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By building your business credit score, you can increase borrowing limits, qualify for lower interest rates, and help limit personal liability in business dealings.
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Whether you’re just starting your business or are finally diving into the world of business credit scores, there are several practical ways to build business credit.
Business credit information is more widely accessible to lenders and vendors and plays a major role in lending decisions, so having a good business credit score is a must for running a successful business.
Here’s how to do it.
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Scores typically range from 0 to 100, depending on the credit bureau. According to the credit bureau Experian, a score of 75+ is good, while according to another key bureau, Dun & Bradstreet, a score of 80+ is considered good.
Both bureaus also use additional metrics to evaluate business credit. Read our full guide on business credit scores and how they work for more information.
A good business credit score allows you to:
Before we dive into building your score, it’s important to understand what influences your score.
Common factors include:
Note that this list is not exhaustive. Credit bureaus may use additional data points to calculate your score. For example, Experian notes that it evaluates many data points (including dozens of variables). But these main factors are a good place to start.
Building your score takes time, but a few quick wins can help you get started. Here are our top tips to improve your score.
If you’re looking for a quick win when it comes to establishing and building your score, you’ll want to start by registering for a D-U-N-S number.
A D-U-N-S number is assigned by the major credit bureau Dun & Bradstreet and serves as a business identifier. This is a strong first step in building your business credit. This unique identifier is also used by investors and lenders to see your business’s profile to make lending and investment decisions.
You can register for a D-U-N-S number for free, but you’ll need trade lines to generate a score. While it’s free to register for a D-U-N-S number, you may need to pay for full access to your Dun & Bradstreet credit report.
Let’s say the credit agencies don’t have enough information on your business to provide an accurate score or complete credit report. No worries.
Registering for an EIN helps establish your business with credit agencies. It also gives lenders a consistent way to identify your business.
In addition to identifying your business to creditors, having an EIN also allows you to stop using your personal Social Security number for official documents, thus separating your personal credit from your business credit. Learn more about how to get an EIN.
If your business is still a sole proprietorship, consider becoming an LLC or incorporating instead.
Forming your business as a limited liability company instead of a sole proprietorship has some important benefits, including establishing your business credit. As with registering for an EIN, restructuring your business as an LLC will help separate your personal and business credit because it differentiates your business as its own separate entity.
Opening a business bank account with your business’s legal name and EIN is a great way to improve your business credit profile. Some of the best business bank accounts even include business score tools and features to help you track and manage your score.
Managing a business credit card responsibly is a great way to improve your score. To do this well, we recommend:
If you truly have no business credit or credit history, you may need to start with a secured card and work your way up to one of the best business credit cards. Be careful to check that your business credit card actually reports to the business credit bureaus, as not all do.
Setting up business trade lines with vendors or suppliers — i.e., “accounts payable” relationships — demonstrates your ability to make payments on time.
Even if you don’t need an accounts payable arrangement for your business, you can still set one up to help boost your credit score. For example, you could set up a trade line with your office supplies or drinking water distributor.
A 2021 Consumer Reports study found that as many as 34% of consumers have caught at least one error on their credit report. Business owners aren’t immune to these errors either.
Once you have your business credit report in hand, review it carefully. If you spot any errors, be sure to reach out to the bureau in question. Erasing erroneous blemishes may give your score a quick boost.
To build a strong business credit score, you don’t just need to repay your debts on time. You also need to pay your bills. This includes payments to:
A strong history of on-time (or early) payments is one of the biggest factors in a good score. Both online banks and good accounting software can help you automate your accounts payable and stay up-to-date on your various business payments.
Even if you have multiple lines of credit or business credit cards, don’t max them out. This will help minimize your debt utilization ratio, which is the percentage of your available credit currently being used. Keeping utilization low (often under 30%) is generally considered a good practice.
Once you know what your business credit scores are, you can start to work on improving them. Making a routine of checking your score is key to staying on top of any negative changes.
This also ensures that you can catch any errors quickly and take steps to improve your score as needed.
Avoid behaviors that signal risk, such as closing any business-related accounts, and stay on the right side of the law in terms of business taxes, business licenses, insurance policies, etc. This is especially important if your business is a high-risk industry.
The key to a strong score is making your business appear as stable and low-risk as possible.
Learn how to tell if you have a high-risk business.
If you are wondering how long it takes to build business credit, the answer varies from 3-6 months to 3-5 years. This wide range makes it difficult for businesses to know how quickly their scores will improve.
One of the most clear timelines is that any new accounts your business opens take 30-60 days to appear on your business credit report. So, if you’re looking to improve your score by opening a business bank, credit card, or line of credit, expect several months of on-time payments and data to start seeing positive changes on your report (you may also see an initial drop for a new inquiry — don’t worry, this will drop with time).
While it takes time, focus on the fundamentals. Tackle the fast business credit-building tips below first, then trust that if you’re making on-time payments and maintaining a low debt utilization ratio, your score will show all of your hard work eventually.
Some elements of building a business credit score can’t be rushed. Factors like time in business, a history of on-time payments, and lack of recent inquiries can only be helped by time.
The good news is that some tips for building your score can be actioned right away, and you can see an impact fairly quickly. We recommend starting with:
Each of these tips can help you quickly boost your score.
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