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Credit Strong: Read This Before You Sign Up

Credit Strong is a Division of Austin Capital Bank. It offers credit building programs for both personal and business credit. Does it work? Yes, but not on its own. It can be a legitimate part of a credit building system. Is it worth it? The short answer is, it depends. It can, if you handle it properly.

Credit Strong Business Credit Builder

The credit builder program at Credit Strong is an account that combines a cash secured commercial installment loan and a commercial savings bank account. When you open the account, you choose the program you want. There are two different ones when it comes to the business credit builder.

The 5 year plan is $199 per month and the 10 year plan is $115 per month. Both programs report on your business credit report as payment on a $10,000 installment loan. However, you do not receive any loan proceeds.

Rather, the funds from the loan are deposited into the savings account as collateral for the loan.  You can not access the funds in the savings account for the life of the loan. During this time, the loan and payment activity for the loan are reported to commercial credit bureaus.  In turn, you are building the credit profile for your business.

Who Does Credit Strong Report To?

Right now, the business credit builder accounts only report to Equifax and PayNet. They claim plans to expand reporting for commercial credit to Experian and the SBFE soon.  It’s also important to note, they do not do a hard pull, or inquiry, on your personal or business credit. So, just applying for an account will not negatively impact your personal or commercial credit.

Who Qualifies for a Credit Strong Business Credit Builder Account?

To qualify, a company must:

  • Have a registered EIN
  • Be at least 3 months old
  • Be an LLC, Partnership, or Corporation
  • Have a physical U.S. address as your place of business

Individuals must:

  • Have at least 25% ownership of the business and a larger share of ownership than anyone else
  • Have other owner that owns 25% or more of the business individually
  • Be a permanent U.S. resident and at least 18 years of age
  • Have a physical U.S address inside the U.S.
  • Have a valid Social Security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)
  • Possess a valid identification document like a driver’s license, state ID, passport or Permanent Resident Card- AKA a “Green Card”

Also, these accounts are not available in Florida currently, and some industries and activities may be prohibited.

Does Credit Strong Work?

This is a tricky question. In short, the answer is yes. It does help build your business credit score by reporting payments to business credit reporting agencies. It’s a little more complicated than that, however.

First, it takes way more than just one account reporting to build strong business credit. Also, there are more business credit CRAs than just Equifax and PayNet. If a lender pulls your business credit from Dun & Bradstreet or Experian, this account will not even show up. Therefore, it will not affect your business credit score on these reports at all.

That’s not to say the plan doesn’t work.  On the contrary, it can be very helpful. It just won’t work on it’s own. It works better as a part of a complete business credit builder process.

How Do You Get Your Money?

Of course, if you are making deposits into an account that you cannot touch, you are probably wondering how you get access to that money.  After the loan’s balance and outstanding interest is paid, and your account is closed, there is a  processing period of 6 business days before the savings account is unlocked. You can keep the funds in the account or submit a request to the customer support team to transfer the funds.

After the savings account is closed, remaining funds can be sent to the payment method on file via direct deposit.  That is of course, after interest and fees.

Can You Cancel Your Account Early?

What if you can no longer afford the payments? You can close your Credit Strong Business credit builder account at any time.   There is no  prepayment or early termination fee required. To close your account, you will need to pay any outstanding interest and loan balance using your linked payment method.

However, payments more than 30 days late will be reported as “late” to credit bureaus.  Also, using funds from a locked business account to pay off a credit builder loan will result in the loan being reported as “paid out of collateral.”

This is where some customers run into issues. Basically, what happens is, the funds you have in your account are used to pay the loan. It looks the same as if you put up another asset for collateral and the bank took it in payment for the loan. So, be careful. Once you start, it’s best to keep going.

Credit Strong and the Better Business Bureau

Credit Strong has a B rating from the BBB. There are a lot of bad reviews, but they are mostly related to the personal credit builder product. Furthermore, they are typically from customers that did not understand exactly how the product works.

It appears that most thought they could cancel and get the full amount of payments back at any time.  However, what they actually get is the full amount minus interest and fees. It’s important to understand all of the details before entering into any agreement.

Is Credit Strong Legitimate?

Yes, they are a legitimate division of an FDIC bank. They offer a product that can help you build credit in the name of your business. However, that is all it is.  The main benefit is that you build business credit. There are no funds for use. That is what they promise, and that is what you get.

This is a product that can and will help you if you use it properly and understand what you are getting. However, for it to do any good, it must be combined with other accounts that help build business credit as well. How do you get more accounts? The Credit Suite Business Credit Builder can help! It can help you set up properly and find vendor accounts that will help you build business credit and get things that you need for your business. This allows you to use your money, rather than having it locked away.

The post Credit Strong: Read This Before You Sign Up appeared first on Credit Suite.

Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path

These money and investing stories were popular with MarketWatch readers over the past week.

The post Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path appeared first on WE TEACH MONEY LIFE SELF DEFENSE WITH FINANCIAL GOALS IN MIND.

The post Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path

These money and investing stories were popular with MarketWatch readers over the past week.

The post Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path appeared first on WE TEACH MONEY LIFE SELF DEFENSE WITH FINANCIAL GOALS IN MIND.

The post Mutual Funds Weekly: These money and investing tips can help you read the market’s signs and stay on your path appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.Build Business Fundability First

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

The Building Blocks of a Fundable Foundation 

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

Contact Information

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

EIN

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

Incorporate

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

Business Bank Account

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

Licenses

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

Website

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

More Fundability Secrets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Secret Weapon

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

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

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

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

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

4. Apply for Store Credit 

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

  1. 5. Fleet Credit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking for an Online Business Loan? Read this Become.co Review Before You Do Anything Else

Become.co, once known as Lending Express, claims to help businesses get funding even when they have gotten denials elsewhere. But can they do what they say?

An All In Become.co Review

First as Lending Express, and now as Become, this is a company that claims to be able to help businesses get funding when they have not otherwise been able to do so.  What is their secret, and does it really work? We dug deep in order to find out.

Become.co Review: What is Become?

First things first. This is not a lender. Rather, they are more of a lender and borrower dating service.  They collect information from potential borrowers and send it to partner lenders. The lenders then decide whether or not they want to make a financing offer to the would-be borrower. The company spins it as lenders competing for the opportunity to fund the borrower’s business.  In some cases, this may well be how it turns out.

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

Become.co Review: Types of Business Loans

The lenders that work with Become offer a broad range of lending products.  They include:

  • Startup business loans
  • Commercial vehicle loans
  • Asset based loans
  • SBA loans
  • Merchant cash advances
  • Lines of credit
  • Invoice financing
  • And unsecured business loans

Become.co Review: How Does it Work?

First, you fill out an application with Become.  Then, the company technology analyzes the application and matches you with the best lenders for your business from among their partners.

Application Process

  1. Select how much you need under “loan amount” and then “Get Loan Offer”’
  2. Fill out the information asked for, which includes time in business, industry, revenue etc.
  3. Select up to 3 different lenders.
  4. Then, you will have to connect your business’s checking account to be analyzed.
  5. After that, you wait for the offers to roll in.
  6. After reviewing offers, select the lender you wish to go with.
  7. Funds will be deposited into your business checking account.

The process takes about 15 minutes and involves a soft pull on your credit report.  It will not affect your credit.

Rates and Terms

Typically, the minimum amount available from partner lenders is $5,000.  The  maximum is up to $500,000.  Flexible repayment is available based on monthly turnover. Loan terms are from 3 to 36 months.

Also, repayments do not use “interest rates.”  Rather, you are given a payback amount, which is agreed on upfront. It is based on your business type and your loan term.

They claim this  structure is beneficial for your business cash flow, because you will know your total costs upfront.  While not untrue, it would be wise to calculate an effective interest rate for comparison purposes.  For example, if your loan amount is $5,000 and your repayment amount is $5,500, your effective interest rate is 10% over the life of the loan.

This is important information to know, so that you can make sure you are getting the best deal possible for your business.

Qualifying

Any business owner can apply.  If you do not qualify, you will still be assigned a dashboard explaining the reason why, along with tips to help you improve your chances. At a minimum, you should have an average revenue of $5,000 per month, ideally.  You also need to have been in business for at least 3 months if you are a U.S. business and at least 6 months if you are in Australia.

As for credit score, while it is important, some of their partners do not deny based on a low credit score.  Instead, their decision is based on the overall health of your business as determined by a number of factors. These may include revenue, time in businesses, average balance in business bank accounts, and more.

Clearly, the more of these factors you have in your favor, the better your chances are going to be for getting funding from Become.

Required Documents

You must have a business checking account.  Become will analyze the statements for the past 3 to 6 months. Other document requirements will be up to the lender you end up applying to.  Some examples of documents they may require include merchant statements, tax returns, and financing projections. It will never hurt to have a business plan.

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

Become.co Review: How Are They Different?

Become uses technology and advanced algorithms to help match business borrowers to alternative lenders. The process is free, and unlike others, they do more than just match borrowers to lenders. They also function as a credit profiler.

Their proprietary technology renders a unique LendingScore™ for each business.  This is a financing profile that is intended to help the company improve funding possibilities, access new opportunities, and find the best funding solutions.

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

Become.co Review: Reputation

They do not seem to have a  Better Business Bureau profile, at least not under the name Become. There is a company with the same name that uses the URL “Become.com.” Become.com appears to be an online shopping portal, wholly unrelated to Become. Co. Since both companies are in the state of California, this could be quite confusing.

They do, though, have a very good rating on Trustpilot. The rating is 4.8 stars.  There are over 500 reviews, and over 90% of them are excellent.

Become.co Review: Are They All That They Claim to Be?

It seems that they do a great job.  They have a lot of happy customers, and Trustpilot is a trusted review source. That said, it’s unfortunate that they chose a name that requires a .co URL.  This may make them hard for many to find when looking for small business loans.  Alos, the name “Become” doesn’t exactly reflect who they are or what they do, further complicating the ability of business owners to find them. It is a very generic word which most people would not relate to business funding.

Another potential area of concern is the fact that they want access to your business bank account. It sounds as if they want to access it electronically. Still, online lenders are doing this more and more these days.  Given the number of great reviews, it may not be an issue.  That is a decision you will have to make for yourself.

Is Become the End of the Road if You Do Not Qualify?

If you fill out an application with Become and you do not qualify for funding with any of their lenders, your dashboard will contain the reasons why and ideas to help you qualify in the future. This can be helpful in the long term. But, what if you need funding right now?

A business credit expert can help walk you through the process of building a business credit profile.  This is separate from your personal credit profile, and will open up new funding opportunities.  They can also analyze the current fundability of your business, and help you find ways to improve it.

In addition, they can help you find the funding you need right now with products like 401K financing and the Credit Line Hybrid.  Get a free consultation today.

The post Looking for an Online Business Loan? Read this Become.co Review Before You Do Anything Else appeared first on Credit Suite.

Affiliates Should Read About His Products

Affiliates Should Read About His Products

Currently a business owner chooses to sign up with the associate advertising and marketing organization, he browses in an associate advertising and marketing directory site as well as he is promptly provided with a really variety of solutions as well as items, and also with numerous associate programs. The associate advertising and marketing organization is without a doubt a growing company as suggested by the countless online sellers that are supplying associate programs.

With numerous alternatives prior to him, a business owner might choose to go back as well as study extra regarding which items he ought to advertise, which associate program he ought to sign-up, and also which vendor he need to associate with. He is purchasing himself time as well as he wished to be much more ready prior to really establishing his associate advertising and marketing organization.

On the various other hand, a business owner will certainly be so ecstatic that he will certainly sign-up with the very first associate program that he discovers fascinating. The only point that the brand-new associate has to deal with is his absence of expertise regarding the items he has actually picked to advertise.

If the brand-new associate will certainly backtrack his actions, he will just be placing off the day when he will certainly be appreciating monetary success. The brand-new associate merely requires to check out.

When the brand-new associate has actually made a decision to check out up on his items, he needs to initially position concerns that he desired to understand concerning the items. If the items are ceramic things, possibly he desired to understand very first exactly how the ceramic sector came around.

The solutions to these concerns will certainly give great web content for the brand-new associate’s web site. The info that the associate has actually gathered, in order to address his concerns will certainly be the emphasis of the posts that will certainly be published in the site.

One more perk to checking out the items is the gotten capacity of the associate to authoritatively and also instantly respond to the concerns that the site visitors will certainly upload in the web site. When the target customer is pleased with the speed as well as efficiency of the responses, he will certainly probably patronize as well as acquire the items that are suggested by the associate.

The only point that the brand-new associate has to deal with is his absence of understanding regarding the items he has actually picked to advertise. The brand-new associate merely requires to review.

When the brand-new associate has actually made a decision to review up on his items, he must initially present inquiries that he desired to recognize concerning the items. The solutions to these inquiries will certainly supply excellent material for the brand-new associate’s site.

The post Affiliates Should Read About His Products appeared first on PRO BUSINESS CONSULTING FIRM.

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How to Read a Dun and Bradstreet Report

What’s in a Dun and Bradstreet Report? And What Do All Those Numbers Mean, Anyway?

Do you have a copy of your Dun and Bradstreet report?

What is Dun and Bradstreet?

They are the oldest and largest credit reporting agency. You need a D-U-N-S number to start building business credit. No D-U-N-S number? Then get one; they’re free. This number gets a business into their system.

The main score is PAYDEX. But a business will not get a PAYDEX score, unless it has at least 3 trade lines reporting, and a D-U-N-S number. A business must have both to get a D&B score or report.

Dun and Bradstreet Reports

D&B offers database-generated reports. These help their clients decide if a business is a good credit risk. Companies use the reports to make informed business credit decisions and avoid bad debt. Several factors enter into creating such a report.

In general when D&B does not have all of the information that they need, they will say so in their reports. But missing data does not necessarily mean a company is a poor credit risk. Instead, the risk is unknown.

D&B’s database contains over 350 million companies around the world. It includes millions of active firms, and over 100 million companies which are out of business. But these are kept for historical purposes. This data goes into their reports.

D&B constantly gathers data. They list over a billion trade experiences. It works to improve its analyses to assure the greatest degree of accuracy possible. To ensure as accurate a report as possible, give D&B your company’s current financial statements.

Predictive Models and Scoring

D&B takes historical information to try to predict future outcomes. This is to identify the risks inherent in a future decision. They take objective and statistically derived data, rather than subjective and intuitive judgments.

You can find a sample report here: dnb.com/content/dam/english/dnb-solutions/risk-management/sample_comprehensive_report.pdf .

Dun and Bradstreet Report Sections

Here are the sections you could currently see in a typical Dun and Bradstreet business credit profile report.

Executive Summary

The report starts with basic company information, such as number of employees, year the business was started, net worth, and sales.

D&B Rating

This rating helps companies quickly assess a business’s size and composite credit appraisal. Dun & Bradstreet bases this rating on information in a company’s interim or fiscal balance sheet plus an overall evaluation of the firm’s creditworthiness. The scale goes from 5A to HH. Rating Classifications show company size based on worth or equity. D&B assigns such a rating only if a company has supplied a current financial statement.

The rating contains a Financial Strength Indicator. It is calculated using the Net Worth or Issued Capital of a company. Preference is to use Net Worth. D&B will show if a business is new or if they never got this information.

This section also adds a Composition Credit Appraisal. This number runs 1 through 4, and it reflects D&B’s overall rating of a business’s creditworthiness.

The scores mean:

  • 1 – High
  • 2 – Good
  • 3 – Fair
  • 4 – Limited

A D&B rating might look like 3A4.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

D&B PAYDEX

This part shows two gauges: an up to 24 month PAYDEX, and an up to 3 month PAYDEX. Hence you can see recent history and a firm’s performance over time.

Both gauges have the same scores. A 1 means greater than 120 days slow (in paying bills). A score of 50 means 30 days slow. One great score is 80, which means prompt. And 100 means anticipates. A 100 is the best PAYDEX score you can get.

PAYDEX Score

This is Dun & Bradstreet’s dollar-weighted numerical rating of how a company has paid the bills over the past year. D&B bases this score on trade experiences which various vendors report. The Score ranges from 1 to 100. Higher scores mean a better payment performance. PAYDEX scores reflect how well a company pays its bills.

Predictive Analytics

This next section shows likelihood of business failure. It also shows how frequently a business is late in paying its financial obligations. These are comparative analyses, the Financial Stress Class, and the Credit Score Class.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Financial Stress Class

Overall numbers range from 1 to 5. A 1 is businesses least likely to fail, and 5 is firms most likely to fail. The Financial Stress Class measures likelihood of failure.

Financial Stress Class Score

These more granular scores range from 1,001 to 1,875. A score of 1,001 represents the highest probability of business failure. A figure of 1,875 shows the lowest probability of business failure.

Credit Score Class

The Credit Score Class measures how often a company is delinquent in paying its bills. Overall numbers range from 1 to 5. A 1 is businesses least likely to be late. 5 is firms most likely to be late making payments. More granular scores run from 101 to 670. 670 is the highest risk.

Credit Limit Recommendation

It shows a spectrum of risk. Your risk category can be low, moderate, or high. Risk is assessed using D&B’s scoring methodology. It is one factor used to create the recommended limits.

D&B Viability Rating

This section contains:

  • Viability Score – to show risk
  • Portfolio Comparison – also a demonstration of risk
  • Data Depth Indicator – descriptive vs. predictive
  • Company Profile – this shows if financial data and other information was available

Credit Capacity Summary

This part repeats the D&B Rating above. It includes financial strength, the composite credit appraisal, and payment activity.

Business History and Business Registration

This section contains information on ownership. It also shows where a corporation is filed (i.e. which state). This includes the type of corporation, and the incorporation date.

Government Activity Summary and Operations Data

This section gives basic information on if a company works as a contractor for the government. It also shows the kind of business a company is in. It shows what the facilities are like, including general data on its location.

Industry Data and Family Tree

The section shows the business’s SIC and NAICS codes. It also shows where the branches and subsidiaries are. This list is just the first 25 branches, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates, both domestic and international. D&B offers a Global Family Linkage Link to view the full listing.

Financial Statements

This section is for the financial statements D&B has on a business. It shows assets and liabilities, with specifics such as equipment, and even common stock offerings.

Indicators and Full Filings

This part shows public records, like judgments, liens, lawsuits, and UCC filings.

This part also breaks down where filings are venued, like the court or the county recorder of deeds office. It shows if judgments were satisfied (paid). It also shows which equipment is subject to UCC filings.

Commercial Credit Score

This part shows the Credit Score Class again. It also shows a comparison of the incidence of delinquent payments. Also, it includes key factors to help anyone reading the report interpret these findings. It explains what the numbers mean.

Credit Score Percentile Norms Comparison

Here, D&B compares a company to others on the basis of region, industry, number of employees and time in business.

Financial Stress Score

This section shows a Financial Stress Class and a Financial Stress Score Percentile. The Financial Stress Class runs from 1-5, with 5 being the worst score.

Financial Stress Score Percentile

The Financial Stress Score Norms calculate an average score and percentile for similar firms. The norms benchmark where a business stands. This is in relation to its closest business peers.

It is a comparison to other businesses. The percentile contains a Financial Stress National Percentile. The Financial Stress National Percentile reflects the relative ranking of a company among all scorable companies in D&B’s file. It also contains a Financial Stress Score. The report indicates the probability of failure with a particular score.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Financial Stress Score Percentile Comparison

The idea behind this score is to predict how likely it is a business will fail over the next 12 months. The Financial Stress Class indicates that a firm shares some of the same business and financial characteristics of other companies with this classification. It does not mean the firm will necessarily experience financial stress. The probability of failure shows the percentage of firms in a given percentile that discontinue operations with loss to creditors.

The average probability of failure is based on businesses in D&B’s database. It is there for comparative purposes. The Financial Stress National Percentile reflects the relative ranking of a company among all scorable companies in D&B’s file. The Financial Stress Score offers a more precise measure of the level of risk than the Financial Stress Class and Percentile. It is meant for customers using a scorecard approach to determining overall business performance.

Advanced PAYDEX + CLR

This section repeats the 24 month and 3 month PAYDEX gauges. It also includes a repeat of the Credit Limit Recommendation. There is also a PAYDEX Yearly Trend. It shows the PAYDEX scores of a business compared to the Primary Industry from each of the last four quarters.

PAYDEX Yearly Trend

The PAYDEX Yearly Trend is a graph. It includes detailed payment history.  with payment habits and a payment summary. This helps show if a business pays its bigger bills first or last.

Dun and Bradstreet: Takeaways

A Dun & Bradstreet business credit report has an impressive level of detail. The idea is to make it easier to decide if it’s a good idea to extend credit to another business. And your own company’s report can help show you where you can improve your payment history, and how your firm compares to similar businesses.

The post How to Read a Dun and Bradstreet Report appeared first on Credit Suite.

Do Nothing Until You Read Our LenCred Recession Finance Review

Everything You Need to Know About LenCred – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask!

LenCred is one of several  lending companies in the online space. They are based in Bentonville, AR. Check out our LenCred Recession Finance Review.

LenCred works with startup and established business owners who need between $25,000 – $150,000 in financing to start, build, or grow their companies. They do NOT have any revenue requirements and the companies who work best with them have between $0 and $250,000 in annual revenues. That’s their first requirement to be a good fit.

We look at the specifics and drill down into the details.

LenCred Recession Finance: Background

LenCred is located online here: lencred.com. Their physical address is in Bentonville, Arkansas. You can call them at: (479) 268-4353 (Arkansas) and (888) 783-1503 (toll free).  Their contact page is here: lencred.com/contact. You can email them at: info@lencred.com.

LenCred Recession Finance: Unsecured Business Credit Lines

There is a $50,000 guaranteed minimum for a line. You can get $25,000 – 150,000 or more. You will need solid credit, but it does not have to be perfect. Keep your personal credit utilization rate under 30%.

Their unsecured business credit lines allow small business owners to build corporate credit.

LenCred Recession Finance: Fees

Various sources report 6%, 8%, or 9% fees. However, there are currently no fees listed on the site.

LenCred Recession Finance: SBA Loans

They do not get SBA Loans or give them out. Rather, they can help companies apply for these. The LenCred team has the knowledge and experience to guide a business owner to the right SBA loan program and approved SBA lender. If they don’t qualify for an unsecured business line of credit, an SBA loan may be the next best option.

LenCred Recession Finance: Equipment Financing

LenCred has both equipment leases and loans. This lender specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small business obtain capital in the simplest way possible. And equipment financing is one of those ways.

$1,000 – $5 million is available. However, this lender does not seem to actually provide equipment financing.

LenCred Recession Finance: Fees

Various sources report 6%, 8%, or 9% fees. However, there are currently no fees listed on the site. 

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

LenCred Recession Finance: Advantages

Advantages are that unsecured business funding is often a great way for startups to get the money they need, and they do not seem to have an annual revenue requirement unless you have bad personal credit. This particular lender also seems to be flexible when it comes to borrowers with less than stellar credit.

LenCred Recession Finance: Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage is that this lender does not clearly list fees – so do they charge them, or not? Another disadvantage is that entrepreneurs who have been relying on their personal credit cards to fund their businesses are probably going to have too high a credit utilization rate to qualify for LenCred’s offerings.

Big Disadvantage

Another basic disadvantage is that, as of right now, LenCred is not a part of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program as a lender. Will they be? Currently, online lenders are generally not a part of that program.

An Important Alternative to LenCred Recession Finance – Our Credit Line Hybrid

Our credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured business financing. This program helps clients get funding based strictly on personal credit quality.  Our lenders will not ask for financials, bank statements, business plans, resumes, or any of the other burdensome document requests that most conventional lenders demand.

If your personal credit score is at least 680, then you can potentially qualify for $5,000 – $150,000. And we don’t even ask for you to provide collateral.

A Terrific Alternative to LenCred Recession Finance – Establishing Business Credit

This is credit in a business’s name. It doesn’t link to an entrepreneur’s consumer credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the small business.

Accordingly, a business owner’s business and individual credit scores can be very different.

LenCred Recession Funding Credit Suite

The Advantages

Since company credit is distinct from personal, it helps to protect a business owner’s personal assets, in the event of legal action or business bankruptcy.

Also, with two separate credit scores, a small business owner can get two different cards from the same vendor. This effectively doubles buying power.

Another benefit is that even startup companies can do this. Visiting a bank for a business loan can be a formula for frustration. But building small business credit, when done correctly, is a plan for success.

Personal credit scores rely on payments but also other elements like credit usage percentages.

But for small business credit, the scores really merely depend on if a company pays its debts on time.

The Process

Establishing business credit is a process, and it does not occur without effort. A business has to actively work to develop company credit.

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

Merchants are a big aspect of this process.

Undertaking the steps out of order will cause repetitive denials. Nobody can start at the top with small business credit. For example, you can’t start with retail or cash credit from your bank. If you do, you’ll get a rejection 100% of the time.

Business Fundability

A business needs to be fundable to loan providers and vendors.

That’s why, a company will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address. And it needs to have site hosting from a company like GoDaddy.

And also, business phone and fax numbers need to have a listing on ListYourself.net.

Additionally, the business phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or similar).

A small business will also need a bank account dedicated strictly to it, and it needs to have every one of the licenses necessary for operating.

Licenses

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

So note, that this means not just state licenses, but potentially also city licenses.

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

Working with the Internal Revenue Service

Visit the Internal Revenue Service website and obtain an EIN for the small business. They’re totally free. Choose a business entity like corporation, LLC, etc.

A company can begin as a sole proprietor. But they will more than likely want to change to a variety of corporation or an LLC.

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

A business entity will matter when it involves taxes and liability in the event of litigation. A sole proprietorship means the entrepreneur is it when it comes to liability and taxes. Nobody else is responsible.

Sole Proprietors Take Note

If you run a small business as a sole proprietor, then at the very least be sure to file for a DBA. This is ‘doing business as’ status.

If you do not, then your personal name is the same as the small business name. Hence, you can find yourself being personally liable for all company financial obligations.

But only use a DBA filing as a steppingstone to incorporating. Corporate business entities are truly separate from their owners. Particularly during a recession, it is vital to protect your home and other personal assets from seizure in the event of a business failure. You may not want to think about it – but that doesn’t mean it can never happen.

Starting Off the Business Credit Reporting Process

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

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

By doing this, Experian and Equifax will have activity to report on.

Vendor Credit

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

And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin to get credit for stores and more universal credit like with Visa.

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

But to start with, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who will give you preliminary credit when you have none now. Terms are ordinarily Net 30, instead of revolving.

Hence, if you get approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you will need to pay that money back in a set term, like within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

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

Retail Credit

Once there are 3 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs, then move to revolving store credit. These are businesses which include Office Depot and Staples.

Fleet Credit

Are there more accounts reporting? Then move to fleet credit. Use this credit to buy fuel, and to repair, and take care of vehicles.

Cash Credit

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve up to this point? Then move to more universal credit, from service providers like Visa and MasterCard.

These are commonly MasterCard credit cards. If you have several trade accounts reporting, then these are feasible.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make sure it is being reported and attend to any inaccuracies ASAP. Get in the practice of checking credit reports and digging into the details, and not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less. See: creditsuite.com/monitoring.

Update Your Information

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

Fix Your Business Credit

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

Disputes

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

Fixing credit report inaccuracies also means you specifically itemize any charges you dispute. Make your dispute letter as crystal clear as possible. Be specific about the issues with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

A Word about Business Credit Building

Always use credit smartly! Never borrow beyond what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying off punctually and completely will do more to raise business credit scores than just about anything else.

Building small business credit pays off. Good business credit scores help a small business get loans. Your lender knows the business can pay its financial obligations. They understand the business is bona fide.

The small business’s EIN attaches to high scores and lenders won’t feel the need to require a personal guarantee.

Business credit is an asset which can help your small business for years to come. Learn more here and get started toward growing small business credit.

LenCred Recession Finance Review: Upshot

The companies which will most likely do well with LenCred need financing and have low personal credit utilization rates. Companies which will not do well are those where the entrepreneur has been relying too heavily on personal credit. That drives up their credit utilization rate.

And finally, as with every other lending program, whether online or offline, remember to read the fine print. And do the math. Go over the details with a fine-toothed comb. And decide if this option will be good for you and your company. In addition, consider alternative financing options that go beyond lending. So these include building business credit. In order to best decide how to get the money you need to help your business grow.

 

 

The post Do Nothing Until You Read Our LenCred Recession Finance Review appeared first on Credit Suite.