How the Small Business Finance Exchange Can Affect Your Business in a Recession: 4 Things You Need to Know

As the novel coronavirus continues to affect our economy, the SBFE remains committed to its mission. Let’s take a look at the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession – because the chances of our economy going into a recession look rather high right now.

The Small Business Finance Exchange Affects the Way Lenders Do Business

The Small Business Finance Exchange, in a recession, can change the face of business credit. You need to know how. Solid business credit is necessary to business growth always, whether there is a recession going on or not. It is also important to the protection of your personal finances. Without a strong business credit profile, you will have to rely on your personal credit when it comes to business financing.

This is bad is so many ways. It may not seem so if you have great personal credit. The problem comes when you do not have separate business credit. Then anything that affects your business affects your personal score. If something doesn’t work out with the business, your personal credit score suffers.

It can work the opposite way also. A bad personal credit score can affect your ability to get business financing.

The remedy is to ensure your business has its own credit score, and to be certain that score is complete and accurate.

The Small Business Finance Exchange, also known as the SBFE, helps with that. Certain lenders and agencies have access to their data. How do they get your information? Does it affect your business credit? How can it affect your ability to get financing for your business?

What is the Small Business Finance Exchange?

To fully understand the role of the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession, you need to understand what it is. The SBFE is a not-for-profit entity that gathers data on small businesses from its members. The data is then used to compile comprehensive credit information. Lenders use this information to make credit decisions.

The Small Business Finance Exchange does not lend money. It also does not create or distribute credit reports.

How Does the Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession Work?

Generally speaking, it works the same way in recession as it does in solid economic times. The impact however, can change. The model they use is self-dubbed a “give-to-get” model. Members provide information about their borrowers. In return they can receive information from the exchange. This information can help them make future lending decisions.

Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. It’s a worthwhile investment, saving you money even during a recession.

The process starts with members. The members report credit data from those companies that they do business with. This data will include payment history, among other things. This is one reason it is important to make payments on time. When businesses use the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession, your payment history prior to the recession can affect your business even more.

Next, the SBFE normalizes the raw data into usable information. It then distributes this data to certified vendors. These include credit agencies that have a partnership with the SBFE. The distribution to certified vendors is step three.

Certified Vendors use the information to create comprehensive credit products for distribution to SBFE members only.

What Do Members Get?

Members can request data on any small business to whom they may extend credit, making the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession hugely impactful. Since they gave information, they have information available to them. That means if you work with member lenders, they have access to even more information that can affect their decision than what is on a standard credit report.

Practically, it looks like this. A lender reports credit information about its current borrowers to the Small Business Finance Exchange. When a new potential borrower comes along, they request a credit report. This report does not come from the SBFE. The request is to one of the credit reporting agencies such as Dun & Bradstreet or Equifax. Because of their membership with the SBFE, they receive an extended report that includes the data received from the SBFE as well as that from D&B.

How Does Using the Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession Affects Your Business?

There is so much more to a business than how and when they make payments. Making consistent, on-time payments is essential. However, not doing so for a period of time does not always tell the whole story. The Small Business Finance Exchange uses its data to paint a more complete picture so that creditors can be better informed.

The result is that even if your payment history is not pristine, the use of information from the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession can be a good thing for your business. Their mission is to be an advocate for the safe and secure growth of small business. They know that lenders need the most complete and accurate information available to make a viable credit decision.

The Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession Can Help Your Business in 4 Ways

1. It Can Help You Build Business Credit.

Strive to do business with SBFE members. When you do, you know your information is being reported, which means you are building business credit. How do you know if your lender or vendor is a member?

Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. It’s a worthwhile investment, saving you money even during a recession.

Ask them. If they are not, considered mentioning that they become a member. However, there are enough members in the network that it should not be hard to find one.

2. They Can Help You Grow Your Business.

By working with members, you ensure your complete information is being reported. When creditors receive your information, you know they get a complete credit picture and not just one piece of it. If you are making your payments and working to build strong business credit, this can only help you.

3. You May Have Increased Funding Options.

The data available about your business from the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession could open up additional funding opportunities that may not be available to you otherwise.

4. They Can Help You Make Wise Credit Decisions.

Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession

If you are a small business that lends money to other businesses and has the ability to report that information, you can join the SBFE yourself. You will gain access to information about borrowers available exclusively to members. This information can help you make better decisions about your own business lending.

Who Can Become a Member?

Anyone who has the ability to report their small business lending information to the SBFE can become a member. The only way to gain access to the information that the exchange has in their Data Warehouse is to join.

Members include all types of lending institutions including banks, credit unions, and alternative lenders.

Certified Vendors

Certified vendors are agencies that have a partnership with the Small Business Finance Exchange. They distribute the data they receive from the SBFE. They do this by creating credit analysis products using the information that the Small Business Finance Exchange provides. Then they report the data to members who request a credit report on a business that is included.

Certified Vendors include Equifax, Dun & Bradstreet, and most recently, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Of course, Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet are credit reporting agencies. LexisNexis sells lending risk insurance products.

While other credit agencies are available to lenders, when they are a member of the Small Business Finance Exchange, in a recession especially, they can get a double shot. If they utilize one of these certified vendors, they get the benefit of the vendor’s own information plus data received from the Small Business Finance Exchange. In a recession, this can be an essential link to risk mitigation and solid decision making.

What Goes Around Comes Around

As much as doing business with members of the exchange can help you, it can hurt you if you do not do things properly.

If you are doing business with SBFE members you eliminate the potential to not have any business credit. By default, members are reporting your information and therefore, you have business credit.

However, if you do not handle your business properly, the report members are getting about your business may not be favorable.

Members contract to report both positive and negative information.

How Do You Know If Data Related to Your Business is In the Warehouse?

If you are doing business with member entities, your data is there. How do you know if the companies you do business with are members? Ask them.

What Kind of Data do They Have on My Business?

They have identifying information related to your business. This would include your business name, DUNS number, EIN, address, and NAICS code.

They also have both positive and negative payment information. Bills paid to vendors, suppliers and business partners on time or early are all included. It also includes bills paid late, or not at all, to suppliers, business partners, and vendors.

The limits on your credit accounts, payment information on lease payments, and credit card payment history are also included.

What Action Do I need to Take?

The Small Business Finance Exchange, in a recession, can benefit small businesses. They want to see these businesses thrive and grow, and one way they do that is by offering comprehensive credit information to those who lend them money to do so.

As a small business, you are responsible for your business credit. You control what information ends up on your credit report. What can you do?

Pay your bills consistently on time
Do business with SBFE members.
If the businesses you currently work with are not members, encourage them to join.
Join the SBFE if you are eligible. (Remember you cannot self-report your own information, but by joining, you can make better credit decisions for your business.)
Monitor your credit information

Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. It’s a worthwhile investment, saving you money even during a recession.

A Word on Credit Monitoring

There are a couple of ways to monitor credit. Remember though, that the Small Business Finance Exchange does not create or distribute any type of credit report.

You can request a report from one of the credit agencies such as Dun & and Bradstreet or Equifax. Even though they are members of the SBFE however, you cannot see that information specific to the exchange unless you are a member as well. You cannot be a member unless you extend credit to small businesses.

Working with members of the Small Business Finance Exchange in a recession is still beneficial, but it doesn’t really help with credit monitoring.

You can also join a credit monitoring service. This will give you continuous access to the information on your report, including your credit score and what is affecting it.

Use the information. Look for ways to build your business credit and report any mistakes. Send the agency a detailed explanation of what is incorrect, what the correct information is, and copies of all supporting documents available.

How to Take Advantage of the Small Business Finance Exchange in a Recession

It is a good idea to work with SBFE members regardless of the economic client. In a recession however, it can be even more beneficial for all the reasons already stated. The most prominent reason is that, by doing business with SBFE member, you ensure lenders see the most complete picture of your credit possible.

If the recession has been hard on you and you have missed a payment or two, those negative marks could have a reduced impact. This is based on information lenders receive from the SBFE. It may not make the bad things go away, but it can definitely add in other information that can help.

The Small Business Finance Exchanges in a Recession – Exists to Help Small Businesses

By offering a more complete credit picture to lenders, the SBFE ensures that more businesses have the financing available that they need to grow. As businesses grow, more businesses can be born. This is how we come out of a recession. Successful business begets successful business. And before you know it the economy is thriving again. It’s a win/win for everyone and the Small Business Finance Exchange, in a recession and out, is a superhero to all. Make your payments, do business with SBFE members, and your business can survive and even thrive during the recession.

The post How the Small Business Finance Exchange Can Affect Your Business in a Recession: 4 Things You Need to Know appeared first on Credit Suite.

Beyond a Simple Crowdfunding Definition: What You need to Know Now

Funding for businesses is needed now more than ever. Funding that does not have to be repaid is always in high demand, as is funding that does not require a stellar credit score. In the eyes of most, and rightly so, that is exactly what crowdfunding is. That is not the crowdfunding definition however. There is so much more to the whole crowdfunding scene.

Crowdfunding Definition: What It Is, What It Is Not, and What Your Other Options Are

According to Dictionary.com, the crowdfunding definition is:

“the activity or process of raising money from a large number of people, typically through a website, as for a project or small business.”

It sounds like a great plan, right? It is, until you know that the average success rate of crowdfunding campaigns is 50%. That said, 78% of crowdfunding campaigns reach their goal. Of course, that sounds better. Still, reaching your goal doesn’t guarantee success.

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

Crowdfunding Definition: What Crowdfunding Is

The thing is, crowdfunding is definitely a viable option, but it is too risky to depend upon as your sole source of funding. For some, it works out to where you can get a whole business off the ground without any other funding source. For most, crowdfunding simply reduces the amount of debt you must take on. Yet, for many, there are not even enough funds raised from such campaigns to get started.

Crowdfunding Definition: What Crowdfunding is Not

Whether crowdfunding for startups or for an already existing business, it is not a legitimate only option. There needs to be a backup plan for either supplemental funds or full funding. If your credit score is good, there is no worry here as financing options abound. However, a not so great credit score can make a backup plan more difficult.

Crowdfunding Definition: Crowdfunding Platforms

While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the most popular crowdfunding platforms.

Kickckstarter
- Indiegogo
- RocketHub
- CircleUp
- GoGetFunding
- Crowdfunder
- Fundable
Fundly

Whichever platform you choose, whether one of these or one not on this list, remember there are a number of crowdfunding resources available to help you on this journey. You just have to look for them.

Crowdfunding Definition: Behind the Scenes

Now, the best way to find out about crowdfunding is to take a look at some actual campaigns. Here are some of the most notable, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Pebble SmartWatch

Pebble actually has several of the top 10 campaigns ever on Kickstarter. Their 2nd campaign is the highest funded campaign to date, reaching over $20,000,000. That’s not too shabby for a goal of only $500,000. They blew it out of the water!

Are they still successful? Well, yeah, but not in the way you may think. They actually sold to FitBit.

FlowHive

This one is not one that most would expect to explode onto the scene the way it did. The FlowHive Indiegogo campaign definitely generated some major buzz. The idea was to find a way to get the honey from bees without harming the bees.

Traditionally, hives are simply broken open to obtain the honey. This process can kill the bees. FlowHive developed a fake hive of sorts, made from reusable plastic. Bees make honey in it, and the honey flows through a spout out into the world. The bees are safe and fresh honey is ours for the taking.

Apparently, beekeeping is growing in interest. This campaign raised $14,000,000. Though they won’t disclose exact numbers, the queen bees claim they are still buzzing and in the black.

CoolestCooler

The coolest cooler was a super cool Kickstarter campaign that came in at over $13.000,000 raised. The cooler boasted bluetooth and a blender among other things. Investors received a cooler for their donation toward the cause.

This one had some trouble when it wasn’t able to deliver investment rewards as quickly as promised and there was actually a lawsuit. In the end, everything worked out and everyone got their rewards.

BauBox Travel Jacket

This jacket has 10 different elements, including a drink holder and a neck pillow. They raised over $11,000,000 across 2 campaigns. It was a bumpy start, partially because the jacket was available on retail sites before investors even got theirs, but it is still selling today.

As you can see, while mostly successful, even these top campaigns had some pretty serious bumps along the way. You need to be prepared for the same, even if you reach your fundraising goals.

Crowdfunding Definition: The Backup Plan

Here are some options for financing. The one that will work best for your business will depend on your credit score, your business fundability, and how much you are able to raise through crowdfunding and other debt-free options.

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

Traditional/ SBA Loans

These are lumped together because they each require working with a traditional lender and a decent credit score. However, it is important to remember that SBA loans typically require a lower credit score, although still good, as they are government backed business loans. A few examples of SBA loans that work great for starting a business include:

7(a) Loans

This one offers federally funded term loans of up to $5 million. Funds can be used for expansion, purchasing equipment, and working capital, in addition to startup. Banks, credit unions, and other specialized institutions, in partnership with the SBA, process these loans and disburse the funds.

504 Loans

The funds work well to purchase machinery, facilities, or land. They are generally used for expansion. Private sector lenders or nonprofits process and disburse funds. They are also good for commercial real estate purchases especially.

There is also a requirement you be in business at least 2 years, or that management has equivalent experience if the business is a startup.

Microloans

Microloans work for starting a business, purchasing equipment, buying inventory, or for working capital. Community based non-profits administer microloan programs as intermediaries. Financing comes directly from the Small Business Administration.

Credit Line Hybrid

A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured business funding. With it, you can fund your business without putting up collateral. You only pay back what you use.

It is not as hard to qualify as you may think. Your personal credit needs to be good, as in at least 680. 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 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, if you do not meet all of the requirements, the credit line hybrid is still accessible. 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. This makes a credit line hybrid an excellent option for bad credit business funding.

Credit Line Hybrid Benefits

There are many benefits to using a credit line hybrid. For example, it is unsecured, meaning you do not have to have any collateral to put up. Next, it is no-doc funding. This means you don’t have to provide any bank statements or financials.

Not only that, but typical approval is up to 5x that of the highest credit limit on the personal credit report. Also, it is possible to get interest rates as low as 0% for the first few months. That allows you to put that savings back into your business.

The process is usually fast, especially with a qualified expert to walk you through it. One other benefit is this. With the approval for multiple credit cards, competition is created. This makes it easier, and likely even if you handle the credit responsibly, that you can get interest rates lowered and limits raised every few months.

Alternative Lenders

These are also an option if your credit score is lacking. Remember, lenders change details such as requirements and rates frequently. Be sure to check with the specific lender for the most up to date information.

BlueVine

The minimum loan amount available from BlueVine is $5,000 and the maximum is $100,000. Annual revenue must be $120,000 or more and the borrower must be in business for at least 6 months. Your personal credit score has to be 600 or above.

Upstart

Upstart is an online lender unlike any other. It uses a completely innovative platform for loans. The company itself questions the ability of financial information and FICO, on their own, to truly determine the risk of lending to a specific borrower. Instead, they use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to gather alternative data. Then, they use this data to help them make credit decisions.

This alternative data can 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. To be eligible for a loan with Upstart, you must meet the following qualifications:

Credit score of 620+
No bankruptcies or negative public records
No delinquent accounts
Meet debt to income standards (they only note they will check this ratio, not what their standards are.)
Have fewer than 6 inquiries in the past 6 months on your credit report, not including those related to student loans, vehicle loans, or mortgages

These are the requirements they list on their website. One independent review said that the requirement for the debt to income ratio is a maximum of 45%. It also says that the minimum annual income has to be at least $12,000.

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

Fora Financial

Founded in 2008 by college roommates, online lender Fora Financial now funds more than $1.3 million in working capital around the United States. There is no minimum credit score, and there is an early repayment discount if you qualify.

The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000. The business must be at least 6 months in operation and the monthly revenue has to be $12,000 or more. There can be no open bankruptcies.

OnDeck

Obtaining financing from OnDeck is quick and easy. First, you apply online and receive your decision once application processing is complete. If you receive approval, your loan funds will go directly to your bank account. The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000.

Just like any other online lender, they do have certain requirements to qualify for a loan. For example, a personal credit score of 600 or more. Also, you must be in business for at least 3 years. Annual revenue must be at or exceed $100,000. In addition, there can be no bankruptcy on file in the past 2 years and no unresolved liens or judgements.

Crowdfunding Definition: The Down and Dirty Truth

Knowing the crowdfunding definition is just the first step. As with most else in the world, a definition isn’t enough. Once you know the crowdfunding definition, the hard part starts. You have to figure out if it is right for you and your business. It may work great, or it may not. Plan for the best and hope for the worst is a great motto to live by here. Do your research on how to run a great campaign, and spend the time necessary to thoroughly research platforms and determine which one will work best for your needs.

Then formulate your backup plan. Do you need loans, a credit line hybrid, or some combination? The time to figure that out is on the front end, before you need it. By the time you see the need is a reality, it could be too late.

The post Beyond a Simple Crowdfunding Definition: What You need to Know Now appeared first on Credit Suite.

Get to Know Experian Commercial

What is Experian Commercial all about? What are details about its most important scores? Check out the details on this major business credit reporting agency. Plus, find out how to improve your business credit scores with Experian. And learn how to monitor your scores for 90% less than it would cost at that business CRA. Understanding and improving your business credit scores is more important than ever in a recession. With Experian, there is a lot you can do to keep your scores high.

So in particular, Experian reports on both business and personal credit. In fact, they blend the two. And this is virtually always what happens with startup ventures. Therefore, by keeping your personal credit scores high, you can directly influence your business credit scores.

Business Credit and Experian Commercial

Let’s look at business credit, even in a recession. Business credit is credit which is in a business’s name. So it is not tied to the owner’s creditworthiness. Instead, business credit scores mainly depend on how well a company can pay its bills. Hence, consumer and business credit scores can vary dramatically. So this is true for Experian as well.

Consider the main credit reporting agencies. There are three large business credit reporting agencies. So they are Dun & Bradstreet; Equifax; and Experian. There is also a FICO SBSS business score. But let’s concentrate on Experian Commercial today. Knowledge is power. And at no time is that more important than during a recession.

What Sort of Data Does Experian Commercial Use?

Experian, like the other business credit reporting bureaus, focuses on providing quality data and analytics. They offer this info to businesses to help them better assess risk. They have a massive consumer and commercial database. So they manage it to help businesses get the best and most up to date info. Experian extracts significant extra value with this data. So they do so by applying their own proprietary analytics and software.

Experian uses both consumer and business credit information to gauge risk.

“By combining personal and commercial credit information in one report, Experian provides a complete picture of the creditworthiness of small businesses”.

See: experian.ae/en/credit-services/index.

Experian PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN). And it is also in a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. Save money even during a recession.

Experian Commercial: The Experian Intelliscore Plus℠ Score

Now let’s look at Experian’s Intelliscore Plus business credit score. For Intelliscore Plus, business credit scores range from 0 to 100. So 0 represents a high risk and 100 represents a low risk. The 0 to 100 part is a percentile score. It shows the percentage of businesses scoring higher or lower than the business under review.

Intelliscore Plus is widely used. Many large financial institutions around the world use it. So do more than half of the top 25 property and casualty insurers. And so do most major telecommunications and utility firms. Industry leaders in transportation, manufacturing, and technology also use Intelliscore Plus as their main risk indicating model.

Intelliscore Plus has more than 800 aggregates or factors. These affect business credit scores. There are scores on the millions of businesses in the Experian database. It is a percentile score.

What does Intelliscore Plus measure? It is a highly predictive score. It provides a detailed and accurate reflection of a business’s risk. Intelliscore Plus blends commercial data with the consumer data for the business owner or guarantor.

The Intelliscore Plus℠ Analytical Approach

Check out various Intelliscore Plus analytical approaches. Intelliscore Plus uses three separate analytical approaches to provide risk insights for small businesses.

The Emerging Market Model

The first analytical approach is business data including an emerging market model. That one is designed for microbusinesses.

The Blended Model

The second analytical approach is a blended one. This model incorporates business and consumer credit information on the owner or guarantor. Experian uses a cascading approach when combining the differing data sources.

The Consumer Data Only Model

So this third analytical approach is a consumer data only model. It is for startups because they have no business history.

For more information on these three analytical approaches, see: experian.com/content/dam/marketing/na/assets/bis/business-information/brochures/intelliscore-plus-v2-product-sheet.pdf

Get to Know the Data in an Intelliscore Plus℠ Report

So, which data is in an Intelliscore Plus report? The report contains key information like business address, how long a business has been in Experian’s database, etc. It also has legal filings and collections that may impact business performance. There is a summary of the number of trades, amount of credit extended, etc. And there is a summary of the owner or guarantor’s consumer credit account performance. This includes bank cards, revolving, auto lease, and real estate accounts.

More Data Details

More data includes business credit information like the number of days beyond terms. There’s also the Intelliscore Plus score and the business’s risk class. The report also has owner account information and derogatory information like collections, etc.

For more information on Intelliscore Plus reports, see: bci2experian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2013-06-Enhanced-Risk-Assessment.pdf

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. Save money even during a recession.

Experian Commercial: The Experian Financial Stability Risk Score

Check out the Experian Financial Stability Risk Score (FSR). The FSR predicts the potential of a business going bankrupt or defaulting on its obligations. The score identifies the highest risk businesses by making use of payment and public records. These records include severely delinquent payments of 61 or more and 91 or more days. They also include high utilization of credit lines; tax liens; judgments; collection accounts; industry risk; and short time in business, etc.

The Financial Stability Risk Score shows a 1 to 100 percentile score, plus a 1 to 5 risk class. The risk class puts businesses into risk categories. So the highest risk is in the lowest 10% of accounts.

For more information on the Financial Stability Risk Score, see: experian.com/content/dam/marketing/na/assets/bis/business-information/brochures/financial-stability-risk-score-ps.pdf

What if you have a score of 66 to 100? And you have a risk class of 1? Then it means there is a low risk of default or bankruptcy. But what if you have a score of 1 – 3? And you have a risk class of 5? Then it means there is a high risk of default or bankruptcy.

Experian Commercial: Derogatory Data

So, how long does derogatory data stay in Experian’s database? Trade data stays on your report for 36 months. So does bank, government, and leasing data. Uniform Commercial Code filings stay on your report for 5 years. So note: Uniform Commercial Code filings are in support of loans.

Judgments, collections, and tax liens all stay on your report for 6 years and 9 months. And bankruptcies stay on your report for 9 years and 9 months.

For more information on derogatory data in Experian Commercial reports, see: experian.com/small-business/how-long-credit-report

Experian Commercial: Improving Your Company’s Experian Reports

To improve your credit terms, you should be looking at improving your company’s Experian reports. Also make sure vendors are reporting your payments. The more vendors which report a positive credit history to the credit reporting agencies, the better. Because then the higher your business credit rating will be. And this is not just the case with Experian.

So improving your scores is pretty straightforward. Always pay your bills early or on time and pay them in full. Try to maintain a balance at about 20 to 30% of your limits or less. Do not close positive accounts. And try to avoid derogatory report entries like tax liens.

This advice works just as well for personal credit as for business credit. Because Experian reports on both – and blends them – doing the same good things for both types of credit is helpful. Because it will help you even more.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring. Save money even during a recession.

Experian Commercial: Business Credit Monitoring

To improve your Experian business credit scores, you should be looking into Experian business credit monitoring. Experian offers monitoring services. So these prices are current as of June 2020. Business Credit Advantage costs $189 per year. You can monitor business credit for one year. And you’ll get alerts of changes.

Business Credit Score Pro costs $249 per month. So it gives you access to multiple business credit reports. And Profile Plus costs $49.95 for a single report. So a Credit Score Report costs $39.95. With that one, you will get a credit summary report with a score. Or you can monitor your business credit with us for 90% less.

Experian Commercial: Takeaways

So Experian gathers diverse data to attempt to understand risk. And Experian works to predict a business’s chance of going delinquent on payments or bankrupt. They combine business and personal credit info for business owners or guarantors. This provides a more detailed picture of risk.

But derogatory data will stay on your Experian business credit reports for years. You can improve your Experian Commercial report by acting to better manage your finances.

And as you improve your personal credit scores with Experian, that will directly affect your business credit scores. Responsible financial stewardship is not just a good idea; it will likely save you money! So with better scores come better rates. Plus, you will have more choices. You will not have to settle for the one and only loan or credit card you can get.

Monitoring your business credit reports with Experian will also help you improve your reports. We offer competitively priced monitoring of your Experian business credit reports.

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Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession

Check Out These Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession

Crowdfunding can seem to be a bit of a mystery. Why are people willing to part with their cash in this particular manner? There are a lot of crowdfunding terms you should know in a recession. They are thrown around all the time and they can sometimes get confusing. So consider this your primer on some basic crowdfunding terminology.

Because even if you do not think you will use this method of fundraising, you will probably encounter it all the same.

But before going any further, does crowdfunding ever actually, you know, work?

Crowdfunding Success, in a Nutshell

For some companies which crowdfund, the rewards are great. According to Crowdfunding Blog, the single most successful crowdfunding campaign was for the Pebble Time Smartwatch. And that was as of November of 2018. But before you run out and buy one, note that they are now a part of FitBit.

As in, they went out of business in July of 2018. And this is a business which raised over $20 million in 2015. That is no typo. And in point of fact, Pebble holds three of the top six spots in the biggest crowdfunding successes of all time. Together, these three crowdfunding campaigns took in a staggering $43.39 million. This is about $8 million more than the town of Huntington, New York (population 203,264) budgeted for highways in 2018.

Hence there is one thing that should be clear to all. Runaway crowdfunding success is no guarantee whatsoever of actual success.

But now it is time to get to the crowdfunding terms themselves.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Project

A project is what you are asking for money for. Projects can take a few months or even years. The more complex your project, then (usually) the longer it will take. The person starting the project is generally called the project runner or the project creator.

Projects can be for goods or for services.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Donors

The people who donate to the project are called donors. Or sometimes they are referred to as contributors or backers.

On rare occasions, they may even be called investors. However, such a word connotes a far different relationship. Many crowdfunding platforms shy away from such a term. And this is for good reason. It is because investors and investments may come under the purview of the SEC. The Securities and Exchange Commission exists in order to protect investors. This is in ways not current available to donors 0r other contributors to the success of businesses.

Hence, unless the crowdfunding platform is specifically for investing in companies, more like angel investing, you are not too terribly likely to see the investor.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Campaign

The act of requesting money on a crowdfunding platform is called a campaign. This is the soup to nuts of crowdfunding. So it covers everything from the first pitch to the final collection or perk distribution.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Donor Levels

In general, donor levels refer to the amount of rewards which are on offer for a particular size donation. Note: I will get to rewards in a moment. Your donor levels might look something like this:

$10 fountain pen (100 available)
$20 includes $10 level plus a tee shirt (50 available)
$50 includes $20 level plus a framed picture (30 available)
$100 includes $50 level plus dinner with the project runner (10 available)
$500 includes all other perk levels plus a new car (2 available)

Donor levels are limited by your imagination and your capacity for handling complexity. After all, five separate donor levels mean you are keeping five separate lists. If you are well-organized, then this is possible. But it is not easy. Five separate donor levels are plenty, particularly for people running their first campaigns.

Truthfully, you will be a far happier person if you cut the number of donor levels to no more than three.

Of course, time and budget should be considerations for anyone. But that is not just the case for crowdfunding.

What frustrates you the most about funding your business in a recession? Tell us in the comments.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Rewards (Also Known as Perks)

One basic about crowdfunding for creative projects is that you will need to provide incentives for your donors to open up their wallet. Crowdfunding to help someone with their medical expenses is a different animal. So let us get back to crowdfunding for business funds.

This is where perks come in.

Your rewards can be nearly anything. But it can quite literally pay to have them relate directly to your project.

For example, if you are crowdfunding to get enough money to back your new smart phone invention, then your rewards probably should not be your grandmother’s blueberry muffin recipe. And this is no matter how wonderful it may be. Instead, you could base your rewards around your invention. So this could be everything from offering a case to an extra battery or charger. Or you might even offer an app which only your donors can download.

A Word to the Wise about Rewards

Rewards are a very real part of crowdfunding and they can often be a part which project creators do not take into consideration. Sometimes, we think a product will go to market in, say, a year. But circumstances change, and now one year turns into two. So be it – this sort of thing happens all the time.

But it is an issue if your perks are dependent on your product going out the door. So if you need to fulfill perk promises to 10,000 people, you will likely find you need to do one of any of these things:

Delay your product launch
Hire someone to do fulfillment for you
Offer alternative perks (if you can)

Reneging is not an option, and it can get you on the wrong end of a lawsuit if you are not careful.

A fourth option is delaying perk fulfillment. Not every donor will go for that.

A For-Instance on Perk Level Complexity

Sending out so many perks is a major task. It can take months to get everything out the door.

Why does it take so long? Consider the degree of complexity. Let’s go with an easy number: 100. So let’s say you have 10 separate perk levels and they each have 10 slots. Once an eleventh person wants a certain perk level, they just plain can’t have it, as it’s gone. Are you with me so far?

Your ten separate perk styles may be of differing weights. So this means they will have different shipping costs. If any of your 100 donors are outside of the United States, then you will have to pay more to ship to them as well. Plus of course you have to make sure all of the addresses are complete and correct.

It becomes even more complex when your perks do not fit into such neat little buckets. This is where you have, say, eight perks. And you might have anywhere from 12 to 1,000 people who are supposed to be getting them. Plus some people may have donated twice and are waiting for two separate perks. Or maybe even more.

See how ugly and difficult this can get – fast?

What frustrates you the most about funding your business in a recession? Tell us in the comments.

Getting Around This Problem

The easiest way to get around these issues is to offer intangible perks. In our smart phone example, the exclusive app would fit the bill nicely. Your best bet is to make the intangible perk good for the largest number of donors possible.

Hence if your lowest level is $10, and you have 100 of those slots, then you could just give 100 people a download code. This is a lot faster than figuring out postage for all of those donors. Plus, with an intangible perk, technically the number of perks is effectively infinite. But scarcity gets people interested, so you might not want to make the downloads never-ending.

For the more tangible perks, leave them for far smaller groups, such as the 25 people who are at your two top donor levels. Mailing to 25 people is far easier than it is to mail to 10,000 people. And this is so even if the mailings are difficult.

But I Don’t Have Intangible Perks!

No? Then what do you call a coupon sent in email? See, there are ways to offer intangible perks even when the entire business operation is very, very tangible. Coupons have been around, seemingly, forever. People will gladly print them off or carry them in their smartphones for scanning.

Or there can be discount codes, which are virtually the same thing, except with no designing of a coupon to be cut out or scanned. Amazon, for example, gives these out all the time. And the vast majority of backers will know exactly how to use them.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Rewards-Based Crowdfunding

Probably the best-known of all crowdfunding platforms is Kickstarter. Kickstarter is, by its own rules, just for project creation. That is, it is not for charitable donations. This puts it squarely in the camp of rewards-based crowdfunding. That is, the project exists for the purpose of getting a new market to product or the setting up of a new business.

This form of crowdfunding offers rewards (perks), which are either physical or intangible. It can also serve as a means of pre-selling a product before even a prototype has been made. However, until there is an actual available product, is it a sale, or not? While it is easy to try to dismiss such a concern as no big deal, well, not so fast.

Whether perk fulfillment is a sale or not just might matter.

Sales and the Law

In the United States, the sales of almost 100% of all goods are covered by the Uniform Commercial Code. This set of laws is identical virtually everywhere in the country except in the state of Louisiana. And even there, it is still rather close.

The UCC covers any number of concerns with products. These include merchantability, which asks if a product can reasonably be sold. And it also includes fitness for a particular purpose. But it does not cover liability in case a product injures a person. Still, that can be another question, in case something like that happens.

Product Injuries

When a product injures someone (in the law, this is called product liability), it does not matter if the injured party directly bought the product or borrowed it from another or the like. However, at a certain point, it becomes such a tenuous and far-reaching relationship between product creator (that is, the manufacturer) and the final end user that questions as to cause and effect can arise.

While new products sold via crowdfunding are, without a doubt, sales, what about perks?

Are perks sales, or not? They do not seem to be gifts. After all, when was the last time you paid anything for a gift? Is it not the very definition of a gift that there is no cost?

Consideration

In general, in contract law, a sale is an exchange of goods (or services) for a price or fee. This price or fee is referred to as a consideration. A consideration is either a fee or its equivalent, such as through barter. The consideration does not have to be equal in value to the sale price of the goods. That is, the transaction does not stop being a sale just because the buyer got a really good deal, or a really bad one.

Yes, selling your house for $1 is, technically, a sale.

If a perk is worth $1 but is only available at the $10 donation level, what then? But if it is a sale, then the UCC should apply, yes? If the perk injures someone, then the question does not really start to matter until the end user is extremely far-removed from the project creator.

These questions do not seem to have been litigated yet. It will be interesting to see what happens when, inevitably, they are.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Equity-Based Crowdfunding

When businesses look to hand over percentages of ownership in exchange for current financial backing that is called equity-based crowdfunding. Kickstarter, for example, does not allow this. But there are platforms such as AngelList and Crowdfunder which do.

After the passage of the 2012 JOBS Act, smaller companies have more freedom to crowdfund and hand over equity shares. And this is without quite so many Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings as were needed before. This federal law opened up crowdfunding more. And it made it a far more attractive option for startups in particular. The SEC, naturally, has an interest in this particular species of crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Debt-Based Crowdfunding

This form of crowdfunding is also called peer to peer lending. Other names for it are P2P, crowdlending, and marketplace lending. Borrowers will set up campaigns in order to fulfill their financial needs. And then lenders will contribute toward the goal for an interest.

This particular method of online funding may come with other consequences. It could very well become a true “threat to the traditional banking system in the areas of consumer and business loans, as has already been demonstrated by the rapid success of [these] online lending marketplaces.” (Hollas, Corporate Finance Review, Volume 18).

As the United States economy changes over time, peer to peer lending may very well be the only way for some businesses to get funding. But look for regulators to start to step in, particularly if there are instances of fraud or more serious criminal activity.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Litigation Crowdfunding

And speaking of criminal activity, there is also litigation crowdfunding. With litigation crowdfunding, a plaintiff will ask for a monetary donation for the purposes of funding a court case. If the plaintiff prevails, then investors may get more than their initial investment.

Unlike some of the other forms of crowdfunding, there are ethical considerations when it comes to litigation crowdfunding. Ethics problems include the possibility of unlawful interference in an attorney-client contract.

Lawyers and Ethics and Crowdfunding and Money

Another possible issue involves providing information to backers. In other forms of crowdfunding, backers understandably want advance information on a campaign. understandably, they want to know precisely what they are financially getting themselves into. But in the case of the law, such transparency can very well mean violating attorney-client privilege. If privileged communications are necessary to get donors to fork over cash, then this is an ethical violation for the lawyer.

Plus, what happens if the backers push for a greater return on their investments? Could a group of backers – or a crowdfunding platform – push for a settlement for sure money? Or could they push for a trial in the hopes of a big payoff? Either scenario is possible.

And there is even another possibility. What if the crowdfunding platform or backer group pushes to direct the course of discovery, or even motion practice?

And what happens if, somehow, it gets out at trial that a case is crowdfunded? What will a jury think? Will they see the plaintiff as greedy? Or will they see the case as more likely to win? Otherwise, the reasoning could go, why would people put their money on the line for it?

These questions go beyond dilemmas and interesting philosophical exercises. They could, if things go too far, end up being a part of disciplinary proceedings against a lawyer in an ethics investigation.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Donation-Based Crowdfunding

In this form of crowdfunding, a charity solicits donations via a crowdfunding platform. There are either no perks or they are tiny. The best-known of these is probably GoFundMe. This is where project runners can either raise funds for themselves or for charities.

Donation-based crowdfunding also encompasses the far too common crowdfunding pleas we all see cropping up these days. These crowdfunding pleas are for everything from help paying medical or veterinary bills to attempts to get donors to fund dream vacations and honeymoons. Or they can even be to just fix the project runner’s car.

Without perks or presales, there are no UCC considerations. But there can be questions from state governments if a charity raises funds via crowdfunding and then someone just pockets the money. After all, the government wants to know if charities are on the up and up.

What frustrates you the most about funding your business in a recession? Tell us in the comments.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Bootstrapping

In the absence of crowdfunding, startup founders often used bootstrapping to get their projects off the ground.

Bootstrapping is just the use of personal finances to fund a new company. The biggest advantage to bootstrapping is that a business owner does not have to give up any ownership in the company.

The biggest disadvantage, of course, is the loss of a life’s savings is a very real possibility. Crowdfunding in particular is meant as a means of minimizing bootstrapping. But it probably will never eliminate it entirely.

Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession: Takeaways

Crowdfunding is an interesting method of raising money for a business. But it has its own rules and methods. There are potential pitfalls along the way. Crowdfunding can, at times, feel like the wild, wild west.

But at least with these crowdfunding terms you should know in a recession, you can be more prepared to handle anything crowdfunding throws at you. And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments section of this blog post.

The post Crowdfunding Terms You Should Know in a Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

Get to Know the Main Business Credit Scores from Equifax Loans

Are you looking for Equifax loans? Equifax is not an actual lender. But what they score will be one of the reasons whether your business can borrow money at all. So consider Equifax loans and scores. Because they are vital parts of the decision making process when it comes to borrowing money or getting credit for your business.

But first, it helps to consider what business credit actually is.

What is Business Credit? How Does it Relate to Equifax Loans?

Business credit is credit which is in the name of a business. It is not tied to the owner’s creditworthiness or Social Security Number. Instead, business credit scores depend on how well a company can pay its bills. Consumer and business credit scores can vary dramatically.

What are the Biggest Business Credit Reporting Agencies?

When you are looking at Equifax loans, then you should be looking at business credit reporting agencies. There are three large business CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax. There is also the FICO SBSS business score.

Equifax Funding Data

The company gets its data from a data sharing agreement with the Small Business Exchange, and Net 30 type industry trade credit information from a wide variety of suppliers. These suppliers provide products and services to businesses on an invoice basis.

Equifax Financial Report Details and Scores

Equifax has a few main scores:

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services; plus the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers
The Small Business Failure Risk Score
The Payment Trend, and the Payment Index

Check out a sample Equifax business credit report at assets.equifax.com/assets/usis/small_business_sample_credit_report.pdf.

What is the Purpose of Equifax Loans Scores?

It is a good idea to explore the purpose of scores. Scores answer one basic question: How likely is a business to go severely delinquent in its payments? The score is an indication of whether a company is likely to make late payments.

Equifax’s Credit Risk Scores for Equifax Loans

It is time to consider Equifax Credit Risk scores.

The key factors are:

Evidence of Non-Financial Trades Ever Cycle 2+ Delinquent or Charge-Off
Length of Time Since Oldest Financial Account Opened Suggests Lower Risk
Available Credit Limit on Revolving Trades Suggests Lower Risk, and
Company Size (Number of Employees)

Any of these can suggest lower risk.

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services

Check out the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services. The Business Credit Risk Score predicts the likelihood of a business incurring a 90 days severe delinquency, or charge-off over the next 12 months. So the score ranges from 101 to 992. A lower score indicates higher risk.

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers

Compare with the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers. This score predicts severe delinquency or change-offs, on supplier accounts, or bankruptcy within 12 months. So its scores range from 101 to 816.

The Small Business Failure Score

Check out the Small Business Failure Risk Score. So this score runs from 1000 to 1880. Higher scores mean a business is less likely to fail.

Key Factors

The key factors for the Small Business Failure Score are:

Length of Time Since Oldest Financial Account Opened Suggests Lower Risk
Total Balance to Total Current Credit Limit Average Utilization in Prior 3 Months Suggests Higher Risk
Worst Payment Status on All Trades in the Prior 24 Months Suggests Higher Risk, and
Evidence of Non-Financial Trades for two or more Cycles Historically

Any of these can help to determine Equifax loans decisions.

Details on the Small Business Failure Score

Let’s look at the Small Business Failure Score. The Business Failure Score predicts the likelihood of a business failing through either formal or informal bankruptcy over the next 12 months. So the score ranges from 1000 to 1610. A lower score indicates higher risk.

Payment Trend

So check out the Payment Trend. The Payment Trend shows a twelve month payment trend. This is in comparison to the industry norm. It measures the average days beyond terms by date reported. So this is for non-financial accounts only.

Trended Data

Equifax is using trended data to help its customers make lending and credit decisions. Because trended data helps businesses to identify those more likely to default or declare bankruptcy. And it helps them to monitor on-going account activities. So it also helps them to refine and monitor underwriting and modeling strategies. And it helps to predict propensity to pay. And it helps identify abnormal spending patterns to mitigate fraud and reduce delinquency.

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

What is the Equifax Loans Payment Index?

Let’s look at the Payment Index. The Payment Index compares payments to the industry norm.

90 or better means Paid as Agreed. So 80 to 89 means one to 30 days overdue. 60 to 79 means 31 to 60 days overdue.

40 to 59 means 61 to 90 days overdue. So 20 to 39 means 91 to 120 days overdue. And one to 19 means 120 or more days overdue.

Equifax Loans Business Credit Scores are Combined with Consumer Scores

Equifax is blending scores with consumer scores. And Equifax offers a blended option. It is for the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services and the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers. Both of these scores can be used with commercial-only data or commercial and consumer credit data.

A For-Instance

For example, the blended option for the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services uses consumer credit information on the business owner, principal, or guarantor. It adds this information to public records, firmographics, and supplier credit history data. It also combined with lease payment and banking information.

Equifax Loans Business Credit Reports

Consider Equifax business credit reports. An Equifax business credit report also includes information on the percent of utilization. But this is for financial accounts only. So this is the amount of credit in use. And then that figure is divided by the total amount of available credit.

An Equifax business credit report also includes information from public records. This includes bankruptcies, judgments, and liens.

An Equifax business credit report also includes information on any recent inquiries. It also shows whether the company has any alternate names, and if there is a DBA.

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

How You Can Navigate and Improve your Equifax Business Credit Report

Let’s look at your actual Equifax business credit report. It divides into sections. Here’s a sample Business Credit Advantage report: https://sbcr.experian.com/pdp.aspx?pg=Sample-BcaP&ftr=nolinksCloseButton&hdr=reportPopup&link=5558

Company Identifying Information

The first part is devoted to identifying information about your company, e. g. the business name, and its address and telephone number, but also details such as whether or not your small business is incorporated, and the date you first went into business. This area will also consist of the number of employees and your company’s annual sales. This sector will additionally display if there are any alerts. So it is at the top.

Scores

The following portion consists of two scores:

Your business credit score and
Your financial stability risk rating

Credit Summary

In the summary component, the report shows the number of your business’s tradeline accounts, and the number of business inquiries. It also has your total outstanding balance, and any derogatory information such as liens, judgments, and bankruptcies. If there are any specific tax liens or the like, those are specified further down in the report. And it has the single greatest amount of credit extended, the median amount of credit extended, and the highest and lowest open 6 month balances.

Payment Trend Summary

So this next piece is a number of graphs regarding your payment trends over time.

Trade Payment Information, Inquiries, Collection Filings and Summary

These sections offer more information about the above sections. Also, they contain dates and balances. The Trade Payment Information portion also contains the terms you are paying to various supplier categories.

Commercial Banking, Insurance, Leasing

Next are the specifics on your bank accounts, insurance accounts, and any leases your business is obligated to pay back.

Judgment Filings and Tax Filings

So these two portions show the specifics about any tax liens and judgements against your business.

Hence the details include date, jurisdiction or location, and liability amounts.

UCC Filings and UCC Filings Summary

A Uniform Commercial Code filing is often a part of getting a loan or having credit extended to a business.

These sections have all the details on any UCC filings as against your business. These details include the date, the filing jurisdiction, and the name of the party holding the lien.

Score Improvement Tips

So Equifax offers tips to improve your score. These include urging businesses to negotiate net 30 terms and pay their debts on time. Tips also include keeping your credit utilization within reason and length of credit history.

Furthermore, the end of a typical report gives information on how to dispute any errors.

Equifax Loans: Takeaways

Equifax has five main business credit scores. These are:

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services
Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers
Also, the Small Business Failure Risk Score; Payment Trend, and
the Payment Index

An Equifax financial report will also contain information on public records and more.

While there is technically nothing known as Equifax loans, all of the Equifax funding information you could ever want is in their reports.

The post Get to Know the Main Business Credit Scores from Equifax Loans appeared first on Credit Suite.

Get to Know the Main Business Credit Scores from Equifax Loans

But first, it helps to consider what business credit actually is.

What is Business Credit? How Does it Relate to Equifax Loans?

What are the Biggest Business Credit Reporting Agencies?

Equifax Funding Data

Equifax Financial Report Details and Scores

Equifax has a few main scores:

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services; plus the Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers
The Small Business Failure Risk Score
The Payment Trend, and the Payment Index

Check out a sample Equifax business credit report at assets.equifax.com/assets/usis/small_business_sample_credit_report.pdf.

What is the Purpose of Equifax Loans Scores?

Equifax’s Credit Risk Scores for Equifax Loans

It is time to consider Equifax Credit Risk scores.

The key factors are:

Evidence of Non-Financial Trades Ever Cycle 2+ Delinquent or Charge-Off
Length of Time Since Oldest Financial Account Opened Suggests Lower Risk
Available Credit Limit on Revolving Trades Suggests Lower Risk, and
Company Size (Number of Employees)

Any of these can suggest lower risk.

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers

The Small Business Failure Score

Check out the Small Business Failure Risk Score. So this score runs from 1000 to 1880. Higher scores mean a business is less likely to fail.

Key Factors

The key factors for the Small Business Failure Score are:

Length of Time Since Oldest Financial Account Opened Suggests Lower Risk
Total Balance to Total Current Credit Limit Average Utilization in Prior 3 Months Suggests Higher Risk
Worst Payment Status on All Trades in the Prior 24 Months Suggests Higher Risk, and
Evidence of Non-Financial Trades for two or more Cycles Historically

Any of these can help to determine Equifax loans decisions.

Details on the Small Business Failure Score

Payment Trend

Trended Data

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

What is the Equifax Loans Payment Index?

Let’s look at the Payment Index. The Payment Index compares payments to the industry norm.

90 or better means Paid as Agreed. So 80 to 89 means one to 30 days overdue. 60 to 79 means 31 to 60 days overdue.

40 to 59 means 61 to 90 days overdue. So 20 to 39 means 91 to 120 days overdue. And one to 19 means 120 or more days overdue.

Equifax Loans Business Credit Scores are Combined with Consumer Scores

A For-Instance

Equifax Loans Business Credit Reports

An Equifax business credit report also includes information from public records. This includes bankruptcies, judgments, and liens.

An Equifax business credit report also includes information on any recent inquiries. It also shows whether the company has any alternate names, and if there is a DBA.

Learn more here and start building business credit with your company’s EIN, not your SSN.

How You Can Navigate and Improve your Equifax Business Credit Report

Company Identifying Information

Scores

The following portion consists of two scores:

Your business credit score and
Your financial stability risk rating

Credit Summary

Payment Trend Summary

So this next piece is a number of graphs regarding your payment trends over time.

Trade Payment Information, Inquiries, Collection Filings and Summary

Commercial Banking, Insurance, Leasing

Next are the specifics on your bank accounts, insurance accounts, and any leases your business is obligated to pay back.

Judgment Filings and Tax Filings

So these two portions show the specifics about any tax liens and judgements against your business.

Hence the details include date, jurisdiction or location, and liability amounts.

UCC Filings and UCC Filings Summary

A Uniform Commercial Code filing is often a part of getting a loan or having credit extended to a business.

These sections have all the details on any UCC filings as against your business. These details include the date, the filing jurisdiction, and the name of the party holding the lien.

Score Improvement Tips

Furthermore, the end of a typical report gives information on how to dispute any errors.

Equifax Loans: Takeaways

Equifax has five main business credit scores. These are:

The Small Business Credit Risk Score for Financial Services
Small Business Credit Risk Score for Suppliers
Also, the Small Business Failure Risk Score; Payment Trend, and
the Payment Index

An Equifax financial report will also contain information on public records and more.

While there is technically nothing known as Equifax loans, all of the Equifax funding information you could ever want is in their reports.

The post Get to Know the Main Business Credit Scores from Equifax Loans appeared first on Credit Suite.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Capital Loans and Were Too Embarrassed to Ask

Asking questions can be scary. It makes us feel vulnerable. Some feel it’s a sign of weakness. The truth is, you don’t know what you don’t know. What you don’t know, really can hurt you, and the only way to get in the know, is to ask. Here are some things you need to know about capital loans.

Your Questions About Capital Loans Answered

This type of loan is a mainstay in the business lending world. However, if you are new to running your own business, you may be confused by some of the terms commonly thrown around.

What Are Capital Loans? What Even is Capital?

In the simplest terms, capital refers to the assets of the business that go on the balance sheet. So, capital loans are loans for funds that are to be used to either start a business or be reinvested in a business. This could be for expansion, improvements, and more. Basically, this is money you would spend on those things that go under long-term assets on the balance sheet. It’s money that is to be reinvested in the business, or used to buy an existing business or start a new business.

What is Working Capital?

Working capital is money you use to run your business from day to day. It is still money that is reinvested in the business, but it isn’t used on long-term assets. Rather, the funds go toward the daily ins and outs of running a business, like payroll, utilities expense, and more.

Credit Line Hybrid Financing: Get up to $150,000 in financing so your business can thrive.

Which Do I Need? Capital Loans vs. Working Capital?

Now that you understand the difference, you may be asking yourself which you need. Do you need capital loans or working capital? I imagine the gears are turning in your head right now trying to figure it out. If you want startup capital, or if you need to invest in something big, you need capital loans. If you need funds to handle regular expenses, that means you need working capital. Sometimes this is easy to determine, but sometimes it isn’t so cut and dry.

Where Can I Get Capital Loans If I Have Bad Credit?

That depends on how bad your credit is. If it’s above 680, Small Business Administration loan programs may be an option. Try these to start:

SBA Options

Here are some options The Small Business Administration offers for capital loans and working capital.

7(a) Loans

This is arguably the most popular of the SBA loan programs out there. Mainly, this is because it offers federally funded term loans up to $5 million. The funds can be used for a number of things including expansion, purchasing equipment, working capital and more. Banks, credit unions, and other specialized institutions, in partnership with the SBA, process these loans and disburse the funds.

The minimum credit score to qualify is 680. That’s not exactly a bad credit score, but is it less than what you need to get most traditional loans without an SBA guarantee. Also, there is a required down payment of at least 10% for the purchase of a business, commercial real estate, or equipment. Lastly, the minimum time in business is 2 years. In the case of startups, business experience equivalent to two years will do the trick.

Funds are available for a wide variety of projects, including capital projects.

504 Loans

These loans are available up to $5 million. They can be used to buy machinery, facilities, or land. These are all capital projects. Private sector lenders or nonprofits process and disburse these loans. They especially work well for commercial real estate purchases.

Terms for 504 Loans range from 10 to 20 years. Unfortunately, funding can take from 30 to 90 days. They require a minimum credit score of 680, and collateral is the asset the loan is financing. Furthermore, there is a down payment requirement of 10%, which can increase to 15% for a new business.

Also, you be in business for at least 2 years, or management must have equivalent experience if the business is a startup.

SBA CAPLine

There are 4 distinct CAPLine programs offered by the SBA. They differ mostly in the expenses they can fund. These CAPLInes are designed to help businesses meet short-term or cyclical working capital needs. Each of them goes up to $5 million. Furthermore, the interest rate for each ranges from 7% to 10%. Again, funding can take 45 to 90 days.

The four different programs are:

Seasonal CAPLines

This is financing for businesses preparing for a seasonal increase in sales.

Contract CAPLines

Financing for businesses that need funding to fill a contract.

Builder’s CAPLines

Financing for businesses taking on a real estate or construction project.

Working Capital CAPLines

Financing for businesses that are struggling with a short-term slump in sales.

The minimum credit score to qualify for these is also 680. However, there is no minimum time in business requirement unless you are getting a seasonal CAPLine. You have to be in business at least one year to get that one.

Capital Loans and Private Lenders

Private lenders are another option for capital loans and working capital if your credit isn’t the best.

Upstart

Upstart is an innovative online lender. The company itself questions the ability of financial information and FICO on their own to determine the true risk of lending to a specific borrower. Instead, they choose to use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to gather alternative data. They then use this data to help them make credit decisions.

This alternative data can 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. Typically, business loans are available ranging from $1,000 to $50,000.

To be eligible for a loan with Upstart, you must meet the following qualifications:

Credit score of 620+
No bankruptcies or negative public records
No delinquent accounts
Meet debt to income standards (they only note they will check this ratio, not what their standards are.)
Have fewer than 6 inquiries in the past 6 months on your credit report, not including those related to student loans, vehicle loans, or mortgages

Fora Financial

Lending Club

Popular online lender Lending Club offers term loans. Business loans from $5,000 to $300,000. The loan terms are 1 to 5 years. You can get a quote in less than 5 minutes. Funds are available in as little as 48 hours if approved. There are no prepayment penalties. Annual Revenue must be $75,000 or more, and you must be in business for at least 2 years. Also, a personal FICO score of at least 620 is necessary.

Quarter Spot

Quarter Spot is an online lender that offers short term loans. $5,000 to $150,000 is available.

Your company must have annual revenue of $200,000 or more, and there is no fee to apply.

The minimum time in business is 12 months. There is a required minimum average bank balance of $20,000, and you have to show a minimum of $16,000 in monthly sales. The borrower must own at least 50% of the business as well.

OnDeck

OnDeck offers short term loans and lines of credit. For short term loans, amounts are available from $5,000 to $250,000 with terms of 3 to 24 months.

Credit Line Hybrid Financing: Get up to $150,000 in financing so your business can thrive.

You must have annual revenue of $100,000 or more. In addition, your personal FICO Score has to be 600 or better. In addition, there is a time in business requirement of at least 3 years.

Kiva

Kiva is an online lender that is a little different. For example, the interest rate is 0%, so even though you have to pay it back it is absolutely free money. They don’t even check your credit. However, there is one catch. You have to get at least 5 family members or friends to throw some money in the pot as well. In addition, you have to pitch in a $25 loan to another business on the platform.

Are There Other Ways to Fund Capital?

Yes, there are. One of the newest options out there today is the credit line hybrid. A credit line hybrid is basically revolving, unsecured financing. It allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use.

Who Qualifies for a Credit Line Hybrid?

You do need good personal credit. Your personal credit score should be at least 685. This is lower than what is required for many traditional loans, especially for the lower interest rate options.

In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Furthermore, in the past 6 months you should have less 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.

If you do not meet all of the requirements, don’t sweat it. 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.

What Makes a Credit Line Hybrid so Great?

There are many benefits to using a credit line hybrid. First, it is unsecured, meaning you do not have to have any collateral to put up. Next, the funding is “no-doc.” This means you do not have to provide any bank statements or financials.

Not only that, but typically approval is up to 5x that of the highest credit limit on the personal credit report. Additionally, often you can get interest rates as low as 0% for the first few months, allowing you to put that savings back into your business.

The process is quick, especially with an expert guide to walk you through it. One other benefit is, with the approval for multiple credit cards, competition is created. This makes it easier, and likely even if you handle the credit responsibly, that you can get interest rates lowered and limits raised every few months.

A credit line hybrid can work well as either a straight capital loan or for working capital. Once you have it, you can use it as needed for whatever opportunities come your way.

Am I Eligible for Capital Loans Right Now?

There is more to eligibility than credit score. The key to eligibility for capital loans is to have overall fundability. What’s that? In short, it’s the ability of your business to get funding. It encompasses so many things however, it can be hard to get your arms around.

One thing that doesn’t change is, the first step in having a fundable business is in how you set that business up. For example, you shouldn’t use your own phone number and address. Your business needs a separate phone number and address. You also need to get an EIN to use on credit applications rather than using your SSN to apply for credit.

Credit Line Hybrid Financing: Get up to $150,000 in financing so your business can thrive.

A separate, dedicated bank account is another must when it comes to fundability. Even more important, you must incorporate. That’s non-negotiable. It is necessary to separate your business from yourself personally and it helps your business gain more credibility with lenders as one that is legitimate. This is just a taste of what can affect fundability. There is so much more.

Capital Loans: Now You Know

Sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know. Maybe some of these are questions you never thought to ask. Applying for loans can be daunting, especially when you feel like you will never qualify. These options for capital loans can help, and in the meantime, work on fundability. With strong fundability, your business will never be without the funding it needs to survive and thrive.

The post Everything You Wanted to Know About Capital Loans and Were Too Embarrassed to Ask appeared first on Credit Suite.

10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding You Should Know About, Part 2

Check Out These 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding You Should Know About

These 10 crowdfunding platforms for recession funding have been catching our eye lately.

Have you been thinking of crowdfunding your business? There are several recession crowdfunding platforms out there with differing requirements. These are the recession crowdfunding platforms you should know.

Getting working capital to grow your business doesn’t have to be hard. Many companies these days turn to recession crowdfunding platforms. A lot of these options will work for startup ventures. The last 5 of our top 10 crowdfunding platforms for recession funding are a bit more obscure. But first, here are a few tips to help you with your campaign.

Quick Tips About Crowdfunding: Your Campaign

Your campaign’s success is far from guaranteed. But you can capitalize on a few proven approaches. First off, consider these four emotions that you need to engender in donors. Use one or more of them as the focal point of your campaign as a starting point.

Scarcity

If you have thousands of something or other to supply as a perk, it will not be as desirable. If you only have a few copies of a specific perk, that will instill a feeling in some potential donors that they just have to have it. Do this with your larger donation levels only. Therefore, you might want to establish a perk/donation level system similar to this:

Donation Level	Number of Perks
Lowest	1,000
Second lowest	500 (reward also incorporates lowest level reward)
Second highest	50 (reward also includes two lower level rewards)
Highest	10 (reward also incorporates all other levels’ rewards)

Remember: a lot of variety in physical perks will make fulfillment a lot harder, so don’t work with greater than maybe five separate varieties of physical perks– and even that is pushing it.

Building scarcity into your perk tiers is a great way to add perceived value to the perks which attach to your higher level donations.

Urgency

The first two and last two days of a crowdfunding campaign are pretty much always the days with the biggest payoffs. Often, making the campaign longer doesn’t make you significantly more money. So why not open a campaign for only a week? Do not let donors feel they can contribute any old time they feel like it.

Novelty

If you are offering the same old thing as a thousand other places, no one will want to make a donation. Your widget has got to be hotter, cheaper, lighter, or more resilient. Your food should be reduced in calories or higher in nutrition or better-tasting. Or your professional services need to be delivered better or quicker, by friendlier and more skilled employees. And they should come with a money back guarantee your competition does not provide.

Not sure about your own personal creativity? Then talk to creative people you know, and listen to what they say. They might have amazing ideas and it certainly never hurts to ask.

Cool factor

Is your product a work of art? Is it a new, gadget-like innovation? Then it may have a coolness aspect which you can construct your campaign around. But do not be discouraged if it isn’t! These days, some of the most unforgettable advertising campaigns are based around a product the majority of people found uninspiring not ten years ago– insurance.

So house flipping could boast a cool factor if you show off flipping in a neighborhood where a celebrity lives or once lived. A nail shop can show off coolness with exciting new designs not found anywhere else. And a long haul trucking company can showcase a cool factor with some of the more unusual products you’ve hauled.

Quick Tips About Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding Strategy

A few words on strategy:

Your Pitch Video Must be Great

Use an expert to film it and develop the script. Can’t pay for experts? Then try schools, both pupils and educators. Your script doesn’t need to be verbatim but you should have points you wish to make and not babble. Write a script and stay with it. This is not the right time to ad-lib.

If You Have Tangible Evidence of Your Project, then Show it

Put it in your campaign video and on your campaign page. A number of people are naturally doubtful about crowdfunding. An image and a tangible thing will go a long way to assuring them that your project isn’t vaporware.

Manners Matter

Say please, thank you, and you’re welcome to everyone. Use these magic words in your pitch and in your communications with your donors, even in the cover letters you deliver with your perks (even internet perks can include a cover email). You don’t need to be servile, but you absolutely must be diplomatic.

Stretch Goals Should be a Combination of Readily Achievable and Pie in the Sky

If you are crowdfunding for $100,000, a reasonably easy to attain stretch goal is $125,000. Pie in the sky going to be more like $300,000.

Make it abundantly clear what you will do with any added money if you are fortunate enough to get it. Will you buy the property your startup is in? Employ five more people? Replace your old equipment? Launch a brand-new market on another continent? Let your donors know what you are pursuing, so they can dream with you.

Be Gracious if Your Campaign Fails

You may not receive enough to make an appreciable dent in your funding requirements. So give your donors a stake in and an inside look at your business. This will enable them to feel invested. Even if your crowdfunding campaign concludes does not mean a donor cannot send a check or buy extra goods or services. If that happens, then politeness is essential.

Line up the Most Significant and Most Dependable Donors You Can Before You Start

Tell these people to postpone handing over their $1,000 or $10,000 donation till you start your campaign.

And ask them (nicely!) to release their donation during either the first or last day of the campaign.

Make the most of the novelty factor of the first day of the campaign, or the urgency factor of the very last. Just like a busker with a couple of her own bucks in her hat, to motivate people to toss in a few bucks for a song, you want your biggest donors to show other donors that they believe in you and in your project. And you also want them to suggest your other donors that they had best get in on investing in your startup before the opportunity ends.

Share Your Campaign on Social Media

And ask your family and friends to do so, too. Tweet the link. Incorporate it as a Facebook status. Make it a Tumblr post or a snap on Snapchat or create a blog post about it. Ask your network to publicize the link.

The most effective technique to get your network to help you out is by helping them in return. If your relative’s rock band is on Facebook, share their page, or tweet about it.

Be a collaborative member of your own personal network. Then your contacts will be more likely to help you out when you ask.

And rerun these social media postings. Considering time zones and our all-too hectic lives, people may not see your message the first time around. Mix it up and deliver it at odd hours. You can oftentimes use scheduling software such as Hootsuite for this. This includes what is the middle of the night where you live.

In Part 1, we covered 5 great crowdfunding sites you should have on your radar. Here are 5 more to round out 10 crowdfunding platforms for recession funding you should know about. But now we’re going a little more obscure.

More About Our Favorite 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding: 6. GoGetFunding

GoGetFunding has been around since 2011. It lets fundraisers keep the money they raise, whether they meet their target or not. Flexible funding can be a great option if your company is a somewhat unproven idea and you are unsure whether you will be able to meet your funding needs.

GoGetFunding charges a fee of 6.9%. This somewhat high fee includes both the platform fee and the payment processing fee. Hence this option is actually somewhat more cost-effective than many other crowdfunding options.

What frustrates you the most about funding your business? Tell us in the comments.

More About Our Favorite 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding: 7. Crowdfunder

Crowdfunder works as what’s called equity crowdfunding. This is where investors purchase equity in promising companies.

Crowdfunder treats its campaigns as deals, and its donors as ‘investors’. Pay a one-time fee to make your campaign discoverable.

Starter listings are $299/month. Premium listings are $499/month. Premium Plus is $999/month.

Types of business which cannot use Crowdfunder include:

Guns/Firearms
Tobacco/Cigarettes/Cannabis
Pyramid Marketing
Adult Products & Entertainment
Gambling
Contests and Raffles
Illegal Substances/Drugs

More About Our Favorite 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding: 8. Fundable

Fundable is a business crowdfunding platform which lets companies raise capital from investors, customers, and friends. Create an equity or a rewards-based campaign.

In their first year, they generated over $80 million in funding commitments.

Fundable allows equity campaigns.

They charge $179 per month to fundraise. Fees on rewards are: 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction. They do not charge success fees.

More About Our Favorite 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding: 9. AngelList

At AngelList, you can invest in a startup or even get a job at one. So it can be, essentially, an index fund for startups. Hence if a larger, established company wanted to offer retirement investment opportunities geared to investing in startup companies, AngelList would be a place where they could go.

Hence AngelList is not exactly a business crowdfunding site. Rather, it is a way to connect investors to an array of startup investment opportunities. So investors can try for returns on FinTech or even cryptocurrencies. One of their better-known investments is a business administration site called HoneyBook.

What frustrates you the most about funding your business? Tell us in the comments.

More About Our Favorite 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding: 10. Fundly

Not quite one of our 10 crowdfunding platforms for recession funding, Fundly does allow for crowdfunding for creative ventures. Therefore, if your business has a creative bent, you might find a home there.

Fundly imposes no minimum amount to fundraise in order to keep any raised funds. You can generally withdraw payments within 24 – 48 hours of the donation. They also allow for automatic and scheduled transfers. It is free to create and share an online fundraising campaign.

However, Fundly will deduct a 4.9% fee from each donation you get. A credit card processing fee of 3% is also taken out from each donation. Plus there are nonspecific automatic discounts for larger campaigns.

What frustrates you the most about funding your business? Tell us in the comments.

Takeaways

So for small business owners who want to crowdfund, it pays (quite literally!) to read the fine print. Large and well-known sites such as Kickstarter may get more attention from donors. This is often because they are better known. However, smaller sites on our list of 10 crowdfunding platforms for recession funding – like Fundable – might offer better rates and more personal service.

In the end, though, it is all about the funding. This is true for all of the recession crowdfunding platforms you should know. If your company can meet its goal, then any platform is going to be terrific. If your business cannot, then you will probably do better looking for another form of funding. This includes building business credit. Discover this new way to get funding for your business.

The post 10 Crowdfunding Platforms for Recession Funding You Should Know About, Part 2 appeared first on Credit Suite.

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards Every Entrepreneur Should Know About

Grab these Amazing 7 Credit Cards for Business and Beat Your Competition AND the Recession!

Every entrepreneur should know about these 7 recession-beating credit cards for business! Despite COVID-19, you can get these cards!

Business Credit Card Benefits

Benefits can vary. So, make sure to choose the benefit you would like from this selection of alternatives.

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Brex Card for Startups

Look into the Brex Card for Startups. It has no annual fee.

You will not need to provide your Social Security number to apply. And you will not need to provide a personal guarantee. They will take your EIN.

Nonetheless, they do not accept every industry.

Additionally, there are some industries they will not work with, and others where they want added documentation. For a list, go here: https://brex.com/legal/prohibited_activities/.

To determine creditworthiness, Brex checks a corporation’s cash balance, spending patterns, and investors.

You can get 7x points on rideshare. Get 4x on Brex Travel. Also, get triple points on restaurants. And get double points on recurring software payments. Get 1x points on everything else.

You can have bad credit (even a 300 FICO) to qualify.

Find it here: https://brex.com/lp/startups-higher-limits/

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business

Take a look at the Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business. It has no yearly fee. There is no introductory APR offer. The regular APR is a variable 24.49%. You can earn unlimited 1% cash back on every purchase for your company, without minimum to redeem.

While this card is within reach if you have fair credit, beware of the APR. Yet if you can pay on schedule, and in full, then it’s a good deal.

Find it here: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-classic/

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card

Check out the Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card. Beyond no annual fee, get an introductory 0% APR for the initial 12 months. After that, the APR is a variable 14.74 – 20.74%.

You can get unlimited 1.5% Cash Back rewards on every purchase made for your business. And get $500 bonus cash back after spending $3,000 in the initial three months from account opening. You can redeem your rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more using Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You will need outstanding credit scores to qualify for this card.

Find it here: https://creditcards.chase.com/business-credit-cards/ink/unlimited

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Capital One ® Spark® Cash for Business

Check out the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business. It has an introductory $0 yearly fee for the initial year. After that, this card costs $95 annually. There is no introductory APR offer. The regular APR is a variable 18.49%.

You can get a $500 one-time cash bonus after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. Get unlimited 2% cash back. Redeem any time without minimums.

You will need great to exceptional credit scores to qualify.

Find it here: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash/

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: The Plum Card® from American Express

Take a look at the Plum Card® from American Express. It has an initial annual fee of $0 for the first year. Afterwards, pay $250 annually.

Get a 1.5% early pay discount cash back bonus when you pay within 10 days. You can take up to 60 days to pay without interest when you pay the minimum due by the payment due date.

You will need great to excellent credit scores to qualify.

Find it here: https://creditcard.americanexpress.com/d/the-plum-card-business-charge-card/

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business

Take a look at the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business. It has no annual fee. You can get 1.5% cash back on every purchase. There is no limit on the cash back you can get. Also earn a one-time $200 cash bonus as soon as you spend $3,000 on purchases in the initial three months. Rewards never expire.

Pay a 0% introductory APR for 9 months. Then pay 14.49% – 22.49% variable APR after that.

You will need great to superb credit to qualify.

Find it here: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business: Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card

For a great sign-up offer and bonus categories, check out the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card.

Pay an annual fee of $95. Regular APR is 17.49 – 22.49%, variable. There is no introductory APR offer.

Get 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 in the initial 3 months after account opening. This works out to $1,250 toward travel rewards if you redeem using Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Get three points per dollar of the first $150,000 you spend with this card. So this is for purchases on travel, shipping, internet, cable, and phone services. Plus it includes advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.

You can get 25% more in travel redemption when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You will need a great to excellent FICO score to qualify.

Find it here: https://creditcards.chase.com/business-credit-cards/ink/business-preferred

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards for Business (Bonus 8^th Card): Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World MasterCard® credit card

For no yearly fee while still getting travel rewards, check out this card from Bank of America. It has no yearly fee and a 0% introductory APR for purchases during the first nine billing cycles. Afterwards, its regular APR is 13.74 – 23.74% variable.

You can get 30,000 bonus points when you make at least $3,000 in net purchases. So this is within 90 days of your account opening. You can redeem these points for a $300 statement credit towards travel purchases.

Earn unlimited 1.5 points for each $1 you spend on all purchases, everywhere, every time. And this is regardless of how much you spend.

Likewise earn 3 points per every dollar spent when you schedule your travel (car, hotel, airline) through the Bank of America® Travel Center. There is no limit to the number of points you can get and points do not expire.

You will need outstanding credit scores to get this one (as in, 700s or better).

Find it here: https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/credit-cards/products/travel-rewards-business-credit-card/

Your Best Credit Cards

Your very best 7 recession-beating credit cards for business will hinge upon your credit history and scores. Only you can determine which advantages you want and need, so be sure to do your research. And, as always, make certain to build credit in the recommended order for the max, fastest benefits. The COVID-19 situation will not last forever.

The post 7 Recession-Beating Credit Cards Every Entrepreneur Should Know About appeared first on Credit Suite.

Beat the Economic Downturn With Credit Score Hacks Every Business Owner Should Know

It’s looking a lot like the novel coronavirus is leading to an economic downturn. But you can still hack a great business credit score. Here’s how.

Do You Know These Credit Score Hacks? They’re Even More Important in an Economic Downturn!

Economic downturn got you down? Beat the recession with these credit score hacks for every business owner.

Establishing business credit means that your firm acquires chances you never believed you would. You can get all-new equipment, bid on buildings, and cover the company payroll. And you can do so even when times are a bit lean. This is especially helpful in holiday firms, where you can go for months with simply negligible sales.

Because of this, you need to focus on building your company credit. Improve and maintain your scores and you will have these chances. Do not, and either you do not get these business opportunities, or they will set you back you a lot more. And no entrepreneur wants that. You need to understand what affects your company credit before you can make it better.

Recession Period Financing

The number of US banks and thrifts has been decreasing gradually for a quarter of a century. This is from consolidation in the marketplace along with deregulation in the 1990s, reducing barriers to interstate banking. See: https://www.fundera.com/blog/happened-americas-small-businesses-financial-crisis-six-years-start-crisis-look-back-10-charts

Assets focused in ever‐larger financial institutions is problematic for local business owners. Big banks are a lot less likely to make small loans. Economic recessions suggest financial institutions become extra mindful with lending. The good news is, business credit does not rely upon financial institutions.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Your Payment History is Important

Late payments will impact your small business credit score for a good seven years. You will need to pay your business debts off, as fast as possible and as fully as possible. If you are able to do so, then you can make a very real difference when it concerns your credit scores. Make certain to pay without delay and you will enjoy the rewards of punctuality.

And pay your personal debts off as fast as possible. Pay them off in full if you can. Check Hack #3 for why this is so vital.

Your payment patterns and history are a driving force in your overall credit score. Over time, paying your bills on schedule will help establish your company as one that pays their financial obligations. This will undoubtedly help push your rating up and show other business you are a low risk.

If you pay attention to none of the other credit score hacks, you will still do well to practice this one.

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Keep Your Debt-to-Income Ratio in Check

Credit utilization rate just means the amount of cash you have on credit which is then divided by your total available credit.

The more debt you have on your plate, the more invoices you have, as well as the less disposable income you have. If your total debt approaches or surpasses your income level, then you’re probably to be seen as high-risk.

Keep your debts in check and regularly pay them off to maintain a healthy balance between what you make and what you owe.

Lenders commonly do not wish to see this exceed 30%. So for every $100 in credit, do not borrow on more than $30 of that. If this percent is rising, you’ll need to spend down. And be sure to work off your financial obligations ahead of borrowing more.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Your Personal Credit Can Have an Effect on Your Corporate Credit

Are you having a bad business year? Then it could end up on your consumer credit score. And in case your small business has not been in existence for too long, it will directly impact your corporate credit.

Nonetheless, you can unlink the two by taking measures to split up them. Open a separate bank account just for the business. And use your business credit cards for your business only. The same is true in reverse – don’t use your personal credit to pay business expenses.

Keep this up, and the credit reporting agencies will start to treat your personal and small business credit separately.

Also, make sure to incorporate. Or at least file a DBA (doing business as) status. You can also take care of your company’s invoices with your company credit card or checking account, and make certain it is the company’s full name on the bill and not your own.

Your own personal credit is fair game when it concerns your Intelliscore Plus rating. Running a company is hard work, yet don’t let your personal finances suffer. Make certain that you remain on top of your personal monthly expenses. Stay clear of unnecessary credit inquiries. And do not compromise your personal credit for business needs.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Credit History Length Matters

This is in essence the length of time your firm has been using business credit. Of course newer businesses will have brief credit histories. While there is not a lot you can specifically do about that, do not fret.

Credit reporting bureaus will also take a look at your personal credit score and your own history of payments. If your own personal credit is excellent, and especially if you have a fairly lengthy credit history, then your individual credit can come to the rescue of your business. That is, you did not just get your first credit card recently.

Naturally the opposite is also right– if your personal credit history is poor, then it will impact your corporate credit scores until your company and consumer credit can be split.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: The Credit Reporting Bureaus Can Get it Wrong

Irrespective of what your credit score is, it is crucial that you continue to be thorough and examine your personal and business credit reports. This can help you discover possible issues and stay informed by yourself credit profile.

Just like as each and every organization out there, credit reporting agencies like Equifax and Experian are only as good as their files. If your business’s name is like another’s, or your name is a lot like another business owner’s, there can possibly be some mistakes.

So keep an eye on those reports, and your small business report at Dun & Bradstreet, PAYDEX. Stay on top of these reports and dispute charges with documentation and clear communications. Do not just allow them to stay wrong! You can correct this!

And while you’re at, it you should also be keeping track of the credit reporting bureau which exclusively handles personal and not business credit. So that is TransUnion. If you do not know exactly how to pull a credit report, do not worry. It is easy – just Google to find the links to the CRAs.

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Use Your Credit

Keeping your financial obligations low remains sound advice. Still, opening and responsibly making the most of company credit accounts can help you broaden your available credit and enhance your credit score.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Monitoring Your Business Credit For Less

Know what is happening with your credit. Make sure it is being reported and address any errors ASAP. Get in the practice of taking a look at credit reports. Dig into the specifics, not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs.

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

Update Your Record

Update the data if there are errors or the details 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. So for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to challenge any problems in your records. You can fix mistakes in your credit reports. But the CRAs often want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your 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 inaccuracies usually means you send a paper letter with copies of any proof of payment with it. These are going to be documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never mail the original copies. Always send copies and retain the original copies.

Fixing credit report mistakes also means you specifically detail any charges you contest. Make your dispute letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed 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 inaccuracies on your or your company’s Experian report by following the directions here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp.

And D&B wants you to dispute by phone. So their PAYDEX Customer Service contact number is here: www.dandb.com/glossary/paydex.

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Economic Downturn Credit Score Hacks: Takeaways

Hacks for your business credit score are really a fancy way of saying one thing. Be responsible. Pay your debts on time. Don’t put too much on credit. don’t neglect your personal credit. Keep your accounts open. Jump on any errors you find. Use your credit. Monitor what happens with it. Follow these suggestions and you will be well on your way to an excellent business credit score.

Beat the economic downturn! You can prosper, even now!

Once you know what impacts your small business credit score, you are that much nearer to building improved corporate credit. Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN.

The COVID-19 situation is not going to last forever.

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