A business credit score is one of the first things evaluated by any lender whom you might want to apply for a loan with, because it’s a fairly accurate representation of the financial health of your business. As such, that makes it very important to keep your business credit score as stain-free as possible, so as to increase your options when the time comes for loan applications. Here are three important things to remember about your business credit score.

The major business credit bureaus

There are four major business credit bureaus which track information on businesses, and they receive their information from a number of different sources. The big four are Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Equifax, and FICO. Information provided to these business credit score bureaus comes from suppliers whom you do business with, public records which deal with any bankruptcies or judgments against you, creditors whom you may have done business with, and other sources.

Types of information kept by credit bureaus

The kind of information which is stored by these bureaus depends on which bureau is storing the information. In total however, the big four bureaus will have information related to your business name, address, number of years in business, type of business you’re involved in, and other static information as well. The financial data which is retained has to do with how promptly you make your payments, how often you make delinquent payments, and whether or not you have defaulted on payments to any creditor you’ve done business with.

Your business credit score

Although obtaining information on your business credit score is not free from any of the credit bureaus, it’s still to your advantage to periodically check on your business credit score. If there are any inaccuracies which have been reported, it will be to your advantage to work with professionals to have these corrected or removed, since they can have a big impact on your financial future.

This is an especially good idea when you’re about to apply for a loan somewhere. You should ask the lending institution which business credit bureau it will consult with to check your credit history. Once you know that, you should obtain a copy of that bureau’s business credit report, and take whatever steps are necessary to clean it up to whatever extent as possible.

Is you business credit score less than perfect?Ā 

At Goldendale Capital, we understand that small business owners occasionally run into problems in the marketplace that can result in dings on the business credit score. We may be able to help you avoid those in the future with some of our financing solutions, so please contact us at Goldendale Capital to find out how we might provide financing assistance.