Equifax Business Credit Scoring

Dun & Bradstreet is the primary company used to evaluate business credit and issue a credit score known as a Paydex score.

Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit rating bureaus, also provides business credit evaluations for over 22,000,000 small businesses and corporations to detect early signs of trouble by monitoring key customers, suppliers, and partners. Equifax’s model is designed for companies that provide goods and services to small businesses.

One of the main Equifax business credit scores is the Small Business Credit Risk score. The Small Business Credit Risk Score™ for Financial Services predicts the likelihood of a business incurring greater than 90 days severe delinquency or charge-off on financial services accounts within a 12-month period. This score is built using financial services and trade payment data, providing a higher degree of predictability. The score range is from 101 - 992 and it returns up to four reason codes.

The score utilizes unique bank loans, lease information, credit card and supplier data, utility credit history, public records, and firmographic data from their own Equifax Commercial Database. 

Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Financing Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com

10 Ways to Cut Costs for Your Business this Fall

The goal of every business is to be as profitable as possible.  One way to get there is by watching the bottom line closely. If an expense isn’t necessary, it should be eliminated from the budget.  Saving money is key to any business’ financial future.

Finding areas to “trim the fat” becomes easier with time.  By involving your employees in the budgeting process, you do two things. You raise awareness of the importance of eliminating waste which makes people more conscientious about their consumption. You also free up finances for programs and events that benefit your workers. 

Vice President Joe Biden said, “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.”  He was on to something. You can learn a lot about a business by how much debt it is in and how much savings it has accumulated.

Here are 10 suggestions that will help you cut costs this fall:

1. Shop Back to School Sales.  Every small business needs its fair share of office supplies.  Rather than buy items at full price, wait for fall to stock up.  You’ll find everything from spiral notebooks and pens to glue and printer paper at a discount.  Inventory what you currently have on hand, anticipate your yearly needs, and purchase supplies accordingly.  You can even use this time to replace office furniture and equipment like computers, printers, and fax machines since there is likely to be significant savings involved by shopping the back to school sales.  

2. Use Apps like Walmart’s Savings Catcher and Target’s Cartwheel to Get the Best Deals.  By entering your receipt, Walmart’s app automatically compares its prices with those of top retailers in your area. Target’s app provides discount savings in the form of coupons on items that you buy regularly. If you have a smartphone, make good use of it by downloading these apps and checking them regularly. 

3. Sell Your Empty Printer and Toner Cartridges to Offset the Cost of Buying New Ink.  TonerBuyer.com offers up to $22 for your empty printer cartridges.  They also offer money for new and used printer, copier, and fax toner and supplies.  If you’ve recently made the switch to different equipment and aren’t sure what to do with the leftover ink or toner, sell it.  Use that money to offset the costs of buying new ink for your printers at work.

4. Barter Services with Other Businesses in the Area. You don’t know what you can get until you ask.  See if businesses in your city would be willing to barter for good and services rather than take cash payments for them.  Before you agree to anything, however, get it in writing.  Treat the transaction as you would with any other vendor.  

5. Go Paperless if You Can.  Use a service like Dropbox or Google Docs to share information.  Scan items and post them to the cloud for others to read and follow up on.  Use electronic invoices and inventory spreadsheets.  You’d be amazed at how much paper is wasted by businesses on a yearly basis. According to Keep America Beautiful, “In 2010, Americans trashed enough paper to cover 26,700 football fields or 17,800 soccer fields in paper three feet deep.”

6. Switch Banks.  Look for a bank that doesn’t have fees like ATM surcharges, overdrafts, and debit card fees.  Many financial institutions offer sign up bonuses as well.  Take advantage of these types of incentives and use the free money to further your business efforts.

7. Use Payroll Debit Cards.  Think about how much money it costs to print checks. There’s also a greater risk of fraud. Adopting a payroll debit card system makes it easier to access funds, eliminate fraudulent activity, and give employees purchasing freedom.  If you haven’t looked into payroll debit cards, now’s the time to do so.

8. Bundle Services.  Many companies offer bundled services.  If you’re paying separate bills for phone service, cable, internet, fax, and web hosting, you shouldn’t.  See what types of savings you can incur by bundling two or more services.  You could potentially save hundreds of dollars each year in unnecessary costs.

9. Download and Use Free Forms. A website like Formnet provides dozens of free forms that you can download and utilize for free.  If you’re a paperless office, you can use these items on the cloud.

10. See Which Suppliers Offer Discounts for Paying Early. Make it your mission to pay invoices quickly.  A number of suppliers offer discounts when you pay early.  See who does and make sure that you get those payments in on time.

If saving money is your mission, you’re bound to find plenty of ways to do just that this fall. Reevaluate your business needs and cut back on unnecessary expenses. Be willing to open your mind and close your pocketbook.  You’ll be surprised at how much money you free up by simply changing your perspective about things.

About the Author:

Diana Mackie is the Chief Content Officer at Funding Gates, the CRM for receivables management that helps small businesses collect on their open invoices.

Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Financing Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com

What is Business Credit?

Business Credit, sometimes referred to as Trade Credit, is credit that is established under a business's name instead of the owner's name.

Business credit permits a business owner to use their business credit profile and score for financing - NOT their personal credit scores.

All too many small to medium sized business owners know nothing about business credit so they end up funding their business using their personal credit until they can’t obtain any more personal financing. Then they are in serious trouble, their personal credit is shot, they lose their personal assets, even file personal bankruptcies, all to get rid of business debt. With business credit, this doesn’t need to happen as the business owner them self isn’t liable for the business debts, only the business is.

Having business credit will provide any business owner with some major advantages.

For one, the business can obtain A LOT more money in approvals. The Small Business Administration states

that business credit approvals are typically 10-100 times higher than consumer credit approvals.

There are also many sources that require no personal credit check. So, even business owners with challenged credit can be approved for thousands of dollars of credit for their businesses.

Business credit can be built quickly, much faster than consumer credit. It takes 6 months for an initial consumer credit score to even be established. Then, since the length of time you’ve had personal credit factors into the score, it could take years to have an excellent personal credit score. With business credit, it is very practical for a business to have an excellent business credit score within 90 days or less, then build that credit to a point where the business is getting $10,000 credit card approvals within 6 months or less.

When built the right way, the owners can commonly qualify with no personal guarantee (PG). No PG means business owners can access cash for their businesses without the personal liability. That means in case of default, the lender couldn’t pursue the personal assets of the business owner.  To qualify for most business credit sources with no PG, the business must have a positive business credit score established with the appropriate business credit reporting agencies. The two most commonly used business credit scores are the Paydex score from Dun and Bradstreet and the Intelliscore from Experian.  And, again, you will need credit with all the major business credit agencies, not just one.

Once a positive business credit score is established, many merchants will then approve the business owner for credit in the business's name. Thousands of major merchants offer business credit. But most don't promote their business credit programs, so they are difficult to locate. In addition, only approximately 10% of vendors report business payments to the business credit bureaus unless the owner is late or defaults, which is why the majority of small to medium sized businesses have either no business credit or bad business credit. Just a few of the merchants offering business credit that we can help you obtain for your business include Chevron, Dell, Staples, Best Buy, Apple, and Lowes. Once business credit is established and paid as agreed, the business credit limits will continue to increase and businesses can then be approved for even more credit as well as cash loans in the business name.

It is very practical to build your business credit to where you can obtain $10,000 limits with major credit card accounts within 6 months. Just pick up the phone to call us and get started.

Business credit is one of the strongest assets any business can have.

Don't be one of the 95% of small businesses that fail within the first five years because of lack of funding. Eventually you WILL need to borrow money for your business. Secure it BEFORE you need it.

Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Financing Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com

What are Unsecured Business Credit Lines?

Unsecured revolving business credit lines are a smart way for you to grow and expand your small business. You pay only on the credit you use making a revolving credit line a perfect financing source for your small business.

Plus a revolving credit line can be used, paid down, and then reused making them very practical for any small business owner. This gives you tremendous peace of mind to know that additional money is available if needed.

The amount you will be approved for will vary based on the volume of your small business. You can secure a revolving credit line for over $150,000 with no financials needed to qualify, and credit lines up to $250,000 if you can show business tax returns and financials with business profits in our program.

Some revolving lines do require you put up collateral to qualify. Collateral can include accounts receivables, inventory, machinery & equipment, and even real estate.

Most business revolving credit lines require a personal guarantor to be approved. This means that if the business fails to meet the terms of the agreement, the guarantor will be personally liable.

Through our Business Credit and Finance Suite, you can easily establish excellent business credit scores in less than 60 days. You can then use your newly established business credit profile and score to qualify for unsecured credit lines without personal credit being as much of a factor.

Most banks have cut back dramatically on the funds offered to small business owners. As a result many owners have found it very difficult to obtain any revolving business credit line.

Through the Business Credit and Finance Suite, you have access to the best revolving business credit lines available today with the most lenient personal credit score and documentation requirements.

You can easily and quickly get approved and receive your business credit line in only a few weeks through your own funding suite account.

Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in establishing business credit and funding using our exclusive Business Credit and Finance Suite as well as consumer credit restoration and optimization.  www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com.