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Key takeaways
- Knowing your business score is crucial when getting a business loan, business credit card or any other funding for your business in the future.
- A free business credit report can provide a general overview of your business’s financial health.
- For ongoing monitoring of your business credit profile to build your credit score, invest in a paid monthly plan.
Consumer credit scores can be complicated to understand, yet current or soon-to-be business owners will need to digest another layer of information. Just as you’re assigned a credit score based on your personal creditworthiness, businesses also have a credit score that denotes their overall credit health.
Business credit scores are used for the same purpose as credit scores for individuals. If you apply for a business credit card or a small business loan, the company you apply for credit with will use your business credit score to determine the creditworthiness of your business, as well as your interest rate and loan terms.
Like personal credit scores, higher business credit scores are better when it comes to getting the best rates and strongest terms. However, while personal credit scores typically fall between 300 and 850, business credit scores can range on a scale from 1 to 100.
How to check your business credit score
Several third-party companies make it possible for you to access a business credit report online. Each provider lets you see a version of your business credit score, and some offer packages that let you gain access to more credit features and information.
If you want to build your business credit score and are wondering how to get a business credit report, you can consider the following paid options:
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is a business credit rating agency that offers two service tiers to help you monitor and manage your business credit score:
- D&B Credit Insights. This free service allows you to sign up for alerts after changes to your Paydex Score, Delinquency Score, Failure Score or D&B Guidance.
- D&B Credit Insights Basic. This paid tier costs $39 per month for nonstop monitoring of all five D&B scores — including your D&B Rating, which isn’t included in the free tier. You also get access to historical rating trends for your business, and other tools designed to help you stay on top of legal events, like judgments and UCC filings. <br></br>
Business owners who want to see their business credit score and monitor changes to their business credit profile over time.
Go to Dun & Bradstreet’s site and sign up with a plan you’re interested in.
Experian
The credit reporting bureau Experian is another provider that lets you view your business credit score or monitor your business credit profile through four paid services:<br></br>
- CreditScore Report. For a one-time $39.95 charge, you can view your business credit score and gain an overview of your business profile.
- ProfilePlus Report. For a one-time charge of $49.95, you get a more comprehensive business credit score report that includes information on credit inquiries and detailed tradeline data.
- Business Credit Advantage. This annual plan costs $189 a year for unlimited business credit score access, credit alerts, ongoing tracking and more.
- Business CreditScore Pro. For $1,495 a year, you can view reports for up to 30 businesses each month, including public records and scores.
Small business owners who don’t want to sign up for a subscription. (Though, if you do, you have two options for continued access.)
Go to Experian’s site and <a href=”https://www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-reports” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>sign up or subscribe</a> to the plan you’re interested in.
Equifax
The credit reporting bureau Equifax lets you order a single business credit report on their website, although you’ll need to make a customer service inquiry to learn about pricing. These reports are packed with comprehensive information that includes a company profile, a credit summary, details on public records, Equifax business risk scores and more.
Business reports from Equifax also include a unique Business Failure Score, which tries to predict how likely it is for a business to fail through “formal or informal bankruptcy” over the next 12 months.
Small business owners looking to get a free copy of their business credit report —after submitting contact details.
Go to Equifax’s site and <a href=”https://www.equifax.com/business/product/business-credit-reports-small-business/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>complete the Contact Us form</a> to learn about pricing and next steps.
Are there free options for checking a business credit score?
Yes, you can find free options for your business credit score. But keep in mind that free reports aren’t as robust as paid reports or subscriptions. Still, they can provide a good place to start.
Free options to check your business credit score include:
- Dun & Bradstreet CreditSignal. This free service from Dun & Bradstreet allows you access to your business credit score, with notifications when your credit score changes and how to improve it. Most of the benefits of this free program last for 14 days, at which point you’re strongly encouraged to upgrade to a paid option.
- Nav. The marketplace Nav offers free access to business credit scores with signup. You can access your Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Equifax business credit reports and scores, as well as a summary of your business credit reports and credit-building tools.
- Tillful. The mobile app Tillful lets you monitor your business credit score for free while managing your business accounts in one place. The app itself is also free, and you can use it to monitor your credit, spending and overall financial picture.
What information will you need to check your score?
To access your business credit score with Nav or the D&B CreditSignal program, you must provide personal, business and contact information, including:
- Business name
- ZIP code
- Email address
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Phone number
- Social Security number
You may also need to answer security questions based on your loan history, work history or previous addresses.
Which option should you choose?
A free business credit report can give you a general idea of your overall business credit health, though information will not be as comprehensive as you’ll find with paid business credit monitoring plans.
For ongoing monitoring of your business credit profile, a paid monthly plan from a company like Experian or Dun & Bradstreet can make sense.
Whatever you do, make sure you take the steps to getting a handle on your business credit. Your business credit score may sound unimportant as you’re getting off the ground, but you’ll need a solid business profile if you want to apply for a business card, get a low-interest business loan or work with vendors who extend credit.
Your best bet is having an idea of your business credit score and taking steps to monitor it early on — before you need it.
