Building small business credit for an existing or newly formed corporation can seem like a time intensive task but it doesn’t have to be with the right system.

One of the biggest roadblocks preventing most small business owners from getting started is where to begin and what exact steps need to be taken to build corporate credit.

Let’s face it there’s a lot information out there and unfortunately most of it is incorrect and outdated. You can easily spend countless hours searching for ways to build business credit history but unless you set up your foundation correctly you can find yourself peddling backwards and scratching your head trying to figure out why you keep getting declined for corporate credit.

What I encourage you to do is set up a business credit building strategy for your company immediately because I guarantee that at one point your business will need access to funds and this is an area you don’t want to figure out through trial and error.

The last thing you want is to rely on your personal credit to finance your business or even worse putting personal guarantees on the majority of your company’s financial obligations.

First, you will need to decide which strategy best fits the needs of your business. Some of the factors that will affect your decision will be based on how much time you are willing to commit, resources you have available such as an assistant and the budget size you have allocated for building small business credit.

When it comes to how much time you are willing to commit keep in mind that the bulk of the work involved is during the foundation stage such as incorporating your business, obtaining a federal tax ID #, corporate compliance and other tasks. You can easily delegate most of this work and the simple tasks can be handled by your assistant.

Once you complete the foundation stage then the rest of the time involved is submitting corporate credit applications for your company, making purchase orders, paying invoices and monitoring your file.

The difficult part of this whole process is if you don’t have a business credit builder system in place. Instead you have to keep track of your progress, know when and where to apply for the next levels of corporate credit and understand what the approval guidelines are required from the companies willing to extend credit to your business.

On top of that you have to worry about whether or not the suppliers and lenders you are doing business with will report the actual credit limit you were approved for on your credit file or simply report the balance owning.

Many of the business credit builder companies do not address this very issue which makes it extremely frustrating for small business owners.

As a member of my Business Credit Insiders Circle you not only gain access to a complete business credit building system that tracks your progress you also receive all the approval criteria for each of our suppliers and lenders.  Best of all we provide you with premium suppliers and lenders that report your actual credit limits not just your balance owing!

This allows each of our members to unlock credit for their small business without having to deal with the trial and error approach or repeated declines.

Remember, a system that allows your business to conserve cash flow, unlock corporate credit, build business credit history, track your progress and qualify for greater amounts of financing is a system worth looking into.

To your success!

Want to gain access to my business credit builder system, insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus? Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

Marco Carbajo is a business credit expert, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle. A business credit solutions membership helping business owners build small business credit. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

Build Business Credit History

Business credit builder companies believing it’s too difficult to build company credit on a shoestring budget are in for a pleasant surprise after reading this post. Every business regardless of how small the amount of money it can spend has mandatory expenses it cannot avoid.

These expenses in my book are opportunities for you to build business credit history. No matter what amount of money you’re spending right now to operate and grow your business you can benefit by having it reported on your company’s corporate credit file.

Here is a sample list of the typical expenses every business incurs that can be used to build business credit history:

• Website development – some companies in the marketplace that develop web sites not only extend credit to start ups but also report your payment experience to the business credit bureaus. If you already have a working web site then make a note of the company that you paid to build it for you.
• Internet services – are you paying a web hosting fee? If so why not have the monthly fee reported to your file? Are there companies that report web hosting fees to the bureaus? You bet!
• Phone services – another expense that is so widely overlooked that your company should get credit for on its report.
• Office supplies – many office supply companies offer vendor credit lines that you can use to purchase supplies your company needs. This is not only a great way to fund your short term needs but also an easy business credit builder.
• Postage/Shipping – instead of going to the post office and using cash to ship products, letters or materials why not use a shipping company that reports your payment history.
• Marketing – if you are using a printing company to create your brochures, business cards and marketing materials why isn’t your payment experiences with them being reported on your corporate credit file?

These are just a few of the items I review with my clients in my business credit practice. One of my members who own a home based business marketing children’s books had over twelve positive payment experiences added to her file after we did this exercise. Within two weeks after her profile was updated we got her approved for a $7,500 credit line with a marketing company which she is now using to expand her advertising reach.

It was much easier for her to get those items listed because she enrolled in the duns credit builder program offered at Dun & Bradstreet. This would be a good option if you already have companies that you work with that do not report to the bureaus. But if you’re just getting started then it makes sense to use companies that report so you don’t have to go through the additional work.

You may want to consider the Business Credit Insiders Circle  because we provide you with the companies that offer these services like web hosting, web development, marketing, office supplies and many more that all report to the business credit bureaus.

As you can see this is simply a business credit building strategy that takes what you are already spending to operate and grow your business and have it reported on your company’s credit file. When you showcase your company’s ability to manage its finances on its corporate credit file you can greatly increase the ability for your business to access the cash, credit and financing it may need in the near future.

To your business credit success!

To access business credit insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

On the previous post I reviewed two business credit builder products at Dun & Bradstreet that were great for start-ups and companies that had a few trade experiences they wanted to add to their credit profile. In this post I’m going to cover two more advanced products that have received a makeover that’s definitely worth mentioning.

Now remember that obtaining a DUNs number does not cost anything to your company but receiving your number can take over 30 days if you choose the free route. However, you can obtain your DUNs number in less than 24 hours by either purchasing one of its business credit builder programs that I’ve reviewed or if you are a government contractor, government vendor, or grant recipient.

Let’s take a look at these business credit solutions and how they can help build company credit for your business.

DNBi Self Monitor Plus Inquiries

Price $799

This product is similar to the DNBi Self Monitor Basic except that it allows you to submit up to 24 references over a period of 3 months for a total of 12 payment experiences to be added. The basic version allows you only a total of 4 payment experiences to be added. They provide this extra cushion just in case they are unable to contact one of your references for payment experience verification.

In addition you have the ability to track the inquiries that others are making into your business credit file. This is a great way to make sure you are up to speed on the latest information that vendors, banks, suppliers and customers are seeing and an effective way to determine if your business is generating the positive interest it needs in the marketplace.

If you choose to purchase this product then most likely they will waive the DUNs File Creator fee so don’t hesitate to request it. This product is ideal for you if you already have existing trade references that you want to add plus closely monitor the activity and inquiries on your file.
Some other product features include:

• Key D&B scores & ratings including D&B Rating, Financial Stress Score, Commercial Credit Score and Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating.
• Comprehensive overview of payment history including D&B’s PAYDEX
• D&B’s Credit Limit Recommendation
• Financial performance including Key business ratios that measure financial strength.
• An overview of public filings including Suits, Liens, Judgments and UCC filings.
• Notification (alerts) when significant changes occur within your credit file.
• Easy-to-use web-based interface

* Tip – there are business credit builder companies like the Business Credit Insiders Circle that provide access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB for building small business credit.
DNBi Self Monitor Premium

Price $1,399

This product is the grand daddy of DNBs business credit solutions. In my opinion it’s a big upgrade to DNBi Self Monitor Plus Inquiries product because it allows you to submit up to 200 references over a period of 6 months for a total of 100 payment experiences to be added. The ‘Plus Inquiries’ version allows a total of 12 payment experiences to be added. That’s 88 additional references you can add with this product and 6 months time frame to do it.
Some of my members who have been in business for years and have just now realized they needed to build a business credit history found this product to be a no brainer. Since they already had long standing relationships with many companies they quickly had the ability to add dozens of trade experiences to their files and create a paydex score of 80+ in a matter of weeks!

*Tip – there are credit builder companies like BCIC that report your payments to Dun & Bradstreet. Not only do they give you access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB but they also help you build business credit history too!

If you decide to purchase one of these DNB products or need some guidance regarding the status of your DNB report then call Dun & Bradstreet at 866-203-3151.

I hope that you found these product reviews to be helpful to you in getting started in building small business credit for your company.

To access business credit insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

Business Credit Builder

After speaking with my contact at Dun & Bradstreet today about its business credit builder programs there have been recent changes made this year that you should be aware of. These changes are good news for small business owners and make the programs offered at DNB more streamlined and affordable to establish, improve, and protect your corporate credit.

Now keep in mind that obtaining a DUNs number does not cost anything to your company but receiving your number can take over 30 days if you choose the free route. However, you can obtain your DUNs number in less than 24 hours by either purchasing one of its business credit builder programs or if you are a government contractor, government vendor, or grant recipient.

Now let’s review each of its business credit solutions and how they can help build company credit for your small business much faster than the traditional route of waiting for your creditors to report.

DUNs File Creator

Price $229

This product is ideal for you if you need to have a DUNs number issued right away. As soon as you purchase this product they will issue your number in 24 hours and you can have a DNB business file in their system within 5 business days. You have the ability to add extensive information on your file like company background information, operational information and financial statements. One of the drawbacks is that it does not include the ability to add trade references to your file. You will have to wait for vendors, creditors or suppliers to report their payment experience with you to Dun & Bradstreet. So if you are trying to build business credit history fast then this would not be the best choice for you because you have to wait until your suppliers report your payments.

* Tip – when you become a Business Credit Insider member we give you access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB on a monthly basis for building small business credit.

DNBi Self Monitor Basic

Price $449

If you choose to purchase this product then most likely they will waive the DUNs File Creator fee so don’t hesitate to request it. This particular product is ideal for you if you already have existing trade references that you want to add to your file. This service allows you to submit up to 8 references over a period of 3 months for a total of 4 payment experiences to be added. They allow this extra cushion just in case they are unable to contact one of your references for payment experience verification.

Now if the price on this is a bit of stretch for you then you may want to take advantage of their monthly payment option. It costs $39 per month and requires a 3 month minimum term. Keep in mind that if you select this option you are only allowed to add 1 trade reference per quarter with the option to add more if you continue the service.

 *Tip – when you become a Business Credit Insider member we report your monthly membership payment to Dun & Bradstreet. Not only do we give you access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB but we also help you build business credit history too!

If you decide to enroll in one of these programs or need some guidance regarding the status of your DNB report then call Dun & Bradstreet at 866-203-3151.

 Stay tuned for Business Credit Builder Part 2…

To access business credit insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

Some additional business credit reading…. 

This can seem like a tough task because you have to make sure that the suppliers, vendors, and lenders you have an already existing payment experience with will now start reporting to your newly established business credit files.

In addition, there is no way for you to confirm which company is reporting to your file because the business credit bureaus do not disclose what business is supplying the payment data.

Plus, you have to worry about new vendors and suppliers reporting as well.  One of the biggest mistakes made by small business owners is assuming that every vendor reports their payment history to their corporate credit file.

Last but not least what if the specific vendor or supplier your business has a good history of payment experience with is not set up to supply payment data to the business credit bureaus? One of my new clients who had been in business for over 15 years recently got listed with Dun & Bradstreet and contacted one of his suppliers to let them know of his new DUNS number. He was excited because he had a 10 year solid track record of payment experience with them and knew that this could benefit his newly established corporate credit file. Unfortunately this supplier was not a trade reporter with D&B so needless to say he was not happy.

Fortunately for you and my client there is a way to solve all these challenges and build company credit in record time!

One of the largest credit builder companies, Dun & Bradstreet offers a unique program ideal for new businesses that need to quickly build business credit history. With this program you have the ability to submit your company’s trade references that D&B will contact to collect payment experiences and report them to your file.

This allows you the opportunity to add your company’s good trade references to your business credit file with D&B and it doesn’t even require them to be a trade reporter with D&B. Best of all you can establish a Paydex score in a matter of weeks depending on how many references you supply to D&B to contact.

One very important thing to keep in mind is you cannot submit credit cards, gas or utilities as trade references to D&B.

The two business credit builder services I’m referring to are CreditBuilder Plus™ and CreditBuilder Premium™.

This is how you can build a business credit file in record time and benefit from doing what you’ve always done as a business owner. The only difference is now you have a business credit report that shows how responsible your business is in handling its financial responsibilities.  This can make the process of obtaining credit and business financing for your company much easier.

*You can add trade experiences using D&B’s program but be prepared to pay a substantial fee. This is an option but keep in mind there are other business credit bureaus you will also need to establish a file with such as Corporate Experian and Small Business Equifax. To access premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

 

To Your Success!

Marco Carbajo

About the Author

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a business credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in The Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

Business Credit Building

While many small business owners realize the benefits of starting business credit there are many mistakes that are made in the business credit building process. I felt that compiling a list of the most common mistakes I’ve seen throughout the industry can serve as a helpful guide to you. Here they are…

Choosing the wrong entity structure

Selecting the right entity structure for your business is the most important step you can make. Not just from a business credit standpoint but also from a tax and asset protection standpoint as well.  In addition there are state filing fees, franchise fees, licenses, resident agent service and a host of other important factors to consider.

Selecting the wrong SIC code 

There are certain codes that the business credit bureaus and lenders tend to stay away from. These industries include real estate investing, car sales, adult entertainment, travel, lending, restaurants, and dry cleaners. When you classify your business be sure to stay away from these classifications.

Selecting the wrong NAICS code

If you plan on investing in real estate then you will want to make sure that the company you build credit on is not “real estate investing”. Most banks will automatically turn you down because this is a high risk category. You still will be able to invest in real estate but you may have to set up a business that does business development, business consulting, marketing & advertising, training and development, etc. and then operate your real estate investments from a separate division or company that does something else.

Using a home or cell phone number as a business phone number

There’s nothing wrong with using these phone numbers but when it comes to business credit building it does matter. Your number has to be listed in the 411 national directories and cell phones and VOIP as well as call forwarding numbers do not work.

Having inconsistent information on business documents

When you start business credit you must pay close attention to details. The information used to open your credit file must match the information you use on applications, documents, and filings.

Applying for credit with the wrong vendors

There are 500,000 vendors in the U.S. that extend credit to businesses but less than 6,000 report to the business credit bureaus. Too many make the mistake of believing that simply doing business with a vendor will result in establishing business credit. Not true!

Applying for credit with vendors that report slow

There are vendors who do report your payment history but only on a quarterly or even yearly basis. Time is of the essence so you have to make sure the vendor you apply with also reports to the business credit bureaus on a monthly basis!

Applying for personal credit cards disguised as business credit cards

Pay special attention to what a credit card application requires and what the terms and conditions are.  A credit card that reports only to your personal credit is not a true business credit card

Applying for business credit cards that do not report to the business credit bureaus

There are over 500 business credit cards available in the marketplace but less than 70 report your payment history to the business credit bureaus.

Not establishing an effective bank rating

A minimum of a low 5 bank rating is a must if you plan to apply for a line of credit or loan. You can achieve a low 5 rating with a $10k balance in your account.

To access a complete step by step business credit building system with insider secrets, premium vendors, leasing companies, business credit cards, and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus become a member of my Business Credit Insider’s Circle. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

To Your Success!

 Marco Carbajo

About the Author

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insider’s Circle. He is a weekly columnist for Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Solutions, a corporate credit blogger for All Business & American Express Small Business and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in Business Week, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Tribune, Scotsman Guide, Alltop, Entrepreneur Connect, and Active Rain.  

As a business owner, you have four real choices when it comes to business structures for building business credit, and two bad choices:

    * C Corporation

    * S Corporation

    * Limited Liability Company

    * Limited Partnership

    * Sole Proprietorship

    * General Partnership

You can learn more about your four good choices by listening to my FREE Business Corporations Seminar.

CLICK HERE to listen

To learn why Sole Proprietorships and General Partnerships are so dangerous to you and your family, read on.

A Sole Proprietorship is bad…

Have you heard the saying “You get what you pay for?” Well, you normally don’t pay anything to start either a Sole Proprietorship or a General Partnership. Of course you don’t get anything, either. Unless you count the following as valuable business assets:

    * Lots of personal liability

    * No protection from your business creditors

    * An increased risk of being audited

    * Problems with valuation for a subsequent sale of the business

The reason for this lack of protection is because neither of these structures is considered a separate legal structure. Instead, they are considered personal extensions of you, if you are operating as a Sole Proprietorship, or you and your partners, if you’re operating as a General Partnership.

And, because these business types are considered personal extensions of you, you don’t have any protection from them.

But a General Partnership is Downright Ugly!

It gets even worse if you are operating with a partner as a General Partnership. That’s because not only are you responsible for all debts and agreements you enter into in the name of your business, you’re also on the hook for all of your partner’s actions in the name of your business as well. This can be devastating if your partner is financially irresponsible, and, because either of you can bind the partnership; you have zero protection from your partner.

If You Don’t Choose a Good Entity, the Government Will Choose a Bad One for You!

If you’ve been doing business up to now without a business structure, both the IRS and your state government have defaulted your business into either a Sole Proprietorship or a General Partnership.

And that means you’re exposed.

Use a Proper Business Structure – If you want to build business credit and you want to protect yourself from personal liabilities.

CLICK HERE to join my business credit community today and discover what cash credit and financing opportunites you can obtain for your business entity. 

Remember – There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world and that’s an idea whose time has come ~ Victor Hugo

To Your Success!

Marco Carbajo

About the Author

Marco Carbajo is a business credit specialist, author, speaker, and founder of the National Entrepreneur Club.  Click here to visit his blog and signup free to get strategies, resources, and credit building tips with blog updates, news, and more! To start building business credit join his business credit community today and Click Here.