Business Credit vs Personal Credit per entrepreneur.com

The following article comes directly from www.entrepreneur.com and contains some very valuable information regarding business credit.

"As an entrepreneur, did you know you have a unique opportunity to build, maintain and acquire credit both individually and as a business owner? That's good news if you're trying to build and grow a company because you won't have to rely solely on your personal credit to do that.

As a member of the business credit industry, it's been my experience that fewer than 10 percent of all entrepreneurs know about or truly understand how business credit is established and tracked-and how it affects their lives and businesses. So let's first take a look at how personal credit differs from business credit. Then we'll discuss some steps you can take to build your business credit.

Personal Vs. Business Credit

At the point an individual with a social security number accepts their first job or applies for their first credit card, a credit profile is started with the personal credit reporting agencies. This profile, otherwise known as a credit report, is added to with every credit inquiry, credit application submitted, change of address and job change. The information is typically reported to the credit bureaus by those who are issuing credit. Eventually, the credit report becomes a statement of an individual's ability to pay back a debt.

In some cases, the same is true for businesses. When a business issues another business credit, it's referred to as trade credit. Trade, or business, credit is the single largest source of lending in the world.

Information about trade credit transactions is gathered by the business credit bureaus to create your business credit report using your business name, address and federal tax identification number (FIN), also known as an employer identification number (EIN), which you get from the IRS. The business credit bureaus use this compiled data to generate a report about your company's business credit transactions. In many cases, those issuing credit to you will rely on your business credit report to determine if they want to grant you credit and how much credit they'll give.

The major business credit bureaus that compile and provide copies of the reports are:

• Dun & Bradstreet
• Experian Business
• Equifax Business
• Business Credit USA

Unfortunately, because the information provided to the business credit bureaus is sent in voluntarily--no business is required to send it in--the credit bureaus may never receive all or even any information about your business credit transactions. In fact, you could go for years racking up business credit without any of it being reported to the credit bureaus.

Establishing Business Credit

Let's start by talking about your business credit score. Business credit scores range on a scale from 0 to 100 with 75 or more considered an excellent rating. Personal credit scores, on the other hand, range from 300 to 850 with a score of 680 or high considered excellent.

It's important to note that there are many factors that affect a credit score; it's based on more than just whether you pay your bills on time. Your score can be affected by the amount of available credit you have on bank lines of credit and credit cards, the length of time you've had a credit profile, the number of inquiries made on your credit profile and more. You can find out more about what factors affect your credit rating by visiting www.myfico.com.

The mistake many business owners make is using their personal information to apply for business credit, leases and loans. By doing so, they risk having a lower personal credit score. Why is that? The average consumer credit report gets just one inquiry per year and has 11 credit obligations, typically broken down as 7 credit cards and 4 installment loans. Business owners are not your average consumer, however, because they carry both personal and business credit. This typically doubles the number of inquiries made to their personal credit profile and the number of credit obligations they carry at any given time, all of which negatively impact their personal credit score. And because business inquiries and personal inquiries aren't separated on their personal credit report, the scores, again, is negatively affected. At the same time, by using their personal credit history to get business credit, they're not able to build their business score, which could help them attain critical business credit in the future.

The key to establishing a business credit profile and score is to find companies that will establish credit for your business without using your personal credit information and then report the payment experiences to the business credit bureaus. By reporting the information to the proper agencies, they'll help you establish your business credit profile."

The mistake most business owners make is using their personal information to apply for business credit, leases and loans. By doing so, they risk having a lower personal credit score as well as placing all of their personal assets in jeopardy.

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

Call today to be approved in over $50,000 in business credit . It’s guaranteed.

Dun and Bradstreet

Dun and Bradstreet is the biggest and major business credit reporting agency. Dun and Bradstreet is commonly known as D&B and is a publically traded company with a headquarters in Short Hills, New Jersey.

D&B provides information on small to large businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions. Currently, they hold over 200 million business records on file.

D&B roots track back all the way to 1841 with the formation of the Mercantile Agency in New York. In 1933 the Mercantile Agency joined with R.G. Bradstreet.

In 1962 D&B created the DUNS number which is now the worldwide preferred method of identifying businesses.

Dun & Bradstreet offers many products and services to consumers and business.
Some of these include risk management products such as the Business Information Report, Comprehensive Report and the DNBi platform.

These provide current and historical business information primarily used for lenders and financial institutions to assist in making credit decisions.

D&B also offers sales and marketing products such as the DUNS Market Identifier database, Optimizer, and D&B Professional Contacts which provide sales and marketing professionals with business data for both prospecting and CRM activity.

Just as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are leaders in the consumer credit reporting arenas, Dun and Bradstreet is the leader in business credit data.

Contact us today to learn more about how you can establish a profile with Dun and Bradstreet, as well as with the other two major business credit bureaus, and getting approved for $50,000 in business credit this year with no personal guarantee and regardless of your personal credit quality.


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

5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs to Build A Business Credit Asset!

Our Business Credit Development System has been developed to help business owners establish and grow a strong business credit asset in order to secure new funding opportunities for your business.

#1 Access to funding and managing cash flow is the single biggest concern for business owners. By establishing and building a Business Credit Asset, businesses can access new funding sources to ensure positive cash flow.

#2 Secure new financing options. A strong business credit file can be the difference between receiving funds or not. Approval for most small business loan decisions under $90,000 happens automatically, often relying on one thing - your business credit file and score. 

#3 Get the best credit terms. Your business credit score will likely result in better credit card and loan interest rates. For businesses with weak credit scores, banks and lending institutions may increase loan interest rates from 7% to 12% and credit card interest rates from 8% to 18%.

#4 Reduce your expenses. Building a business Credit Asset can improve cash flow by reducing:

§ Financing Costs

§ Insurance Premiums

§ Rental Terms

§ Credit Card Rates

§ Vendor and Supplier Terms 

#5 Peace of mind. Protect your personal assets and reduce your personal liability by creating a separate corporate entity and business credit. Establishing your business credit asset only strengthens this liability protection.

Building Your Credit With Guaranteed Results!

§ Accelerate the process of building business credit

§ Build a Business Credit Asset and acquire new funding

§ Strengthen business credit score within 120 days

§ Save out-of-pocket expenses with easy credit purchases

§ Establish relationships with trade credit vendors

§ Gain access to cash while building your business credit

§ Take advantage of loan options with no personal guarantee required

§ Receive personalized funding options and credit advising

§ Faster progress and more accurate results with motivated coaches

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

Credit Cards with Bad Credit

If you have bad credit, you might think that it is impossible for you to obtain a credit card.  Let’s start out by saying that if you have bad credit, the only possible reason you should be looking for another card is to try and rebuild your credit, rather than to go on a shopping spree at the local Wal-Mart.  For people with bad credit, credit cards can be the bane of existence.

However, there are legitimate reasons for needing a credit card.  First, they are helpful in emergencies.  For example, if you should get stranded by the side of the road with car trouble, a credit card can get you a tow truck.  Having a credit card with bad credit can also help get you back on the road toward good credit provided you use it wisely.

Just so you can’t get into too much trouble with a credit card while you have bad credit, we recommend that you get a secured credit rather than try to apply for a standard credit card.  A secured credit card can prevent you from getting into credit problems and still show that you can be responsible with a credit card plus give you the peace of mind you need in the event of an emergency.

With a secured credit card, you deposit a certain amount of money into an account that is held as ‘security’. This amount may or may not be equal to your credit limit. You then use your card just like you would a regular credit card.  The good part about a secured credit card is that once you’ve reached the credit limit, you can’t use the card anymore until you deposit more money.  The main reason to get a secured credit card is to start rebuilding your credit when you’ve amassed a bad credit history.  A good resource is www.creditcards.com.

A prepaid card works very similar to a secured credit card but your credit limit will be limited to the amount you deposit. The biggest difference is that prepaid cards usually don’t report to the credit bureaus so it will not help you rebuild your credit.

Even if you have bad credit, you might also be able to secure a department store credit card.  Many department stores will offer you a credit with a low limit even if your credit isn’t stellar.  Of course, the big thing here is to make your payments on time and don’t overextend your credit.  It’s credit suicide to get a card, charge too much on it, and then miss payments or be late on payments.

Just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean you can’t get a credit card.  Just be careful if you do get one.   Remember that there’s a reason you have bad credit in the first place and learn from your past mistakes.

Expert Credit Consultants, LLC specializes in credit restoration and optimization. www.ExpertCreditConsultants.com