The two largest, and most frequently used Business Credit reporting agencies in the US are Dunn & Bradstreet and Experian. Equifax has recently gotten into the business credit space but it’s so bad it’s barely worth mentioning (and no lenders use it).

Dun & Bradstreet (aka D&B) is the oldest business credit rating agency in the US (started way back in 1848!) and is by far the most commonly used and respected agency for any industry. Dun & Bradstreet’s business credit system can be divided into two rating systems:

• D&B Rating-a general overview of your business’s credit worthiness and financial standing.
• D&B PAYDEX Score-an evaluation specifically on how quickly your business pays back lenders.

Experian has been a mainstay in personal credit for decades. They have expanded their services to business credit reporting as well. While still the new kid on the block for business credit, Experian has developed an excellent rating system (and tools for the borrower) called Experian Intelliscore.

One thing that’s unique about this score is the fact that it can be based on personal credit data, business credit data, or both. Intelliscore Plus often uses a “blended model” for newer businesses: it can evaluate the owner’s personal credit data as well as business credit data to calculate a credit score. For new businesses with no business credit history, only the owner’s personal credit data may be used to calculate the business’s credit score

Speak to BLF about how to establish and work on your Business Credit.