Your business credit report is important for your company getting a business loan, because it verifies the information provided in your credit application and business plan. Much like a personal credit report, unless it is managed, the business credit report is often inaccurate, incomplete, and presents your company in a poorer light than it should. Ensure that your business credit report is accurate and complete and do it very early in the process if you want to maximize your chances of getting your business approved for a business loan or equipment lease.
Business credit reports are sold to the credit underwriters employed by lenders and equipment lessors. Dun & Bradstreet is the largest supplier of business credit reports. The data that goes into the business credit report comes from a lot of different public and non-public sources. Do not trust that the information is always accurate because it is not. Take responsibility and verify the report and add as much information as possible.
The first step is to get a copy of your business credit report. You do not need to pay for one, you can get it for free from any provider and you can modify the information either online or over the phone. We recommend doing it online. Once you have the business credit report, verify it or correct it.
Managing your business credit report is good practice. Be sure to schedule a follow-up in a year to revisit the report and check any changes or to add new information. It is never too late to work on cleaning up your business credit score. The more effort you put into improving business credit, the bigger your potential return when it comes to your bottom line.