Dun & Bradstreet is a valuable part of the equation to building business credit scores, but they only represent one-third of the overall task. Experian Smart Business and Equifax Small Business Financial Exchange are of equal value and they serve different markets.
If your goal is to obtain loans or lines from a bank then Equifax may be the most important component of your credit building process. Equifax operates the Small Business Financial Exchange. The Exchange is primarily where banks share business data between themselves. So, if you do not build strong business credit scores with Equifax, you may be eliminating your chances for true bank financing.
Many business credit card providers, leasing companies, vendors, and even commercial landlords rely heavily upon Experian BIS (Smart Business Reports) data when it comes to making approval decisions. Building business credit is not complete without having a strong Experian Smart Business profile and score.
Our Business Credit Building System walks you through getting your business credit files opened with all three national business credit reporting agencies. It gives you step-by-step instructions for setting your business foundation "the right way", the first time. The instructions are comprehensive, very clearly spelled out, and the methods have been proven by over 50,000 business owners before you.
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