7 SBA Loan Options That Don’t Require Luck

Why Should You Want an SBA Loan?

The Small Business Administration works with lenders to guarantee loans to small businesses. These SBA loan options are available to businesses that would not be able to get them otherwise, due to the government backing.

Due to the SBA guarantee, lenders are able to offer lower rates and better terms than would otherwise be available. However, there is typically a lot more red tape, making the approval process longer than non-SBA loans.

Overview of Qualifications for SBA Loans

The SBA uses FICO SBSS (Small Business Scoring Service). Scores run 0 – 300, and you will typically not gain approval if score < 140. Yet, a typical cutoff can be as high as 160. In addition, you will usually need to show some time in business, and if you have more than a 20% ownership, you will need to provide a personal guarantee.

#1 SBA 7(a) Loans

To get a 7 (a) loan you’ll need to first demonstrate need for funds and have a sound business purpose in mind. You’ll also have to meet SBA size standards for a small business. Additionally, a business must do, or propose to do, business in the United States or its possessions. You also have to try to use other financial resources before applying, including personal assets.

#2 SBA CapLines

The SBA offers 4 CapLines, each designed for a different type of business.

Seasonal Line
- Advances against anticipated inventory and accounts receivables
Contract Line
- Finances direct labor and material cost of performing assignable contracts
Builders Line
- For GCs or builders constructing or renovating commercial or residential buildings
Working Capital Line
- Must have accounts receivable or inventory. Meant for short-term working capital or operating needs.

#3 SBA Express

This is a faster way to get a SBA loan options of up to $250,000. Typical rates are 2-4% above prime rate.

SBA lets banks charge up to 6.5% over their base rate, and loans over $25,000 require collateral.

#4 SBA 504 Loan Options

These are often to buy land, equipment, or real estate. You can get a loan of up to $1,000,000, and the typical borrow contribution is 10% of equity.

The business must be a for profit operating in the United States or its territories. Same as a 7(a) loan, you must try to use other financing before applying. Average net income must be less than $5 million after taxes for the last 2 years. Also, you have to be able to repay the loan on time from projected operating cash flow.

#5 SBA Microloan Program

These loans are for working capital and growth. As the term “microloan” indicates, they are for smaller amounts averaging from $10,000 to $13,000. However, you can get up to $50,000. These funds are made available through specially designated intermediary lenders. They are nonprofit community-based organizations with experience in lending, management, and technical assistance.

#6 Community Advantage Loan Options

This program has been extended to 9/30/22. The goal is to promote economic growth in underserved areas and markets. It allows those that make credit decisions to overlook certain factors. So, things like poor credit or low revenue do not have as negative of an impact on approval. This is for businesses that have potential to stimulate the economy or create jobs in underserved areas.

#7 SBA Export Working Capital

This program provides financing for suppliers, inventory, or production of export goods during long payment cycles. In addition, it allows for financing for stand-by letters of credit used as a bid for performance bonds or down payment guarantees.

SBA Loan Approval is Not Just Luck of the Draw

SBA loan approval is not subject to the luck of the draw. They have strict standards that you have to meet, but the required credit score is typically lower than non-SBA loan options, and the interest rates are usually lower. These benefits outweigh the longer application and approval process for many business owners.

The post 7 SBA Loan Options That Don’t Require Luck appeared first on Credit Suite.

Don’t Get Furious, Here Are the Fastest Business Loans to Ensure You Win the Race

The fastest business loans out there are typically the ones with the least risk to the lender. As a result, terms and rates may not be awesome, and security is often necessary. Still, if you need funds fast, there are options. You just have to figure out which ones will work best for you.

Fastest Business Loans: Why The Need for Speed?

Expenses cannot wait. This is true whether they are planned or unexpected. Unexpected cash flow issues require that you know about and have access to the fastest business loans out there.

Speed Comes at a Price

The cost of a fast business loan may include:

Higher interest rates
Shorter terms
And lower limits

What Fuels Speed?

Usually, it is not possible for traditional lenders to be speedy when it comes to lending money. However, some alternative lenders can sometimes make it happen. The process goes even faster if you meet qualifications, like good personal credit and a steady cash flow. Of course, having collateral available for security is even better.

Furthermore, the more Fundable your business the faster you can get funding. That all starts with building a Fundable foundation. The stronger the fundability of your business, the faster any loan process will go.

Fast Business Loans are Possible for Anyone

If you are a startup, have bad credit, or you have no collateral, you can still get fast business loans. Yet, it will cost more. Lower credit scores, less time in business, and lack of collateral equal higher interest rates, shorter terms, and lower limits.

Fast Loans with Alternative Lenders

Creditworthiness is not the only deciding factor when it comes to loans with alternative lenders. Other factors lenders might consider include assets, annual revenue, time in business, and more. Not only that, but the approval process is usually faster. In fact, some approve almost as soon as you hit “apply.”

They do not all have the same requirements, but generally you need to be in business for at least a year or two. Annual revenue requirements vary by lender.

Our Picks for Fastest Business Loans

Here are some of the fastest business loan options out there.

Fundbox

For Fundbox, you need at least 6 months in business and a FICO of at least 600. In addition, a minimum of $100,000 in annual revenue is necessary.

Merchant Cash Advance

This is a short-term loan from a bank, alternative lender, or credit card issuer. The Credit Suite Merchant Cash Advance program has no collateral requirements. Better yet, bad credit is not an issue. Rather, funding is based on cash flow, per review of the most recent 3 months of bank and merchant account statements. They are looking for consistent deposits showing revenue is $50,000 or higher annually.

Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid

You can get up to $150,000 with the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid. This is unsecured, no-doc financing that has no collateral or cash flow requirements. Approval is based on personal credit only. However, if a borrower has bad credit they can use a guarantor that has good credit. Initially, rates can be as low as 0%.

Invoice Financing

Invoice financing can be a good option for businesses with irregular cash flow. It allows for immediate payment on invoices, covering cash flow gaps due to slow paying customers.

Equipment Financing

For the Credit Suite equipment financing program, you must have at least one year in business and a credit score of at least 680. There are no financials required, but you will need to provide details on equipment. You can get approval in as little as 24 hours.

SBA 7(a) Express Loan

For established businesses with good revenue and profitability, this is a great option. Large sums are available, and they are faster than standard 7(a) loans. In fact, it can take as little as 30 days instead of 45 to 60 days.

To Get the Fastest Business Loans You Have to Be Prepared

The more prepared you are the faster the process will be. Working now to build fundability is the best thing you can do. Find out more about how to start and these Credit Suite loans with a free business finance assessment today!

The post Don’t Get Furious, Here Are the Fastest Business Loans to Ensure You Win the Race appeared first on Credit Suite.

5 Alternative Funding Secrets Traditional Lenders Don’t Want You to Know

Traditional lenders are large banks and small community banks. They offer term loans based on your personal credit score. The problem is, if you do not meet their requirements, you can’t get a loan with them. Many small businesses do not meet the minimum credit score requirements to get terms they can afford, or sometimes any funding at all.

This is even true of SBA loans. They are typically processed through traditional lenders. If you cannot get one, you need to find SBA loan alternatives. This is where alternative funding options enter the scene.

Here’s What Traditional Lenders Don’t Want You to Know About Alternative Funding

There are plenty of alternative business financing options available. There are alternative business lenders that offer term loans and lines of credit similar to what traditional banks offer. However, they determine creditworthiness based factors other than credit score. This can make them a good option for those that do not have good credit.

Some of them even offer alternative types of financing that many business owners have not heard of. Due to this, most business owners can find options that will work for them.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans.

1. Alternative Financing Options May Consider More than Just Credit Score

This is the crux of why many businesses do not qualify for financing at traditional banks. The credit score is the main indicator of creditworthiness. However, with alternative funding, often the lenders understand that a bad credit score does not necessarily mean that a borrower is a bad credit risk. They take other factors into consideration.

Fundbox

Fundbox is one such lender. At Fundbox, they consider business merit as opposed to personal credit. For application purposes, they will do a soft pull on your personal credit. This will not affect your credit score. When you make your first draw, they will do a one time hard pull that could affect your score, but the minimum is only 550.

2. Many Alternative Lenders for Small business Use Innovative Technology

There is really no reason for a lender to not use the technology available today to help them make better lending decisions. Some lenders believe they could miss out on some good borrowers if they look only at credit scores. They use technology to help them do better.

Upstart

Upstart uses a completely innovative platform for loans. They choose to use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to gather alternative data for use in making credit decisions.

This may include such things as mobile phone bills, rent, deposits, withdrawals, and even other information less directly tied to finances. The software they use learns and improves on its own. You can use their online quote tool to play with different amounts and terms to see the various interest rate possibilities.

3. Some Alternative Funding Options Can Help You Build Business Credit

A separate business credit profile can help you get more business funding, while at the same time protecting your personal credit from your business debt. However, there are not a lot of creditors that will report payments to you business credit profile. That makes it hard to build a score. Some alternative lenders will report, which is a huge bonus.

Grameen

Grameen offers microloans to women business owners. The loan amounts range from $2,000 to $15,000, and they also offer financial training and support. In addition, they do report payments are reported to Equifax and Experian, meaning these loans help borrowers build their credit.

4. Alternative Lenders Often Show Preference to Women, Minorities, Veterans, and Others

If you fall into a specific category as a business owner, you may have some special options available to you. Like Grameen, there are other lenders that focus on helping specific groups.

Streetshares

Streetshares offers a variety of financing and investment products with fast application processes and funds deposited almost immediately. Lending products never have a prepay penalty, and the credit check is a soft one. There is never any impact on your credit score for applying.

They lend to various types of businesses and business owners. Still, their early mission was to help veteran business owners, and they remain true to that mission today.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans.

Accion

Accion is a nonprofit lending network dedicated to helping small businesses. They offer small business loans, some grant opportunities, and other resources designed to help both startups and established small businesses grow and thrive.

They lend to small business owners in general, from all backgrounds and most industries. However, they specialize in underserved populations like minorities.

5. Some Alternative Business Financing Options Offer 0% Interest

This is a secret that almost no one knows. It is actually possible to get 0% financing on alternative funding and it is not a scam.

Kiva

Kiva is an online lender that is a little different. The interest rate is 0%. That means even though you have to pay it back, it is absolutely free money. They do not check credit at all. Here’s the catch. You have to get at least 5 family members or friends to give to the cause.Furthermore, you have to pitch in a $25 loan to another business on the platform.

Credit Line Hybrid

This is a form of alternative business financing rather than a specific alternative lender. The Credit Line Hybrid is a flexible product that can serve your business needs in many ways. First, you can fund your business without putting up collateral. Then, you only pay back what you use.

Your personal credit score needs to be at least 680. In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Also, in the past 6 months you should have less than 6 credit inquiries, and you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. There are some other requirements as well.

However, If you do not meet all of the requirements you can take on a credit partner that does meet each of these requirements. Many business owners work with a friend or relative to fund their business. If a relative or a friend meets all of these requirements, they can partner with you to allow you to tap into their credit to access funding.

Other Types of Alternative Funding for Small Business

In addition to the Credit Line Hybrid program, here are some other alternative funding options that Credit Suite can help you with.

Retirement Account Financing

This Credit Suite program offers a unique and powerful way for a new or existing business to leverage assets that are in a 401(k) plan or IRA.

In as little as 3 weeks you can invest a portion of these funds into your own business. Then, you not only have more control over the performance of your retirement plan assets, but you also have the working capital you need.

It has to be a plan that you are no longer contributing to, and you can no longer work for the employer that it was opened with. Lastly, it has to have at least a $35,000 balance.

Business Revenue Lending

If a business has revenue of at least $120,000 per year, it may qualify for this type of funding. Lenders verify revenue using bank statements. There can be no recent bankruptcies, but the minimum credit score to qualify is 500.

The business must also be in operation for a year or more, and it must do over 5 small transactions each month to get business revenue financing.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans.

AR Financing

Outstanding account receivables can be a source of funding for your business.You can get as much as 80% of receivables advanced. Not only that, but you can have the funds in less than 24 hours. You get the rest of the accounts receivable amount once you collect full payment for the invoice. Closing takes 2 weeks or less.

Receivables should be with the government or another business.

Merchant Cash Advance

A business that accepts credit card payments and has at least a 500 FICO can get up to $750,000 in a merchant cash advance. There must be $100,000 or more per year in credit card sales, and typical approval equals one month’s credit card financing volume.

Wait! Don’t Apply With an Alternative Lender Before You Read This

Nothing is perfect. That includes financing alternatives for small businesses. Even top alternative lending companies sometimes get a bad rap because of the prevalence of predatory lenders in the industry. Do your research and make sure you are working with a company that is trustworthy.

The best way to do this is to work with a business credit expert like the ones at Credit Suite. This is someone who has a relationship with many reputable lenders and can help not only find the best lender for you, but also the best funding options for your business right now. They specialize in options like the Credit LIne Hybrid, lines of credit, merchant cash advances, accounts receivable Financing and more.

In addition, they can help you analyze your current fundability, and walk you through the process of improving it so that you can qualify for even more funding and better terms in the future.

The post 5 Alternative Funding Secrets Traditional Lenders Don’t Want You to Know appeared first on Credit Suite.

Warning: Don’t Apply for Bank Credit Cards For Your Business Before You Read This

You can’t apply for bank credit cards for your business and expect approval if you don’t have a business credit profile. If you do apply and get approved, it will likely be on the merit of your personal credit. That means if something goes wrong, your ability to buy a house, a car, or anything else you may want to buy with consumer credit, goes down the drain.

Find Out Why Your Business Is Being Denied High Limit Bank Credit Cards and the Simple Changes that Can Lead to Approval

If you are applying for high limit credit cards in the name of your business are getting denial after denial, the likely culprit is a lack of business credit profile. Or, you have a business credit profile but a low business credit score.

The idea behind business credit is that the debt is in your business name. It is totally separate from you as the owner. This means it does not impact your personal credit score. As a result, since business credit tends to have higher limits, you can actually get more funding for your business.

The key to avoiding denials is to wait to apply until your business is fundable. This includes having a strong business credit score.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

5 Tips for Applying for High Limit Bank Credit Cards for Your Business

1.Build Business Fundability First

If your business is not fundable, business credit will never be an option. It starts with how your business is set up. It has to be set up to be a fundable entity separate from you, the owner. How do you accomplish this? It starts with building a fundable foundation.

The Building Blocks of a Fundable Foundation

As you know, a foundation is only as strong as the materials you build it from. Here are the building blocks of a strong, fundable foundation for your business.

Contact Information

Your business should have its own phone number and a physical address.

EIN

You also need an EIN for your business. This is an identifying number for your business. It works similarly to how your SSN works for you personally. You can get one for free from the IRS.

Incorporate

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is necessary to fundability. Talk to your attorney or a tax professional about which option might work best for your business.

Business Bank Account

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account. There are many reasons to do this. One of them is that many lenders require it before they will extend credit.

Licenses

To be fundable, you must be a legitimate business. For a business to be legitimate, it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run.

Website

Spend the time and money necessary to ensure your website is professionally designed and works well. Furthermore, pay for hosting. Don’t use a free hosting service. Also, make sure your business has a dedicated business email address with the same URL as your website. Don’t use a free service such as Yahoo or Gmail.

More Fundability Secrets

Now, the foundation is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fundability. In fact, there are well over 100 factors that affect the fundability of the business. However, they all fall into these broader categories.

Business credit reports
Business data agencies
Identification numbers
Business credit history
Congruence of business information
Financial Statements
Bureaus such as FICO and ChexSystems
Personal credit scores
The application process

Here is a visual that may help you better understand how complex and far reaching business fundability really is.

2. Try This Expert Trick to Get Out of the “Need Credit to Get Credit” Cycle

The next step is to get accounts reporting to your business credit profile. This is how you build a business credit score. High limit business bank credit cards will use your business credit score to make an approval decision.

The truth is, even if you do everything right to initially establish your business credit profile, there is no business credit score on your business’s credit report until accounts are reporting on-time payments.

With consumer credit, creditors automatically report payments. In contrast, to work intentionally to find creditors that will report your payments to your business credit profile. Surprisingly, not all of them do. In fact, only about 7% of companies that extend credit to businesses actually report accounts to business credit reporting agencies.

So, how do you find companies that will extend credit to your business without a good business credit score and report your payments? That’s the million dollar question, and it’s the trick to getting out of the “need credit to get credit cycle.”

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

The Secret Weapon

First, the type of vendor that will extend credit to a business without a credit check is called a starter vendor. Despite not running a credit check, they do have various other factors that they look at to determine whether or not to extend credit. These vary between vendors, but they include fundability factors such as a business bank account, as well as income and time in business, among others.

Starter vendors typically will extend net terms on invoices rather than revolving credit. However, they will report your payment to the business credit reporting agencies. In turn, you build your business credit score. Yet, it is very difficult to determine which lenders will report your payments. That is where the secret weapon comes into play. That is, a business credit expert.

3. Don’t Try to Build Business Credit Without a Business Credit Expert

As for finding starter vendors that will report, a business credit expert can help. They know which accounts report and which ones you can qualify for right now. They also help you determine when the tie is right to apply for other accounts.

There are many more ways that a business credit expert can help, including helping you assess current fundability and improve it if necessary. Not only that, but they can also help you find funding that you can get while you are working on fundability and building your business credit score. Get an idea of what a business credit expert can do for you with a free consultation.

4. Apply for Store Credit

Soon, you will have an established business credit profile with multiple accounts reporting. These are credit cards that are restricted to use with the store that issues them. For example, an Office Depot card that you can only use at the store or on that store’s website. These cards typically start with fairly low limits. Yet,the limits will increase as you handle the credit responsibly. Your business credit expert can help you determine when the time is right to start this step, and guide you toward the right store cards for your business.

5. Fleet Credit

After you have several of these types of credit cards reporting on-time payments, you should be able to get approval with Fleet cards. These are cards that are more typically limited to the type of purchase you use them on. They are for automobile fuel and maintenance, but some do allow for certain other purchases as well. Again, your business credit expert will help you discern when the time is right to apply for fleet cards, and guide you toward the ones that will work best for your business.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

Now The Sky’s the Limit for Your Business with High Limit Bank Credit Cards

After you work through each of these steps, responsibly and in order, you should have a well rounded business credit profile and strong business credit score. That is the time to apply for high limit bank credit cards. They include general business credit cards from Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and the like that are not limited by location of use or purchase type.

They generally have very high limits and favorable incentives. All you have to do is pick the ones with the best interest rates and the rewards programs that fit your business best. If you jump right in before establishing your business credit profile and business credit score, you will get denials from these types of cards every time.

Using a business credit expert to help you assess and improve fundability, find starter vendors that report, and guide you in knowing the right accounts to apply for at the right time to get approval makes the process much faster and easier. As a result, you will avoid wasting time with vendors that do not report, and move through the steps as fast as possible. Then, you can watch your business grow and thrive with high limit bank credit cards.

The post Warning: Don’t Apply for Bank Credit Cards For Your Business Before You Read This appeared first on Credit Suite.

Warning: Don’t Apply for Bank Credit Cards For Your Business Before You Read This

You can’t apply for bank credit cards for your business and expect approval if you don’t have a business credit profile. If you do apply and get approved, it will likely be on the merit of your personal credit. That means if something goes wrong, your ability to buy a house, a car, or anything … Continue reading Warning: Don’t Apply for Bank Credit Cards For Your Business Before You Read This

5 Types of Bad Backlinks You Don’t Want

Backlinks refer to URL links from other websites that point back to your website. Yes, it’s all in the name. They are links back to your website.

Backlinks are an important component of a successful SEO strategy. Nurturing a network of backlinks from various sources can improve your site’s relevancy and reputation with search engines.

However, not every backlink is equal. Some can drive major traffic and improve your SEO. Others reflect negatively on your site.

Luckily, there are ways to find those bad backlinks and clean up your link profile so your overall optimization improves and users can find your site.

Good Vs. Bad Backlinks and Why It Matters

In the epic struggle between good backlinks and bad backlinks, the source matters. That’s really what it comes down to when determining whether a link is good or bad.

Let’s take a few steps back and talk about why search engines care in the first place. Why do they give merit to the sources of some backlinks while dinging others?

It comes down to user experience.

We all want to give our customers the best experience with our products or services.

Search engines, like Google and Bing, are no different. They also want customers who come back again and again because their experience was great.

How do you have a great experience on a search engine? You get the results you are looking for and find trustworthy websites that answer your questions.

Search engines prioritize websites with a positive reputation online. For backlinks to be effective, however, the websites linking to you need a good reputation as well.

How do you know what a good backlink is?

The best links happen organically (meaning you don’t pay or trade for them), add value to the website, and help the user better understand a topic. Sites that provide useful content to their users are generally a source of good backlinks.

Bad backlinks are pinged by search engines and lower your appearance in search engine results, are the opposite. They are artificial, forced, or irrelevant. They may be outdated, come from spam sites, or they might be from another site you own.

5 Bad Backlink Types to Watchout For

As you are working on your website’s search engine optimization, keep in mind there are several types of bad backlinks you don’t want.

In general, you want to avoid anything that feels disreputable or too good to be true. SEO takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. As you’re reviewing your SEO game, these are five of the most significant types of backlinks to avoid.

1. Links From Spammy Sites

Spam is not always easy to define, yet most of us know what it is. It’s ads irrelevant to you or sites that talk about illegal or predatory products. With spammy backlinks, it’s no different.

These are links back to your site from places you just don’t want to be associated with your brand.

It’s usually more than that. It’s not just a single backlink from a random competitor; it’s irrelevant links from places that could tarnish your brand’s reputation.

Some have described these types of spammy sites online as three Ps – pornography, pharmaceuticals, and poker. We’ve all had to remove these types of comments from blog posts and social media comments.

Your website could be receiving backlinks from these kinds of places and search engines may penalize you, especially if you start receiving tons of spammy backlinks.

If you’ve never researched your backlinks, now is the time. Use our Backlinks tool to get a list of backlinks to your site. Read through them, and you’ll start to notice the spammy ones.

Bad Backlink Types to Watchout For - Use Ubersuggest backlink checking tool

What can you do once you start to notice those spammy bad backlinks?

Google recommends you first do your due diligence to contact the websites where your backlinks are coming from and request removal.

Once you’ve done that, you can utilize the Google Search Console Disavow tool to request the removal of those links.

Remember, though, that one or two spammy links won’t kill your site’s SEO, so handle it accordingly.

Google’s algorithm tends to ignore these kinds of bad backlinks when assessing your SEO. However, if you, or an SEO specialist you are working with, find an exorbitant number of these backlinks, it may be worth disavowing them.

2. Links From Link-Mill Websites

Link-mill websites or paid link schemes have been popular for years. It’s easy to see why. They bring the number of backlinks many site owners think they need to up their SEO game.

The problem is more links aren’t always a good thing, especially when they come from dubious sources like link mills.

In general, Google and other search engines have worked to make their algorithms less manipulatable. In other words, they don’t want search engine results to go to the person who has purchased the most backlinks.

Google refers to these as link schemes, and can include links earned in exchange for money or other resources. This is especially true for batches of links or quick and easy link building.

There’s a good chance you’ll come across all kinds of opportunities that fall into this category. Anyone promising tons of backlinks that are sure to improve your SEO fast for cash fall into this category.

Large amounts of low-quality bad backlinks aren’t worth it in the end. Search engines keep getting smarter and no matter how clever the latest scheme seems, it’s going to be found out eventually.

What’s the alternative? In the same article about link schemes linked above, Google recommends creating high-quality marketing content. Links aren’t about quantity; it’s about quality.

Of course, you want to create consistent content over time, but keep it excellent. When you create content real people want to read, they’ll start to share it and use it as references in their content. That’s how natural, high-quality backlinking happens.

3. PR Release Links

Press releases can be a source of bad backlinks. But that doesn’t mean every press release opportunity is going to penalize your website.

The problem is how you do it. Google announced they don’t like press releases dripping with backlinks that don’t add value.

But here are the specifics. Yes, you can still create quality news releases and pitch them to relevant news sources.

You should, however, avoid filling a press release page with dozens of keyword-heavy links back to your site and then spamming it to dozens of newswires. The problem really comes in when brands do this repeatedly, trying to build backlinks to up their SEO.

It’s about trying to manipulate the search engines. SEO takes time. Trying to make it happen with seemingly simple solutions, such as pumping out link-laden press releases, just isn’t going to work.

Search engines have gotten too smart and will either ignore or penalize these methods.

4. Links From Sites Unrelated to Your Industry

We’ve been talking a lot about spammy and slimy backlinks, but sometimes bad backlinks are just not relevant to your business or valuable to your readers.

For example, if you run an e-commerce pet store, a link from a pet grooming site might be useful—it’s relevant to your audience. A link from an Italian cheesemaker, not so much.

Not every backlink is a great one if it’s wildly irrelevant or from somewhere completely unrelated to what you do. I’m not just talking about those three Ps we mentioned above.

When you’re starting to build backlinks to your website from fields and industries not related to your own, it can create confusion.

If a lot of backlinks come from places unrelated to your brand (i.e. using key terms unrelated to your brand), things can start to get muddled. Suddenly, search engines start thinking unrelated keywords are relevant to your brand, and you can start falling in results for keywords that actually matter.

On NeilPatel.com, we write about anything related to digital marketing, including how to create an Instagram bio, how to build backlinks, and even how to help your mobile site rank faster.

Bad Backlink Types to Watchout For - Avoid Creating Unrelated Content

If I started writing about the best dog leashes, that would probably confuse the search engines. They’d think I should be ranking for that and dilute the rankings for terms I do want to rank for.

How can you remedy this one? If these backlinks are spam, as we discussed above, you don’t have to worry much about. Search engines are smart enough to ignore them, and you can disavow them if necessary.

However, these types of links tend to be related to your content marketing strategy. If you’ve started writing about a topic completely unrelated to your brand, you may start receiving a lot of backlinks from other places linked to that topic. Search engines may focus on that rather than your brand’s primary topic.

If this sounds like you, it is time to get your brand back on track. Start moving that unrelated content to other websites and build that reputation on a new platform while creating more content relevant to your industry.

5. Discussion Forum and Blog Comment Links

In the early days of the internet, discussion forums were all the rage. Even in our more modern online age, sites like Reddit prove that discussion forums are a popular place to chat with others interested in similar topics.

It’s a great way to get information about your car model, how to create the latest fad DIY, or get really geeky about a topic you love.

So go ahead and post and share in forums that get you excited. Have real conversations. These are not the kinds of activities that will get you pinged, even with a backlink.

However, as we have talked about before, avoid spammy manipulation moves. You’ll want to avoid tossing links randomly across the board, pun intended.

Like this one, on one of my posts about how to make your site load faster:

Bad Backlink Types to Watchout For - Discussion Forum and Blog Comment Links

Not relevant, and those links aren’t going to help their site at all.

Search engines can spot when backlinks are just keywords filled with links on forum after forum. They are becoming smarter, thanks to AI and natural language processing, and notice when it’s not a conversation, but a broadcast.

As you research backlinks to your site, if you find a batch from any discussion forums, you can disavow them as we discussed above. If anyone you hire is creating these types of links, it might be time to consider hiring someone new.

Conclusion

Link building is a crucial factor in building your online marketing strategy. You want to make a natural link network across the internet to tell search engines what your brand is about and prove you are relevant to your target market.

To be effective, however, backlinks should be organic and not spammy. Identifying and removing bad backlinks can help you stay on track to improving your ranking in search engines.

Which kinds of backlinks do you need to start removing from your website?

Don’t Let Accounts Receivables Sink Your Business

Accounts receivables are a necessary part of many businesses. A lot of potential customers can be lost if you do not allow businesses to pay invoices with net terms, whether 30, 60, or 90 days. However, you can lose a lot of money if you don’t collect on those receivables. How do you offer the benefit, without suffering the consequences?

How to Manage the Double Life of Accounts Receivables

Accounts receivables really can lead a double life of sorts. On the one hand, they lure in customers with their appeal. On the other hand, they can cause major cash gaps simply by their nature. Those gaps can fill with unpaid obligations quickly if there is no bridge over them.

Bridging the Gap of Accounts Receivables

So, the question becomes, how do you enjoy the benefits without the gaps. The answer is accounts receivable financing. In fact, this answers more than one question. Not only is it a way to bridge cash gaps, but it is also a way to fast access to cash for other needs.

For example, you may not have an unmanageable cash gap, but rather you need to take advantage of special pricing on a bulk purchase. Maybe you do not want to exhaust your cash on hand, or you do not have the cash on hand. Either way, you can leverage your accounts receivable to finance more than just cash flow issues due to slow collections.

How Does Accounts Receivables Financing Work?

Credit Suite can help you get up to $10 million in account receivable financing. Up to 80% of receivables can be advanced within 24 hours. Interest rates range from 8% to 12% currently. The minimum credit score requirement is 500, and the receivables must be from another business or government agency, not an individual. You also have to be in business for at least one year.. In addition to an application, you’ll need to provide a breakdown of existing receivables and a sample invoice.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans.

This is an ideal way to access fast cash for your business for a number of reasons, especially if your credit isn’t the best. Not only that, but the interest rates are much more reasonable than that of most credit

cards.

Merchant Cash Advance

If you accept credit cards as payment, you have another, similar option to accounts receivables financing.

It’s called a merchant cash advance. Our merchant financing program is a good fit for businesses that accept credit cards and need fast, easy financing. You can get up to $500,000 without collateral and a minimum credit score as low as 500.

You only have to turn over bank statements to prove cash flow. The lenders we work with do not ask for other documents such as financials, business plans, resumes, or any of the other documents traditional lenders typically ask for.

Just 4-6 months of your bank and merchant account statements is all it takes. They just want to see consistent deposits and annual revenue of $50,000 or higher. Also, you do have to have been in business for 6 months or more.

They will also look to see if there are a lot of Non-Sufficient-Funds showing on your bank statements, or low chargebacks on your merchant statements. More than 10 deposits in a month going into your bank account is a key positive factors

Lenders want to see that you manage your bank and merchant accounts responsibly and have a fair number of consistent credit card transaction deposits each month.

What if You Do Not Have Accounts Receivables or Accept Credit Cards?

Maybe you don’t have accounts receivable. That may mean you do not have the cash gaps that can come with them, but you might still need cash access anyway. There are other options. One of the most flexible but least known types of business financing is the Credit Line Hybrid.

A credit line hybrid is unsecured business financing. It allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans

Unlike accounts receivables financing, you do need good personal credit to qualify for the Credit Line Hybrid on your own. Your personal credit score should be at least 685. In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Furthermore, in the past 6 months you should have no more than 4 credit inquiries, and you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. It’s also preferred that you have established business credit as well as personal credit.

However, there is a way around those requirements if you don’t meet them. You can take on a credit partner that meets each of these requirements. Many business owners work with a friend or relative to fund their business. If a relative or a friend meets all of these requirements, they can partner with you to allow you to tap into their credit to access funding.

Top Ways to Use Funds from A/R Financing, Merchant Cash Advances, and The Credit Line Hybrid

The Credit Line Hybrid is an option if you do not have accounts receivable or do not accept credit card payments. However, if you qualify for more than one, you can combine them for even more powerful business funding.

You can use each one separately or together to do any of the following, and more!

Pay off higher interest debt to lower monthly payments.
Bridge a cash gap due to slow collections or seasonal issues. You could never have to worry or stress about large invoices being paid slowly or slow business in the off season ever again.
Cover bills during a global pandemic. Can you relate?
Purchase inventory in bulk to take advantage of promotional pricing.
Grow and expand your business by adding equipment, adding on to your building, or even opening a new location.
Fund updates and repairs. Don’t let the little things, or big things, slide because you can’t pay for it.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans

That said, the Credit Line Hybrid does have one bonus that the accounts receivables funding and merchant cash advance does not. The Credit Line Hybrid reports to your business credit report, in turn helping you build a stronger business credit score.

Why Does Your Business Credit Report Matter?

If you made it here from a quick search about accounts receivables financing, you may be asking yourself what on earth a business credit report has to do with anything. The quick and dirty is, a strong business credit score can increase fundability and allow you to access even more funding for your business.

Fundability is the overall ability of your business to get funding. Not sure where you stand or what kind of funding you can get? Try a free consultation.

Accounts Receivables Financing Can Be a Lifeboat for Your Business

Accounts receivables can truly be a blessing or a curse. They are a great tool to help you draw more business. The ability to pay later is a huge benefit, and it can make the difference between a potential customer lost and a new customer.

However, if collections become an issue, the curse can kick in. Accounts receivables financing is a great way to overcome the curse and keep the blessing. That’s not the only way to use this kind of financing though.

Your accounts receivables can be leveraged to get funding your business can use to not only survive, but to thrive. If you do not qualify, a merchant cash advance or the Credit Line Hybrid can help as well. If you qualify for all three, you can get triple the funding to grow even more!

The post Don’t Let Accounts Receivables Sink Your Business appeared first on Credit Suite.

Recession Period Business Loans: Don’t Let Bad Credit Stop You

COVID-19 threw our economy into a tailspin, and the resulting recession isn’t leaving anytime soon. However, even during a recession period funding is available. You just have to know how to get it.

Business Loans are Possible Even with Bad Credit in a Recession Period

In a recession period, if you need a loan you need it fast. There is no time to wait when the recession cloud looms. Business failure can feel imminent. There is hope however, and bad credit doesn’t have to get in the way.

Traditional business loans are rarely fast, and if you have bad credit, they usually aren’t even an option. Throw all these issues into a recession period and you may feel like you are sinking fast. There is hope however. There are a ton of options outside of the realm of traditional business loans, and many of them work even if you have bad credit.

Of course, the need for business loans during a recession may not mean you are growing. It could be a desperate last plea to simply make it through the troubled waters alive. Either way, bad credit can weigh you down like an anchor. You have to break free, which is even harder during economic downturns. To be able to cut off the anchor of bad credit however, you need to understand what its made of, and how you got tethered to it in the first place.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

What is Bad Credit?

Sometimes you don’t even know you are sinking until you need financing and find that you cannot get it due to bad credit. When it comes to regular business loans, bad credit can be a major issue. Typically, a score of over 700 is good credit, but with a score over 650, you can still find financing. If your credit score is below 650, you may have some problems. A recession period can cause you to sink into bad credit before you know it’s happening.

If this is the case, you will need to look for alternative lenders to help you out. They can offer a life preserver so you can make it safely through until the waters calm down.

Personal Credit vs. Business Credit

If you are a new business owner, you may find that it isn’t so much an issue of bad credit, but rather no business credit. This is easily enough remedied over time, but if you need business financing and have bad credit or no credit, it can be a real problem. You don’t have time.

You could try finding financing based on your personal credit. That is, if your personal credit is any good. If it is over 650, you can probably get a credit card that will keep you afloat until you can figure out something better. You may also be able to simply get a personal loan to bail you out, and then work to build business credit going forward.

The problem with this is that it puts even more stress on your personal finances during the recession period. In addition, if your business does end up sinking, you could very well go down with it if your personal credit is tied to it.

How Do You Know Your Credit Score?

When it comes to your personal credit score, it’s easy to know what it is. Not only can you get a free copy of your credit report annually, but there are also a number of companies that will allow you to monitor your credit on a regular basis.

Business credit score monitoring is not as easy. There are no free business credit reports. You can, however, purchase your credit reports from Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Equifax, and the lesser known business credit reporting agencies for between $50 and $250 each.

Credit Suite can help you monitor your business credit at Dun & Bradstreet and Experian for a fraction of what it costs with them directly. Go here to find out more.

Personal Credit Not an Option?

However, if you are stuck with bad personal credit and bad business credit, you may have to pursue an alternate route. You may not have an obvious flotation device. That means you are going to have to grab onto whatever you can find and hold on tight.

It sounds brutal, but it may be worth it if it saves your business. What are your options? Essentially, the best option is invoice factoring. This only works if you have a significant amount in open invoices. It is the fastest of all the options other than a friend or family member just handing you cash. This would be similar to a large piece of drift wood conveniently floating by.

Invoice Factoring Options

Not only is invoice factoring the fastest way to cash, it is also an option that depends very little on your credit, personal or business. It even works well in a recession period, though maybe not as well as at other times, as the ability to collect could decline somewhat. Sometimes though, there isn’t even a minimum credit requirement for invoice factoring. They may pull a credit score, but they make decisions based more upon the strength of your invoices.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

The lender will gather information to help them determine the likelihood of the invoices being repaid. If they find that the invoices are strong, they will lend money based on the total amount of the invoices minus a premium. The borrower can usually either repay the loan or the lender can keep the invoices and collect from them.

Fundbox

Fundbox offers invoice financing for amounts less than $100,000. There is no minimum credit score, and there are options for a 12- week or 24-week repayment term. They collect 7% on a 12-week repayment and 15.7% on 24-week terms.

BlueVine

If you have a larger amount in open invoices, like up to $5 million, you can get invoice financing from BlueVine. They charge a weekly fee of .5% to 1%, but the fee drops a little if your clients pay their invoices on time.

Working Capital Loans

If you really need funding fast, invoice factoring is your best bet. If you have a little more time you could seek out working capital loans from alternative lenders. This is also a good option if you do not have open invoices.

Some alternative lenders pull a credit report, but they have a low minimum score requirement. For example, Fundbox offers working capital loans to businesses that have been in operation for at least 3 months and have at least $50,000 in revenue. They lend amounts up to $100,000, and there is no credit check.

Kabbage offers something similar if you have been in business for at least 1 year and have $50,000 in revenue. They will lend up to $250,000. There is no minimum credit score here either, but most approvals have over 500. You also have to have either a business checking account or use an online payment platform.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Quarterspot will lend up to $250,000 if you have been in business for at least one year and have at least $200,000 in annual revenue. They will do a soft credit pull, but it does not affect your credit. The minimum score is 550.

Don’t Sink, Hold on Through the Recession Period

Once you find something to keep you from sinking, whatever it may be, hold on tight until you can reach the shore. Be forewarned, if you handle things incorrectly you could end up in much worse trouble that you are already in. You have to use your credit wisely.

If you fail to do this, you may end up floating so far away you never see land again. Make certain you use the financing the way you need to, but that you also pay it back in a consistent and timely manner.

Stay out Troubled Waters

The way you do this is by establishing and building strong business credit. Not only will this keep you out of trouble, but it can make things even better in the long term. You will find that getting what you need to make it through another recession period is a cinch if you follow these tips.

Establish Your Business as Its Own Entity

Your business has to have its own identity, apart from yours, if it is going to have its own credit score. The first step in this process is to incorporate your business. You can choose from a corporation, S-corp, or LLC.

Then list your business in all the directories with its own name and contact information. After that, open a business bank account. Run all your business transactions through this account, so that business finances are separate. Pay bills, make purchases, and apply for credit using this account.

After your business has an identity all its own, it is all up to how well you manage whatever credit you can get. Whatever financing you are able to find, be sure you make your payments on time.

You might also consider looking into vendors that will allow you pay invoices net 30. This starter credit has a lot to offer. Sometimes you will have to prepay for a certain amount of time to get approval. If they give you 30 days to pay an invoice and report to the credit bureaus, this can fast track your credit score. That’s assuming you pay on time of course.

Be Prepared

To be fair, an economic downturn is hard with or without bad credit. Things happen. The key is to be prepared with what you need to get through at all times. Then, you don’t have to worry about trying to scramble to find a business loan you qualify for. You can simply whip out what you already have and climb back on the boat.

What does this look like? Once you have a strong business credit score, you can apply for a business line of credit or a credit card. Find one with the best terms possible, and if it is a credit card, perks and rewards are nice too.

Tools such as these can help you over a rough patch. If you already have them in place, they will not cost you the same way bad credit business loans will. Bad credit can mean higher interest rates, seriously unfavorable terms, and much more. If you already have credit in place, you can simply access that and enjoy the terms and rates your good credit warrants you.

Bad Credit Doesn’t Have to Stop You, Even During a Recession Period

You do not have to sink during a recession, even if you have bad credit. There are options for financing without great credit. Do some research to determine which one is best for you. Once you find it, the real hard part begins.

This is when you have to figure out how to best use the money to move you into a better place. You must be sure to use the debt to build stronger credit. Handle it wisely and do not slip into the cycle of non-payment and further credit score trouble.

If you need the funds to bridge a cash gap, make sure you don’t have a cash leak. Are you relying on financing to handle daily activities that you can’t fund yourself? Figure out how to fix that problem. Are you growing and just need the funds to do so? Great! Don’t forget to pay your bills though. If you do that, you can be out of the water and back on the path to success before you know it.

Don’t stop there though. Once you are back on solid ground, take the time you need to prepare for future funding needs. Build credit, put a recession plan in place, and make sure that the next time there’s a storm, you don’t get knocked overboard.

Note: Lender information can change without notice. Be certain to check with individual lenders for the most up-to-date information.

The post Recession Period Business Loans: Don’t Let Bad Credit Stop You appeared first on Credit Suite.

Get Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report on Your Consumer Credit Reports During a Recession Downturn

Get business credit cards during a recession downturn – coronavirus or no coronavirus, this could be the perfect time for you to build your business credit history. So here are excellent cards where you can do just that.

You Can Get Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report on Your Consumer Credit Reports Even During a Recession Downturn

Learn how to make sure your business credit cards don’t report on your consumer credit reports. It makes a difference with business credit funding! You need business credit cards that do not report to personal credit. Even in a recession downturn!

Many small business credit cards require that the business owner to personally guarantee the debt. Usually this person is also the cardholder, although not all the time. But you want to apply for business credit card without personal guarantee. Don’t blame you! It would be a lot better to get an unsecured business credit card no personal guarantee.

That means that if the balance is not paid off for the business, then the owner will end up being responsible for the entire amount. It also means that business account activity could potentially spill over to the owner’s personal credit reports. It stinks to guaranty business credit!

But this depends upon each card issuer’s policy.

Policy Considerations

Some card issuers only report activity to the cardholder’s personal credit reports in the case of the owner defaulting. And there are others which will report all activity. And they will not distinguish between positive and negative activity.

The easiest way to keep business credit activity off your personal credit report is to use a business credit card which does not report business activity to personal credit bureaus. However, the decision to use a card such as this should not be made lightly. But no matter what, you don’t want these cards to report on your consumer credit reports.

So, is how to get a credit card without credit.

Report Activity During a Recession Downturn

Which is better? It all depends upon your situation. If you pay your business card on time and avoid high balances, then a ‘business’ card that appears on your personal credit reports with Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion should not be a problem.

It could even help your credit scores.

Utilization Issues

But if you charge everything you can on your card in order to rack up rewards, then your personal credit could conceivably suffer. Credit scoring models will take into consideration your debt usage or utilization ratio.

This compares the reported balances versus available credit limits. It is often for each card as well as all credit cards combined.

A high balance on a business card which appears on your personal credit can mean a higher debt usage ratio. And that can lower credit scores.

And paying the balance off in full every month alone is unlikely to solve this problem. The reported balance is often the balance as of the statement closing date and not after a payment has been made.

Therefore, if you want lower balances to get onto the reports, you need to make your payments before either the statement closing date, or whichever date the issuer reports.

Some Small Advantages

However, if your personal credit history is lacking, a business card which reports your full account activity could help. Hence if you avoid credit cards and use a debit card, you may have a “thin” credit profile. It could benefit from the boost another card could provide.

Opting for a business credit card which does not report to personal credit may help if you know there will be times you need to run up charges putting you close to the limit or carry a balance.

This could be for anything from investing in new equipment to spending to prepare for a trade show. Of course you do not want that activity to bring down your scores.

Using a Business Credit Card that Doesn’t Affect Personal Credit in a Recession Downturn

Generally, it’s better to apply for the business credit card which offers rewards and benefits of the most interest to you, rather than focusing solely on the card’s reporting policy.

Furthermore, if you default, then having a business credit card which does not report regularly to consumer credit bureaus will make no difference. You will still end up personally liable for the debt on the card if you signed a personal guarantee. This is not the way to get credit cards for businesses with no personal guarantee.

And you want a business credit card no personal guarantee required.

If the card issuer brings a lawsuit against you for the balance or sends the account to a collections agency, then this activity will likely show up on your personal credit report. That can happen regardless of how any other payment information is reported.

Another option in a Recession Downturn

Another way out is to use business credit cards that do not require a personal guarantee. However, those are few and far between. These sorts of cards ask you, the business owner, to meet a set of conditions which can differ from one product to another.

These could be annual sales guarantees. Or they might be requirements to have an open Dun & Bradstreet file or other conditions. If you cannot meet these conditions, then this option will not exist for your business at all.

Finally, as always, it literally pays to separate your business life from your personal life, by opening separate accounts and even incorporating your business, in order to demonstrate to creditors that you and your company are not the same when it comes to credit.

Build Business Credit During a Recession Downturn

So the truth is the best way to get around these problems is simply to build business credit! Don’t settle for credit cards that don’t do what you want. And don’t settle for a corporate business card that say ‘business’ on it, but is really a personal credit card in disguise.

You want it when business credit cards don’t report on your consumer credit reports. And such cards would not be them.

Every Small Business Needs Company Credit Building

Business credit is credit in a small business’s name. It doesn’t tie to an entrepreneur’s personal credit, not even when the owner is a sole proprietor and the only employee of the small business.

Because of this, an entrepreneur’s business and individual credit scores can be very different. And establishing business credit without personal guarantee is key.

The Advantages – Especially in a Recession Downturn

Given that small business credit is distinct from personal, it helps to safeguard a business owner’s personal assets, in case of litigation or business bankruptcy.

Also, with two distinct credit scores, a business owner can get two separate cards from the same merchant. This effectively doubles purchasing power.

Another advantage is that even startups can do this. Visiting a bank for a business loan can be a formula for disappointment. But building company credit, when done properly, is a plan for success. You could even get a business loan no personal guarantee.

Individual credit scores depend upon payments but also other elements like credit usage percentages.

But for small business credit, the scores actually merely hinge on if a company pays its invoices promptly.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet. Save your money during the recession!

The Process

Growing business credit is a process, and it does not occur automatically. A small business will need to actively work to build business credit.

That being said, it can be done readily and quickly, and it is much speedier than establishing personal credit scores.

Vendors are a big component of this process.

Carrying out the steps out of order will result in repetitive rejections. Nobody can start at the top with company credit. For example, you can’t start with store or cash credit from your bank. If you do you’ll get a rejection 100% of the time.

But done right, this is how to get business credit card without personal guarantee.

Business Fundability in a Recession Downturn

A business needs to be bona fide to lending institutions and merchants.

As a result a company will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address. And it needs to have website hosting bought from a merchant like GoDaddy.

In addition company telephone and fax numbers should have a listing on ListYourself.net.

Likewise the company phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or similar).

A company will also need a bank account dedicated solely to it, and it must have every one of the licenses necessary for running.

Licenses

These licenses all must be in the perfect, accurate name of the business. And they need to have the same company address and telephone numbers.

So keep in mind that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Working with the IRS

Visit the Internal Revenue Service website and acquire an EIN for the business. They’re free of charge. Choose a business entity such as corporation, LLC, etc.

A small business can get started as a sole proprietor. But they will probably want to change to a variety of corporation or partnership.

This is in order to decrease risk. And it will make best use of tax benefits.

A business entity will matter when it pertains to tax obligations and liability in case of litigation. A sole proprietorship means the owner is it when it comes to liability and tax obligations. Nobody else is responsible.

Beginning the Business Credit Reporting Process

Start at the D&B web site and get a free D-U-N-S number. A D-U-N-S number is how D&B gets a company into their system, to produce a PAYDEX score. If there is no D-U-N-S number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.

Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s web sites for the business. You can do this at www.creditsuite.com/reports. If there is a record with them, check it for accuracy and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process.

In this manner, Experian and Equifax will have something to report on.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet. Save your money during the recession!

Vendor Credit

First you should establish trade lines that report. This is also known as vendor credit. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score.

And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin getting retail store and cash credit.

These kinds of accounts tend to be for the things bought all the time, like shipping boxes, outdoor work wear, ink and toner, and office furniture.

But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who will give you starter credit when you have none now. Terms are usually Net 30, instead of revolving.

Therefore, if you get approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you must pay that money back in a set term, such as within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

Details

Net 30 accounts need to be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts have to be paid completely within 60 days. Unlike with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you must pay back what you borrowed or the credit you used.

To launch your business credit profile properly, you need to get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting bureaus. When that’s done, you can then use the credit.

Then pay back what you used, and the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Vendor Credit – It Makes Sense

Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are merchants that will grant an approval with marginal effort. You also need them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.

You want 3 of these to move onto the next step, which is retail credit.

Uline Shipping Supplies

Uline Shipping Supplies is a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.uline.com. They offer shipping, packing, and industrial supplies, and they report to D&B.

You have to have a D-U-N-S number. They will request 2 references and a bank reference. The first few orders might need to be paid in advance to initially get approval for Net 30 terms. Also, you may have to buy some items you don’t need.

Crown Office Supplies

Crown Office Supplies is another true starter vendor. You can find them online at https://crownofficesupplies.com. They sell a variety of office supplies and take helping clients seriously. They state, “just starting your business, or maybe have an existing business, but you have a question regarding office supplies… we are here to help!” And they report to Dun and Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax.

There is a $99.00 yearly fee, though they do report that fee to the business credit reporting bureaus. For other purchases to report, the purchase must be at least $30.00. Terms are Net 30.

Grainger Industrial Supply

Grainger Industrial Supply is also a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.grainger.com. They sell safety equipment, plumbing supplies, and more, and they report to D&B. You will need to have a business license, EIN, and a D-U-N-S number.

For less than a $1000 credit limit they will approve almost any person with a business license.

Accounts That Do Not Report

Non-Reporting Trade Accounts can also be helpful. While you do want trade accounts to report to at the very least one of the CRAs, a trade account which does not report can also be of some worth.

You can always ask non-reporting accounts for trade references. Additionally credit accounts of any sort ought to help you to better even out business expenditures, thereby making budgeting less complicated. These are companies like PayPal Credit, T-Mobile, and Best Buy.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet. Save your money during the recession!

Retail Credit

Once there are 3 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs, then move to retail credit. These are companies which include Office Depot and Staples. These companies are likelier to have supplies you need.

Use the company’s EIN on these credit applications. These are no personal guarantee business credit cards!

Fleet Credit

Are there more accounts reporting? Then progress to fleet credit. These are service providers such as BP and Conoco. Use this credit to purchase, fix, and take care of vehicles. Make certain to apply using the business’s EIN. These are business credit cards without personal credit. You will have start up business credit cards without personal guarantee.

Cash Credit

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve gotten up to this point? Then move to more universal cash credit. These are service providers like Visa and MasterCard. Keep your SSN off these applications; use your EIN instead. These are business credit cards for new businesses without personal guarantee.

These are frequently MasterCard credit cards. If you have more trade accounts reporting, then these are feasible. Once you’re here, these become easy business credit cards no personal guarantee.

Monitor Your Business Credit in a Recession Downturn and Beyond

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and fix any errors as soon as possible. Get in the practice of taking a look at credit reports. Dig into the details, not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less.

At Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business.

Update Your Information

Update the info if there are mistakes or the relevant information is incomplete. At D&B, you can do this at: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm. For Experian, go here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp. And for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to dispute any inaccuracies in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be fixed. But the CRAs generally want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your small business’s PAYDEX report at: www.dnb.com/about-us/our-data.html. Get your company’s Experian report at: www.businesscreditfacts.com/pdp.aspx?pg=SearchForm. And get your Equifax business credit report at: www.equifax.com/business/credit-information.

Disputes

Disputing credit report errors generally means you send a paper letter with duplicates of any evidence of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals. Always mail copies and keep the originals.

Fixing credit report inaccuracies also means you precisely spell out any charges you challenge. Make your dispute letter as crystal clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you sent in your dispute.

Dispute your or your small business’s Equifax report by following the directions here: www.equifax.com/small-business-faqs/#Dispute-FAQs.

You can dispute errors on your or your company’s Experian report by following the instructions here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp.

And D&B’s PAYDEX Customer Service telephone number is here: www.dandb.com/glossary/paydex.

A Word about Building Business Credit During a Recession Downturn

Always use credit smartly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay off. Keep track of balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying in a timely manner and fully will do more to raise business credit scores than just about anything else.

Establishing business credit pays off. Great business credit scores help a company get loans. Your lending institution knows the business can pay its debts. They understand the small business is for real.

The business’s EIN connects to high scores and you can start to get new business credit cards without personal guarantee.

Business credit is an asset which can help your company for years to come. It’s the best way to get corporate credit cards without personal guarantee.

Keep Your Business Credit Cards Off Your Consumer Credit Reports in a Recession Downturn: Takeaways

Learn more here and get started toward getting the best business credit cards for you needs . And make sure your business credit cards don’t report on your consumer credit reports. This is the best way to successfully apply for business credit card no personal guarantee.

As you keep going, you can qualify for business credit lines with no personal guarantee. And it can all start with small business credit cards without personal guarantee. The COVID-19 situation will not last forever – and in the meantime, you can be getting amazing credit cards for your business.

The post Get Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report on Your Consumer Credit Reports During a Recession Downturn appeared first on Credit Suite.

Who Ya Gonna Call? Don’t Let a Bad Small Business Credit Score Haunt You

It’s that time of year when you’re thinking about spooky things lurking behind every corner. But your business credit score doesn’t have to be one of those things that goes bump in the night. You can call on these bad small business credit score busters to rescue you.

5 Bad Small Business Credit Score Busters

When it comes to a small business credit score, no score is the same as a bad score. So, whether you actually have bad small business credit, or you don’t have a small business credit score at all, you are in the same boat. The best place to start is at the beginning.

Bad Small Business Credit Score Buster #1: A Properly Established Business Credit File

No business credit is the same as bad business credit. The trick is, most people miss out on all the treats credit in the name of their business has to offer because they think they have a business credit score. They think that if they have a business and pay all the business bills on time, they’re golden. This is a trick indeed.

The truth is, while you do need to know how to build your business credit score, you have to do some pre-work, so to speak. The problem is, business credit does not develop the same way personal credit does. You have to actively establish business credit before you can build a small business score.

How to Establish Business Credit

The key to establishing business credit is to set up your business to be a separate, fundable entity apart from you the owner. This ensures that payments on business accounts are on your business credit rather than your personal credit. Here’s how.

Check out our trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit. Conquer any recession!

Contact Information

You need separate business contact information. That doesn’t mean you have to get a separate phone line or a separate location. You can run your business from your home or on your computer.

Actually, you can get a business phone number easily that works over the internet instead of phone lines ( this is called VOIP, or voice over internet protocol). Even better, it will forward to any phone you want it to so you can use your personal cell phone or landline. Calls to your business number will ring straight to you.

In addition, you can use a virtual office for a business address. This is a business that offers a physical address for a fee, and sometimes they even offer mail service and live receptionist services. Furthermore, some offer meeting spaces for those times you may need to meet a client or customer in person.

EIN

You also need an EIN. This is an identifying number for your business that is similar to your personal SSN. You can get one for free from the IRS.

Incorporate

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is necessary to fundability. It not only offers liability protection, but it is vital in separating a business from its owner.

Business Bank Account

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account. First, it will help you keep track of business finances. It will also help you keep them separate from personal finances for tax purposes.

Also, several types of funding are not available without a business bank account. Many lenders and credit cards want to see one with a minimum average balance. Another reason is, you cannot get a merchant account without a business account at a bank. That means, you cannot take credit card payments. Even more important, a lot of lenders consider the date a business starts to be the date the business bank account opens. Time in business is an important factor in business credit.

Best Bank Accounts for Small Businesses

So, what are the best bank accounts for small businesses? There are tons out there, and each business’s needs are different. However, there are a few things you should consider when trying to find the best bank account for your business.

Fees

This is first because it’s the most obvious, but it isn’t necessarily the most important, at least not in the way you may think. You do not necessarily want the account with the lowest fee. While there are probably free bank accounts out there, those may not actually be the best bank accounts for small businesses. Why? Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Which leads to the next thing you need to consider.

Number of Allowed Transactions

You need to consider the number of transactions allowed per month before you are charged additional fees. Many free accounts allow a very small number of transactions. This is fine for some small businesses, but you also need to consider growth when determining how many transactions per month you need.

Even business bank accounts that are not free do not usually offer an unlimited number of transactions. Many have a transaction limit, and if you go over, will they charge additional fees. The key is to figure out not only how many transactions you need currently, but how many you may need as you grow.

Also, make sure you can upgrade your account if you see you are consistently going over the allowed number of transactions. Find out what is entailed in doing so. You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to get a whole new account if you can help it. That’s a pain. Just be sure to keep an eye on how many transactions you do each month.

Required Cash Deposits

Take a look at the deposit amounts allowed or required each month. Make sure you can meet them.

Minimum Balance Requirements

Are you required to keep a minimum balance in the account to avoid additional fees? If so, make sure you can meet that requirement.

Extras

If you find more than one account that is perfect for your business, take a look at the extras to break the tie. Do they offer mobile banking? Will they waive fees if you hit a certain number of a specific type of transaction? Do they offer an app or text banking?

Finding the best bank accounts for small businesses takes a little finesse, because what works best for one business may not be what’s best for yours. This should get you started.

Licenses

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run. If it doesn’t, red flags are going to fly up all over the place. Do the research you need to do to ensure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business at the federal, state, and local levels.

D-U-N-S Number

This is a number issued by Dun & Bradstreet. They are the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency. You cannot be in their system without this number. Get one for free on their website.

Check out our trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit. Conquer any recession!

Bad Small Business Credit Score Buster #2: Continuity in Business Information

While this buster does not directly affect your business credit score, a lack of it can definitely get you denied, even with a stellar credit score. Here’s the deal. Fraud is rampant, and lenders do not like to take chances. If they see one document with your business name that has an ampersand and one that uses the word “and” in place of the ampersand, it will set off fraud concerns and they will deny the loan. This can happen even if you have a good business credit score. Your business name has to be exactly the same everywhere.

The same is true for addresses and phone numbers. If you have one address on your website and a different one on insurance papers, it’s going to be a problem. All information related to your business has to be the same on all documents across the board.

Bad Small Business Credit Score Buster #3: Credit Line Hybrid

A credit line hybrid allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use. Qualifying is not as hard as you may think. You do need good personal credit, at least 685. In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Also, in the past 6 months you should have fewer than 5 credit inquiries, and you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. It’s also preferred that you have established business credit as well as personal credit.

But how is it a bad business credit score buster? Here’s how. If you do not meet the qualifications, you can take on a credit partner that does meet them. Since it reports to the business credit reporting agencies in the business’s name, you can build credit for your business without having good credit to begin with.

Bad Small Business Credit Score Buster #3: Vendor Credit

Obviously small business lenders are not going to approve applications for loans based on a business credit score if there is no business credit score. Thus, you need a way to build a score without already having a score. This is the time when you need to know how to build your business credit score. Vendor credit is where you start after your business is set up properly.

Vendor credit is offered by what we like to refer to as “starter vendors.” These are companies that will extend net terms on invoices without a credit check. Then, when you pay the invoice, they report your payment to the business credit reporting agencies.

This helps you build business credit without already having business credit. However, for it to work, you have to have your business set up as outlined above. Also, since they do not check credit, they do have other ways of reducing risk. These vary by vendor, but some general things they look at include:

Length of time in business
Average balance in business bank account
Revenues

Usually it is some combination of these factors and others that starter vendors are looking for when it comes to extending net terms.

Bad Small Business Credit Score Buster #3: Responsible Use of Store Credit and Fleet Credit

Once you have some starter vendors reporting your payments, you will start to build a small business credit score. At that point, you will be eligible to get approval from some store credit cards. These are cards from retailers that are meant to be used at their store only. Apply with your business name, EIN, and contact information so they will report to your business credit report and not your personal credit report, thus building strong business credit.

As they report payments, your business credit score will continue to grow, and you can apply for fleet credit. These cards are meant to be used for auto repair and maintenance and fuel costs. However, after you get enough of them reporting payments, your score will grow to the point you can apply for cash credit, meaning cards that can be used anywhere on anything, in your business name.

The key to this is, you have to handle the credit responsibly. If you do not make consistent, on-time payments, you will achieve the opposite effect.

Call on These Bad Small Business Credit Score Busters and Never be Haunted Again

Whether you need to establish a small business credit score or annihilate a bad one, at least one of these tips should help. If your business isn’t already set up properly, do that now. Even if you do know how to build your business credit score, it will not matter if your business is not set up properly. The longer you wait the harder it gets.

After that, be sure anytime you make changes you make them everywhere, and start working on vendor credit. Small business lenders take all of this into account, so starting as soon as possible to get everything in line is vital.

Check out our trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit. Conquer any recession!

The post Who Ya Gonna Call? Don’t Let a Bad Small Business Credit Score Haunt You appeared first on Credit Suite.