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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

But this depends upon each card issuer’s policy.

Policy Considerations

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

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

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

Report Activity During a Recession Downturn

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

It could even help your credit scores.

Utilization Issues

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

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

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

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

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

Some Small Advantages

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another option in a Recession Downturn

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

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

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

Build Business Credit During a Recession Downturn

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

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

Every Small Business Needs Company Credit Building

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

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

The Advantages – Especially in a Recession Downturn

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

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

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

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

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

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The Process

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

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

Vendors are a big component of this process.

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

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

Business Fundability in a Recession Downturn

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

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

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

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

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

Licenses

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

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

Working with the IRS

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

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

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

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

Beginning the Business Credit Reporting Process

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

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

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

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Vendor Credit

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

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

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

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

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

Details

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

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

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

Vendor Credit – It Makes Sense

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

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

Uline Shipping Supplies

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

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

Crown Office Supplies

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

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

Grainger Industrial Supply

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

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

Accounts That Do Not Report

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

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

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Retail Credit

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

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

Fleet Credit

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

Cash Credit

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

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

Monitor Your Business Credit in a Recession Downturn and Beyond

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

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

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

Update Your Information

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

Fix Your Business Credit

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

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

Disputes

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

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

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

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

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

A Word about Building Business Credit During a Recession Downturn

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession

Get a business credit report in a recession and stay on top of your scores.

Here’s How to Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession

You got this: we show you exactly how to get your business credit report in a recession.

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Recession Funding

In a recession, inevitably banks and other credit issuers get more conservative. So it pays to get your business credit report in a recession so you can pounce on any mistakes immediately.

Your best bet as a company owner is to stay on top of every business credit report from PAYDEX, Equifax, and Experian.

There are three big credit reporting agencies for companies and you really should check all three of them frequently. This is because they use moderately different yardsticks. Hence moving the needle for one can move the needle for both of the others. Although maybe not as much.

Do not permit your business credit scores slide, as you have to catch any mistakes as fast as you can. Plus, you need to identify anything which is dragging your scores down. And then take remedial measures. You can get a business credit report in a recession easily and stay on top of all three scores by following a few straightforward steps.

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: D&B (PAYDEX) Business Credit Report

Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX score of your company can end up being one of the primary reasons that your business receives credit in any manner.

A Dun & Bradstreet Report (also known as a D&B Report) is a database-generated report. The business services giant produces such a report in order to assist its clients in making decisions regarding new credit applications.

The primary reason for a client using this kind of a report is to engage in credit risk monitoring of vendors, suppliers, and business partners. This helps companies make informed business credit determinations and avoid bad debt.

Dun & Bradstreet takes several factors into account in generating such a report. These include a predictor of payment delinquency; how financially stressed a company is compared to comparable businesses; an evaluation of supplier risk; credit limit recommendation; D&B rating; and PAYDEX score. Let’s consider all these factors in turn.

Delinquency Predictor

Dun & Bradstreet uses predictive models to ascertain how likely a company is to be late with its payments. Predictive scoring is a means of using historical information to attempt to predict future outcomes. It entails identifying the risks inherent in a future decision. It does this by examining the relationship between historical information and the future event.

This represents an objective and statistically derived counterpart to subjective and intuitive assessments. Such scoring allows a business to rank and order accounts based upon the probability of an event occurring, such as delinquent payments. However, note that Predictive Scoring only represents a statistical probability, and not a guarantee.

PAYDEX Score

A PAYDEX Score is Dun & Bradstreet’s proprietary dollar-weighted numerical indicator of how a firm has paid its bills over the past year. The score is based upon trade experiences reported to Dun & Bradstreet by various vendors. In addition, the D&B PAYDEX Score ranges from 1 to 100; higher scores indicate a better payment performance.

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!

Monitoring PAYDEX

D & B offers Credit Signal, which is a means to keep track of your credit score by having the business credit report come immediately to you, for a cost. You may discover the expense is well worth it in order to avoid the frustrations that can emerge from letting this score slip. And you will not need to produce and handle the organizing and reminders you might need to stay up to date with if you don’t use it.

Alternatives to Credit Signal

Don’t wish to make use of Credit Signal? Not a problem, as you can obtain your PAYDEX report through D & B and, if need be, you can get in touch with their Customer Service department (this department exists as a section of Dun & Bradstreet itself).

In addition, in order to review your PAYDEX report, check out what D & B provides, which is a specimen report and even some higher level tips in the way to analyze it.

D&B Data

Any report is only as good as the data it comes from. Dun & Bradstreet’s database contains over 250 million firms spanning the globe, which includes around 120 million active companies and about 130 million businesses which are out of business but kept for historical purposes.

D&B constantly gathers data and works to improve its analyses to ensure the greatest degree of accuracy possible.

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Equifax Business Credit Report

Equifax, one of the large credit reporting bureaus, furnishes a risk monitoring service which is more convenient as it allows for a business credit report to come directly to you.

If you don’t want to purchase continuing reports, you can instead order your company’s Equifax report.

Additionally, if you have to question your small business’s Equifax report, you can do so by following the information on their website.

You can learn how to go over your Equifax report by checking out a specimen of their reports.

Improve Your Equifax Report

Now that you know what enters into it, you can see that some of the more crucial pieces of information Equifax looks into are public records, credit usage, and how you take care of your financial and nonfinancial accounts.

Start getting rid of your debts as quickly as possible and not going delinquent. And keep your credit utilization within reason. Less than 30% of your overall available credit is best. And start staying away from overdue payments. Then you should have the ability to build up your Equifax score.

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!

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Experian Business Credit Report

Experian, one more big credit reporting firm, also offers a way having their business credit report sent to you for a fee. As a result you can keep an eye on your Experian small business credit score here and the setup is simple.

However, if you prefer to not get continuing reports (and pay for them), then you can order a single Experian report for your firm on their site.

Business Credit Report Score Improvement Tips

Experian provides a handy list of ways to improve your own, specific report.

You can get your company’s real Experian report and can dispute any errors on your company’s Experian report by following the directions on their website.

Now that you know what goes into it, you can see what some of the more important pieces of data Experian looks into are. These include payment history and credit utilization. And they also include the amount of time in business. Or at least they show the amount of time your company has had an Experian listing.

Beyond anything else, improving your payment history will increase your Experian credit scores.

Keep your credit utilization within reason. So this is because less than 30% of your total available credit is best. Clear your debts as quickly as you are able to. And don’t go delinquent. Also, avoid any late payments. Then, you should be able to improve your Experian score over time.

Likewise, if there are any problems or matters of contention, you can question any errors on your business’s Experian report if you follow the directions on their web site.

Find out about assessing your Experian report by assessing a sample Experian company credit report.

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Monitoring Any Business Credit Report For Less

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

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less 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 details if there are inaccuracies or the data 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.

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to challenge any problems in your records. Mistakes in your credit report(s) can be fixed. But the CRAs typically 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 mistakes generally means you send a paper letter with duplicates of any evidence of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals. Always send copies and keep the original copies.

Fixing credit report errors 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.

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

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

And D&B’s 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!

Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession: Takeaways for How to Get a Business Credit Report

At times, it pays to hand over a few dollars to ensure you get a business credit report in a recession consistently. It’s a lot less troublesome than to have to remember to do this.

And you’ll probably look at these reports more thoroughly, as they come at a price tag.

Continue track and make use of the tools that these credit reporting companies provide, and make your life simpler. After all; you’ve already got enough on your plate.

Because of recent data breaches, there are even more reasons to assess your business and personal credit reports and be vigilant about any errors you find. In a recession, you need the highest business credit scores you can get. When you get a business credit report in a recession, you’re doing just that.

The post Get a Business Credit Report in a Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

How to Get a Free Credit Report Sample

Your business credit isn’t the only thing that affects your ability to get funding. Still, it is a huge piece of the pie. One way to see your business credit and get a feel for where you stand is to get a credit report sample.

A Free Credit Report Sample Can Help You Know Where to Start with Funding and Fundability

Unlike your personal credit report, you can’t really get a free copy of a business credit report. However, you can get a sneak peak in some cases with these options.

Nav

So, Nav is a service that will let you see a credit report sample from all three of the major credit reporting agencies. But these are only summaries, not full reports. Generally, that means you can see your score, and maybe the accounts you have listed. While this will help you get your bearings, it will not suffice for the purpose of correcting mistakes or even to show you what you need to do to improve your score. You do have the option to pay for more information though.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Credit.net

Similarly, Credit.net will let you see a credit report sample with their free trial. There is no credit card required. Also, after you pull the report, you have 30 days to check it out. As a result, at least once you can get a totally free look at your report. Since there is no fear of missing a cancelation deadline and having to pay anyway, it’s a great option.

Scorely

Scorely offers you a credit report sample before you pay for an ongoing subscription. In contrast to Nav or Credit.net, they actually calculate their own score similar to the big 3: Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet. They strive to be totally transparent and to make their reports easy to understand.

CreditSafe

You do have to pay for an ongoing subscription to CreditSafe. However, they will give you a credit report sample to get you started. Also, they have a number of reports that are unique to them. This means you are getting something that you may not get with the other monitoring services or even the standard reports from Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

How To Read Your Credit Report Sample

In truth, each reporting agency offers different types of reports and information. Similarly, they all contain the same general data. You need to understand what your credit report sample says, whichever agency it is from, about your business.

Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet offers several different types of business credit reports. In fact, there are six different reporting options in all. They all offer different information related to credit worthiness, and it takes all of them to get the whole picture. The price range listed above is dependent on which reports you want to order.

The report most use is the PAYDEX. This is likely because it is the easiest to understand, due to it being the most like the consumer FICO score. It measures how quickly a customer makes payments and ranges from 1 to 100. Scores of 70 or higher are acceptable. For example, a score of 100 shows payments are made in advance, and a score of 1 indicates that they are 120 days late, or more.

The other Dun & Bradstreet Credit Reports include:

Dun and Bradstreet Delinquency Predictor Score

The delinquency predictor score measures how likely it is that the company will not pay, will be late paying, or will fall into bankruptcy. The scale is 1 to 5, and a 2 is good.

Financial Stress Score

The financial stress score measures pressure on the balance sheet. It shows how likely the company is to shut down within a year. These scores range from 5 to 1, with a score of 2 being a good thing.

Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating

This rating ranks the odds of a company surviving 12 months. The minimum score is a 9 and the maximum is 1. A “good” score is 5.

Credit Limit Recommendation

The credit limit recommendation reflects a business’s borrowing capacity. It is a recommendation for how much debt a company can handle. Typically, creditors use this to determine how much credit to extend.

D&B Credit Rating

This one ranks overall business risk on a scale of one to four. A score of 2 is good. The rating is given in conjunction with letters, the combination of which indicates a company’s net worth.

Even if there isn’t enough information on a business to assign a regular rating, Dun and Bradstreet will assign what they call a Credit Appraisal Score. This is based on the number of employees. Another option is an alternative rating based on what data is actually available.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Experian

Experian’s uses what it calls Intelliscore as its credit ranking. There are more than 800 different factors that they use to predict a company’s credit risk. With Intelliscore, a score of 76 or higher indicates a low risk of default or late payment. If a score falls between 51 to 75, it indicates a low to medium risk. Scores from 26 to 50 are medium risk, and from 25 down to 1 is medium high to high risk.

Here is where Experian gets tricky. Intelliscore is a blended score of both the business and business owner’s personal information. That means it offers insights into a business’s public record findings, collections, and payment trends, as well as overall business background. Experian is also unique in that it does not ask businesses to self-report. Instead, they collect all the information themselves. You will have to give permission for a lender to view this report, due to it containing personal information.

Equifax

Equifax collects information similar to Dun and Bradstreet, including: information from public records, financial data from the business, and payment history from creditors. Credit utilization is also a factor, which accounts for how much credit you are using versus the amount of credit you have available to use.

The information is used to calculate various scores, including the business credit risk score and the business failure score. The first measures how likely it is that a business will become 90 days or more delinquent on bills over the next year. The score ranges from 101 to 992. The second ranges from 1,000 to 1610 and predicts how likely it is that the business will file for bankruptcy over the next 12-month period. A lower score indicates higher risk.

They also calculate what they call the business payment index. This is the Equifax version of Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX. It even runs on the same scale of 0 to 100. This is an indicator of payment history over the past year. It is different from the PAYDEX, however, in that you must reach a score of 90 or higher for it to be a good score.

In addition, Equifax offers business identity reports to confirm a company actually exists. It verifies details such as the company’s tax ID, number of employees, and yearly sales.

Equifax does not allow business owners to request reports on their own company. They decide themselves when to start a credit file on a specific company.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

A Note on CreditSafe

If you want to subscribe with them after you see your credit report sample, they offer 3 packages, Standard, Plus, and Premier. The problem is, they do not list their prices on their website. You have to request a quote to determine what your pricing would be. They allow you to purchase individual products as well.

CreditSafe is quickly growing in popularity. No doubt that is partly due to the subscription service it offers, which allows easy insight into your own company’s credit report. The free trial allows for test driving, which sweetens the deal even more.

Their main score, the CreditSafe rating, works on a scale of 1-100. It predicts the likelihood that payment performance will become 90 plus days beyond terms within the next 12 months or that the business will go bankrupt. They offer a variety of other scores and reports that provide a ton of information however.

They collect data from over 8,000 sources including:

FTSE Stock
Telephone research
Local Agents
Companies House
Gazettes
Branches
News
Trade Payment Data
Banks
Courts
Registry Offices

Of course, this is far less than 8,000, but it gives an idea of the sources they use to gather their information.

CreditSafe Business Credit Reports

International Score

This score is derived from the Creditsafe rating. It allows for a comparison of credit risk between companies that are registered in different countries.

Credit Limit

The Creditsafe recommended credit limit uses information from the business payment records and those of similar companies to calculate a dollar amount recommendation of the maximum amount of credit a company should receive at any one time.

Days Beyond Terms (DBT)

Compares how many days late a business pays its bills in comparison to other companies in the industry.

Derogatory Legal

This is a report on the number and value of tax liens and judgements that have been filed in the past 6 years and 9 months. It also includes bankruptcies filed in the last 9 years and 9 months

Payment Trend

A report designed to highlight at a glance substantial changes in how a company is paying its bills.

Business Spend Trend

Lets you know whether the total annual business spending is going up or down when compared to the previous year.

Subscription packages come in levels, and the prices depend on your business’s individual needs. You will have to speak to a consultant to get a quote.

How To Use the Information on Your Credit Report Sample

Honestly, it’s a great idea to get a credit report sample. But, what do you do with the information that is on it? Here’s what. You use it to figure out where you need to start with building stronger fundability. Truly, your business credit score isn’t the only thing that affects fundability. In fact, there are many other factors that come into play as well. However, if you have a problem with any of these other factors, it will often be detectable on your credit report sample. Once you see it, you will know what you need to work on, including business credit.

What Affects Fundability?

What are some of these other factors you can use your credit report sample to check? Here are just a few.

Other Business Data Agencies

In addition to the business credit reporting agencies that directly calculate and issue credit reports, there are other business data agencies that affect those reports indirectly. Two examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange. These two agencies gather data from a variety of sources, including public records. This means they could even have access to information relating to automobile accidents and liens. While you may not be able to access or change the data the agencies have on your business, you can ensure that any new information they receive is positive. Enough positive information can help counteract any negative information from the past. If you see something on your credit report you did not expect, it may have come from one or both of these agencies.

Business Information

On the surface, it seems obvious that all of your business information should be the same everywhere it may show up. However, when you start changing things up like adding a business phone number and address or incorporating, you may find that some things slip through the cracks. If you see accounts missing from your credit report sample, or accounts on it that should not be, you may have a problem with this.

The Application Process

Consider the timing of the application. Does your credit report make it seem as if your business is currently fundable? If not, get to work.

Use Your Credit Report Sample to Build Fundability

Of course, there are a lot of factors that affect fundability that you may not be able to use your credit report sample to check on. Still, getting a peek at what is on your business credit report is a fabulous start.

With the information you see, you can start making some decisions about how to create stronger business fundability. If you see an issue with any of these factors you need to work on it. Seeing a credit report sample is the first step toward detection and correction. Also, I would encourage you, don’t stop with a credit report sample. You need to see more. Regular monitoring of your business credit is vital.

The post How to Get a Free Credit Report Sample appeared first on Credit Suite.

Report: Brees to join NBC after playing career

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has agreed to join NBC Sports as a football analyst when he is done playing, according to the New York Post.

The post Report: Brees to join NBC after playing career appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Do You Understand Your Commercial Credit Report?

Lenders often look at your commercial credit report in addition too, or in lieu of, your personal credit score. As you know, they use the information on the report to help them decide if your business is a good credit risk, or a bad one.

Your Commercial Credit Report Can Affect the Fundability of Your Business

So, why is it important to understand your commercial credit report? The answer is, because what your commercial credit report says greatly affects the fundability of your business. Of course, there are many factors that affect fundability, and it is important to understand each of them. However, there are many pieces to the fundability puzzle and it is best to understand each one individually.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Commercial Credit Report: Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet offers six different reports. Truly, the one utilized most often by lenders is the PAYDEX. Honestly, this is probably because it is the one most like the consumer FICO score. You see, it measures how quickly a company pays its debt on a scale of 1 to 100. For reference, lenders like to see a score of 70 or higher. To put it in perspective, a score of 100 reveals the firm makes payments ahead of time. A rating of 1 shows they pay 120 days late, or more.

Together with PAYDEX, they offer the following scores and reports.

Delinquency Predictor Score

As you might imagine, this rating determines the chance the company will not pay, will be late paying, or will come file for bankruptcy. For scoring, the range is 1 to 5, with 2 being a good score.

Financial Stress Score

Not surprisingly, this is a measurement of the pressure on a firm’s balance sheet. It shows the possibility of a closure within a year. The range is 1 to 5, and a 2 is good.

Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating

This is a ranking that predicts the odds of a firm surviving one year. Similarly, it ranges from 1 to 9, with a 5 being a good score.

Credit Limit Recommendation

As the name implies, this is a recommendation for the amount of debt a company can handle. Financial institutions usually use it to establish how much credit to extend.

D&B Credit Rating

This is an estimation of overall business risk on a scale of 4 to 1, where a 2 is considered good. The smaller the number the better. The rating is given as a combination of numbers and letters, which together show a company’s net worth.

Consequently, if there isn’t enough data on a business to assign a regular rating, an alternative score is assigned. This is called a credit approval score. It is based on the number of employees. They will use any data they have available to calculate this alternative rating. That means, a company can control this to a point by ensuring D&B has all of the information they need.

Commercial Credit Score

Along with the PAYDEX, Dun & Bradstreet releases a commercial credit report in three components. Each part shows how likely the business is to default on expenses or become seriously late on payments.

Commercial Credit Score

On a range of 101 to 670, the commercial credit score anticipates the likelihood of a firm making late payments. A rating of 101 indicates it is very likely that the company will be late with payments. Likewise, a score of around 500 is good.

Commercial Credit Percentile

For this measurement, the scale runs from 0 to 100. It shows the chance of delinquency too. However, it determines this probability versus other companies in the Dun & Bradstreet system. A rating of 1 is the highest possible probability in relation to other companies. The majority of loan providers consider a rating of 80 or higher to be an advantage.

Commercial Credit Class

In contrast to the other reports, this is an approach of dividing businesses into classes based on the chance of delinquency. Firms in class 1 are the least likely to be overdue. Likewise, if you are in class 2, that’s still good.

What Goes into the D&B Commercial Credit Report Ratings Calculation?

The exact formula used by Dun & Bradstreet to calculate their ratings is proprietary. What we do know is what information they look for and where they get it. The initial source of this information is the business itself.

A business must submit a financial statement to D&B before getting a full rating. Without that, a business gets a limited rating based on the number of employees. For example, the rating would be 1R if the business has 10 employees or more. But it’s 2R if they have fewer than 2 employees.

With no financial statement, a composite credit appraisal can still be issued. However, a business is only eligible for a rating up to a 2 in this case. They are ineligible for a 1 rating without a financial statement.

Businesses can also submit trade references to Dun & Bradstreet themselves. The catch is, it costs money to do so. Furthermore, there is no guarantee it will result in a score increase. Anyway, if you are properly building business credit it will happen for free.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Besides getting data from the business, Dun & Bradstreet also accesses public records. They look for liens and bankruptcies, and anything to show creditworthiness, or a lack thereof. They also partner with the Small Business Finance Exchange to access data from their records.

Commercial Credit Report: Experian Business Credit Scores

Experian gathers data from a lot of the same sources as Dun & Bradstreet. As a result, their reports are similar. There are a few key differences in sources, calculation, and also presentation however.

Intelliscore Plus

Experian uses the Intelliscore Plus credit score, which shows a statistics-based credit risk. The result is, it is a highly predictive score that can help users make well-informed credit decisions.

The Intelliscore scores range from 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating a lower risk class.

Score Range Risk Class

Low Risk	76-100
Low-Medium Risk	51-75
Medium Risk	26-50
High-Medium Risk	11-25
High Risk	1-10

Exactly How Does Experian Compute the Intelliscore Rating?

One of the things Intelliscore is most known for is the list of specific key factors they use that can indicate how likely a business is to pay its debt. In fact, over 800 variables go into the Intelliscore Plus calculation. Many of them are from the general information all credit agencies look at. However, some are unique to Experian. Here’s a breakdown.

Payment History

As you might imagine, this is your current payment status. That means, it shows how many times accounts have become delinquent. It also shows how many accounts are currently delinquent, as well as the overall trade balance.

Frequency

Frequency shows how many times your accounts have gone to collections. In addition, it notes the number of liens and judgments you have. Also, it shows any bankruptcies related to your business or personal accounts.

It also incorporates information about your payment patterns. Were you regularly slow or late with payments? Did you decrease the number of late payments over time? That affects your score.

Monetary

This specific factor focuses on how you use credit. For example, how much of your available credit are you utilizing right now? Do you have a high ratio of late balances when compared with your credit limits?

Of course, if you are a new business owner, a lot of this information will not exist yet. Intelliscore Plus handles this by using a blended model to identify your score. This means your personal credit score becomes part of determining your business’s credit score.

Experian’s Blended Score

Surprising to some, the blended score is a one-page report that provides a summary of the business and its owner. A combined business-owner credit scoring model works better than a business or consumer only model. In fact, blended scores have been found to outperform consumer or business scores alone by 10 – 20%.

Experian Financial Stability Risk Score (FSR)

FSR predicts the potential of a business going bankrupt or not paying its debts. Consequently, this score identifies the highest risk businesses by using payment and public records. They look at a number of factors, some of which include:

high use of credit lines
severely late payments
tax liens
judgments
collection accounts
risk industries
length of time in business

Commercial Credit Report: The Equifax Service Credit Rating

Similarly, Equifax shows three different points on its commercial credit report. These include:

Equifax Payment Index

Similar to PAYDEX, Equifax’s payment index is a measurement on a scale of 100. It shows how many of your small business’s payments were made on time. Like the others, it uses data from both creditors and vendors. However, it’s not meant to anticipate future behavior. That is what the other two scores are for.

Equifax Credit Risk Score

This score shows the likelihood of your company becoming severely delinquent on payments. Scores range from 101 to 992 and include an evaluation of:

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Available credit limit on revolving credit accounts, including credit cards
Company size
Proof of any non-financial transactions (like merchant invoices) which are late or were charged off for two or more billing cycles
Length of time since the opening of the earliest financial account

Equifax Business Failure Score

Equifax’s business failure score takes a look at the risk of your business shutting down. Similar to others, it runs from 1,000 to 1,600 and bases its scoring on these factors:

Total balance to total current credit limit in the past three months
The amount of time since the opening of the oldest financial account
Your small business’s worst payment status on all trades in the last 24 months
Proof of any non-financial transactions, like merchant invoices, which are late or are on a charge off for two or more billing cycles

For the credit risk and the business failure scores, a rating of 0 means bankruptcy.

Equifax Scores

A positive Equifax score for your business is as follows:

Payment Index 0 to 10
Credit Risk score 892 to 992
Business Failure score 1400 to 1600

Are These the Only Agencies Where You Can Get a Commercial Credit Report?

Actually, there are multiple other agencies that will issue a commercial credit report. It’s just that these three are the most commonly used. Still, there has been an increase in the use of another option recently. It’s the FICO SBSS.

Commercial Credit Report: What is the FICO SBSS?

The FICO SBSS is the business variation of your personal FICO credit report. Unlike your personal FICO, the SBSS reports on a scale of 0 to 300. The higher the score the better. However, the majority of loan providers demand a rating of least 160.

How Do They Come Up with The FICO SBSS Score?

Surprisingly, it is significantly different from other business credit scoring designs. The SBSS utilizes your corporate credit score and personal credit rating. It also makes use of monetary details like business assets and income. As you can see, the goal is to give an overall financial picture rolled into one rating.

Unfortunately, business owners cannot access their FICO SBSS by themselves. There is a proprietary formula for score computations. Furthermore, they do not make that data public. As a result, you go into lending institutions blind as to what your FICO SBSS credit rating might be.

Complicating things even more, lenders can choose how certain factors are weighted in the calculation of your score. This means your FICO SBSS could actually be different from one lender to the next. For example, one lender could put more weight on your business payment history, while another could lean more on your personal credit score.

How Does Your Commercial Credit Report Affect Overall Fundability?

As I said before, overall business fundability is an intricate web woven out of your business information, business credit, organization, personal credit, public records and more. Your business credit, though only one part, is a large part of the fundability puzzle. This means, you need to know what your commercial credit report says, why it says it, how it is affecting the fundability of your business, and how to make changes when necessary.

The post Do You Understand Your Commercial Credit Report? appeared first on Credit Suite.

Service Credit Report Cards – Little and also business Service Credit report Cards Contrasted

Service Credit Cards – Small and also company Business Credit Cards Compared When it comes to company credit report cards, the biggest percent of the market is little service proprietors. Credit scores card business have actually established company credit report cards with the little company in mind, however there are some distinctions in between service … Continue reading Service Credit Report Cards – Little and also business Service Credit report Cards Contrasted

Economic Report: Jobless claims edge up 2,000 to 205,000, but there’s still no sign of widespread layoffs

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in early February rose slightly, but there’s still no sign of widespread layoffs in an economy that has been expanding for a record 10 and a half years. Initial jobless claims edged up by 2,000 to 205,000.

The post Economic Report: Jobless claims edge up 2,000 to 205,000, but there’s still no sign of widespread layoffs appeared first on WE TEACH MONEY LIFE SELF DEFENSE WITH FINANCIAL GOALS IN MIND.

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Real Corporate Credit Report Review

Have you ever wondered what exactly is on your corporate credit report? For instance, what is it telling lenders about your business? How are lenders using the information in their decision-making process? Are they simply taking the information at face value? Do they have their own formulas and algorithms that they apply? Your corporate credit … Continue reading Real Corporate Credit Report Review

Real Corporate Credit Report Review

Have you ever wondered what exactly is on your corporate credit report? For instance, what is it telling lenders about your business? How are lenders using the information in their decision-making process? Are they simply taking the information at face value? Do they have their own formulas and algorithms that they apply? Your corporate credit report may not be what you think it is. This real corporate credit review will answer these questions and more.

What Does Your Corporate Credit Report Say About You, and How Do Lenders Use It?

Before we dive in, there are a few things you need to know. First, there are many companies from which a lender can pull your corporate credit report. Next, each company offers lenders more than one report. There is no way to know, without asking the lender directly, which report they will pull from which company. It could be all, one, or any combination.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Lastly, many lenders do actually apply their own formula to the information in the report to calculate a score that they feel is most useful to them. As a result, they may not even use the actual score on your corporate credit report.

All of these things are out of your control. What you can control, to a point, is the information on the report. For example, does it contain positive information? Is the information on it accurate? These are things you can work with. If the information lenders are seeing is both positive and accurate, you should be in good shape. However, you cannot do anything about the information on the reports unless you understand what it is they are reporting, and where they get their information. So here we go.

Corporate Credit Report: Dun & Bradstreet

Dun & Bradstreet offers six different reports. The one utilized most often by lenders is the PAYDEX. This is most likely due to the fact that it is the one most like the consumer FICO score. It measures how quickly a company pays its debt on a scale of 1 to 100. Lenders like to see a score of 70 or higher. To put it in perspective, a score of 100 reveals the firm makes payments ahead of time. A rating of 1 shows they pay 120 days late, or more.

Together with PAYDEX, they offer following.

Delinquency Predictor Score

This rating determines the chance the company will not pay, will be late paying, or will come under bankruptcy. For scoring, the range is 1 to 5, with 2 being a good score.

Financial Stress Score

As you might guess, this is a measurement of the pressure on a firm’s balance sheet. It shows the possibility of a closure within a year. The range is 1 to 5, and a 2 is good.

Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating

This is a ranking that predicts odds of a firm surviving one year. It ranges from 1 to 9, with a 5 being a good score.

Credit Limit Recommendation

As the name implies, this is a recommendation for the amount of debt a company can handle. Financial institutions usually use it to establish how much credit to extend.

D&B Credit Rating

This is an estimation of overall business risk on a scale of 4 to 1, where a 2 is considered good. The smaller the number the better. The rating is given in conjunction with letters, the combination of which show a company’s net worth.

Commercial Credit Score

Commercial Credit Percentile

For this measurement, the scale runs from 0 to 100. It shows the chance of delinquency too. However, it determines this probability versus other companies in the Dun & Bradstreet system. A rating of 1 is the highest possible probability versus various other companies. The majority of loan providers consider a rating of 80 or higher to be an advantage.

Commercial Credit Class

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

What Information is Used to Calculated the Dun & Bradstreet Corporate Credit Report?

Unfortunately, the exact formula that Dun & Bradstreet uses to calculate their rankings is proprietary. However, we do understand what information they use, as well as where they get it. In fact, the main source of information is the business itself.

You see, a company has to send a financial statement to D&B before getting a complete score. Without that, a business receives a restricted score based on how many workers they have. For example, the ranking would be 1R if the business has 10 employees or even more. It’s 2R if they have fewer than 2 staff members.

Without financial statements, a composite debt evaluation might still be offered. However, a business is only eligible for a ranking up to a 2 in this situation. They are ineligible for a 1 rating without a financial statement.

Additionally, businesses can submit trade recommendations to Dun & Bradstreet. However, it costs money to do so. Of course, there is no guarantee it will lead to a score boost. Also, if you are building business credit properly, it will happen for free anyway.

In addition, Dun & Bradstreet accesses public documents. In doing so, they try to find liens, insolvencies, or anything else that can show creditworthiness, or its absence.

Corporate Credit Report: Experian Business Credit Scores

Intelliscore Plus

Experian uses the Intelliscore Plus credit score, which shows a statistics-based credit risk. The result is, it is a highly predictive score that can help users make well-informed credit decisions.

The Intelliscore scores range from 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating a lower risk class.

Score Range Risk Class

Low Risk	76-100
Low-Medium Risk	51-75
Medium Risk	26-50
High-Medium Risk	11-25
High Risk	1-10

Exactly How Does Experian Compute the Intelliscore Rating?

One of the things Intelliscore is most known for is the identification of key factors that can indicate how likely a business is to pay its debt. In fact, over 800 variables go into the Intelliscore Plus calculation. Many of them are from the list of general information all credit agencies look at. However, some are unique to Experian. So here’s a breakdown.

Payment History

Frequency

This one shows how many times your accounts have gone to collections. In addition, it notes the number of liens and judgments you have. Also, it shows any bankruptcies related to your business or personal accounts.

Frequency also incorporates information about your payment patterns. Were you regularly slow or late with payments? Did you decrease the number of late payments over time? That affects your score.

Monetary

This specific factor focuses on how you make use of credit. For example, how much of your available credit are you using right now? Do you have a high ratio of late balances when compared with your credit limits?

Experian’s Blended Score

The blended score is a one-page report that provides a summary of the business and its owner. A combined business-owner credit scoring model works better than a business or consumer only model. In fact, blended scores have been found to outperform consumer or business scores alone by 10 – 20%.

Experian Financial Stability Risk Score (FSR)

high use of credit lines
severely late payments
tax liens
judgments
collection accounts
risk industries
length of time in business

Corporate Credit Report: The Equifax Service Credit Rating

Similarly, Equifax shows three different points on its corporate credit report. These include:

Equifax Payment Index

Equifax Credit Risk Score

This score shows the likelihood of your company becoming severely delinquent on payments. Scores range from 101 to 992 and include an evaluation of:

Available credit limit on revolving credit accounts, including credit cards
Company size
Proof of any non-financial transactions (like merchant invoices) which are late or were charged off for two or more billing cycles
Length of time since the opening of the earliest financial account

Equifax Business Failure Score

Equifax’s business failure score takes a look at the risk of your business shutting down. It runs from 1,000 to 1,600 and bases its scoring on these factors:

Total balance to total current credit limit in the past three months
The amount of time since the opening of the oldest financial account
Your small business’s worst payment status on all trades in the last 24 months
Proof of any non-financial transactions (like merchant invoices) which are late or are on a charge off for two or more billing cycles

For the credit risk and the business failure scores, a rating of 0 means bankruptcy.

Equifax Scores

A positive Equifax score for your business is as follows:

Payment Index 0 to 10
Credit Risk score 892 to 992
Business Failure score 1400 to 1600

Are These the Only Agencies Where You Can Get a Corporate Credit Report?

In short, no. In fact, there are multiple other agencies that will issue a corporate credit report. These, however, are known as the big three. They are the most commonly used. Still, there has been an increase in the use of another option recently. It’s the FICO SBSS.

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Corporate Credit Report: What is the FICO SBSS?

So, the FICO SBSS is the business variation of your personal FICO credit report. Unlike your personal FICO, the SBSS reports on a scale of 0 to 300. The higher the score the better. However, the majority of loan providers demand a rating of least 160.

Exactly how is the FICO SBSS Scored?

Surprisingly, it is significantly different from other business credit scoring designs. The SBSS utilizes your corporate credit score and individual credit rating. It also makes use of monetary details like business assets and income. As you can see, the goal is to give an overall financial picture rolled into one rating.

Business owners cannot access their FICO SBSS by themselves. There is a proprietary formula for score computations. FICO does not make that info public. The result is, you go into lending institutions blind as to what your FICO SBSS credit rating might be.

Furthermore, lenders can choose how certain factors are weighted in the computation of your score. This means your FICO SBSS could actually be different from one lender to the next. For example, one lender could put more weight on your business payment history, while another could lean more on your personal credit score.

Corporate Credit Reports: What Can You Do?

Now that you know who issues them, how they are calculated, and what information lenders may see, you can begin to figure out how you can ensure your corporate credit report contains as must positive information as possible. The number one thing you can do is make your payments on time. Regardless of what report they look at from which agency, the thing all lenders care about most is that you pay your bills.

In addition, you can monitor your credit reports to ensure all information is complete and accurate. If you see a mistake, contest it. Do so in writing, and be sure to send copies of any backup documentation. If you see old information, get it updated. You don’t want old addresses or closed accounts causing problems. Monitor your corporate credit for a fraction of what it costs with the reporting agencies directly here.

In the end, the most important thing you can do for your corporate credit report is to make your payments consistently on-time. The rest is important, but this is the number one thing lenders look for when it comes to making credit decisions.

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