BUSINESS CREDIT PROGRAM

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If you’ve ever tried to get a business loan or credit card, you’ve probably heard of your credit score. But if you own a small business, you’ll probably want to get familiar with your business credit score. Having a positive business credit score means it may be easier for you to get approved for loans and business credit cards and qualify for lower insurance premiums — just to name a few benefits!

The Financial Act will help you get the business credit, loans, and funding needed to start and grow your company. No matter if you’re an MLM or a corporation, when the banks say “NO” we can help. Get the resources to get the money you need when you need it. 

We’ll show you how to obtain business lines of credit, from $5,000 to $150,000 for your business using your EIN that’s not linked to your SSN, in most cases with no personal credit check or personal guarantee. Get approved even when you can’t qualify for a business loan with no cash flow or collateral requirements.   

Understanding your business credit score is an essential first step in successfully running and growing your business. This Financial Act will help you understand your business credit score and business credit report.

Like personal credit scores, business credit scores provide a quick view of risk potential based on where the score falls on the scale — the higher the score, the lower the risk. However, business credit scores use a scale that ranges from 0 to 100. 

You can proactively manage your business credit score, mainly by ensuring your vendors report your payment history and regularly monitor your business credit report.

We’ll explain how to check your business score and report, teach you how to interpret them, and even give you tips on improving your scores.

The Business Credit bureaus collect three types of information regarding your business:

1.  Credit obligation information from your suppliers and lenders

2.  Legal filings from local, county and state courts

3.  Company background information from independent sources, including state filing offices, public records, credit card companies, collection agencies, corporate financial information, and marketing databases

This information is combined with data from other sources, including:

• Actual trade payment experiences submitted by payees
• Public record information
• Collection’s information
• Company background and comparative data that places a company’s payment performance in context within its industry

Your business credit score is calculated by a statistically derived algorithm designed to determine risk based on multiple factors.

• Credit: Number of trade experiences, balances outstanding, payment habits, credit utilization, and trends over time
• Public Records: Recency, frequency, and dollar amounts associated with liens, judgments, or bankruptcies
• Demographic Information: Years on file, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, and business size

Unfortunately, since there are a few different companies that issue business credit scores, there isn’t 1 set number considered “good” or “bad.” But on any scale, the higher your score, the more that lenders believe that you will be able to repay your debts.

We’ll breakdown each of the different companies and each of their scoring methods a bit later, but here are the main business credit score models:

• Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX
• Equifax Business Delinquency Risk Scores
• Intelliscore Plus from Experian
• FICO LiquidCredit Small Business Scoring Service

Focusing on 1 year of payment history of your business, a financial stress score, and other data from at least 4 vendors, Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX report uses a 100-point scale to rank your business credit.

       In terms of credit risk:

• 1 to 49: High Risk
• 50 to 79: Moderate Risk
• 80 to 100: Low Risk

Why Business Credit Scores Matter

So why is knowing your business credit score important? Well, it impacts a vast number of financial aspects of your business, including:

• What repayment terms you’ll receive (i.e., net 30 vs. net 60)
• What interest rates you’ll pay
• How much credit a supplier will extend to you
• What insurance rates and premiums you’ll pay
• How much credit or funding you will be extended
• How favorably your business is viewed

Why It’s Important To Separate Business and Personal Credit

While it is possible to use personal credit to fund your small business, it’s not a great idea.

Let’s discuss some reasons to avoid commingling accounts. To start, the IRS has strict rules about mixing personal and business expenses, but it depends on the type of business — sole proprietor, LLC, corporation, etc.

No matter how your business is set up, you should always consider that:

• Using personal checks or a personal credit card makes your bookkeeping and taxes much tougher
• Your business will look more professional when you pay for business expenses from a business account
• Use personal credit and default on your business loans. You will be personally liable for the costs incurred by the business — this can show up on your personal credit report as well, doubling the negative impact.