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Business Credit

Our Industry-Leading Business Credit Program: Powered by Advanced AI for Unmatched Speed and Efficiency.
We are proud to offer the best business credit program in the industry, designed to help businesses of all sizes access the credit they need to grow and thrive. What sets us apart is our integration of cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, enabling us to deliver results faster than ever before.

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What is business credit?

Your company can have a business credit score and credit reports unrelated to your personal credit score. Business credit reports are produced by Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Business, or Experian Business, and the variables used to calculate your business credit scores are different from those used to calculate your personal score. They include:

  • Your business’s payment history
  • Age of business credit history
  • Business debt usage
  • Industry risk
  • Company size

Registered businesses and corporations also have employer identification numbers (EIN), which are attached to your credit in place of your social security number. You’ll also want to register with Dun & Bradstreet to receive a DUNS number. They won’t start tracking your business credit activity if you’re not in their system.

Once you have your EIN and your DUNS, you can apply for some type of business debt. That could be a business credit card or business loan. The three business credit bureaus will track your payments to build your business credit history. The length of that history and the timeliness of your payments on debt accounts will be used to calculate your business
credit score.

Unlike personal scores done by FICO—which use a scale of 300 to 850—Dun & Bradstreet scores businesses on a scale of 0 to 100. They both track credit activity, but D&B also tracks business trade lines, or credit issued to businesses from their vendors. That’s one of several credit report differences you’ll see from business credit bureaus.

Business debt management may also be done differently than personal debt management because businesses have a variable income stream. Individuals often rely on a fixed salary, so they can budget debt payments easily. Business owners must be more cautious when taking on debt because market conditions and economic downturns could affect revenue.

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Credit card on keyboard with coins.

Why building business credit is important

One of the most difficult tasks for new business owners is separating business finances from personal finances. This is particularly true when the business struggles. Your first instinct might be to put more of your own money into it, but keeping your personal and business finances intermingled could put your home or other personal assets at risk.  

Building business credit can protect your personal assets from business liabilities— including legal liability. A corporation or LLC is responsible for its own debts, and will not affect the owner’s credit rating if they were taken out under the corporate EIN.  

Don’t underestimate the impact of your credit rating on your business. The business credit bureaus track credit utilization that can be used for credit risk assessment. Simple actions like paying your business credit card bills on time could lead to better financing opportunities in the future. Lenders, creditors, suppliers, vendors, and potential partners or investors will look at the factors that make up your business credit, so a good business credit score could be the key to future growth. 

Need more convincing? Try looking at the differences in available credit when assessing business loans vs. personal loans. Established companies can borrow more and get better terms than individuals with great personal credit scores.  

Finally, your business credit is important to building credibility and financial independence. Put the same effort into improving it as you do your personal credit, and you’ll eventually have a business that stands on its own.  

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: personal credit and business credit should be kept separate. Register your business with Dun & Bradstreet, check for a business credit rating at Experian and Equifax, and start building your business credit profile with credit cards, loans, or lines of credit.  

Flynn, K.D. (2024). Business credit vs. personal credit: Understanding the differences. Blue Vine 1-2  

https://www.bluevine.com/blog/business-credit-vs-personal-credit 

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Business Credit Scores & Reports

Strong business credit scores can be key to getting your company approved for trade credit and financing. But they can be very different than personal credit scores. Understand how they work and how to build strong business credit.

What is a Business Credit Score?

Personal credit scores rank creditworthiness of individuals, business credit scores do the same for businesses. Personal credit scores range from 300 to 850. Business credit scores range from 0 to 100. Major business credit reporting agencies Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax produce business credit scores and reports. FICO scores for small businesses are known as “FICO SBSS.” If you try to compare business credit to personal credit, you’re likely to get frustrated. That’s because business credit scores differ from consumer credit scores in some key ways:

  • Credit Score Ranges: Personal FICO scores range between 300 to 850; business credit scores typically range between zero to 100. Paying on time to lenders and/or creditors is the best thing you can do to establish a good business credit score.
  • Free scores: There are over 150 places where consumers can check and monitor their
    consumer credit scores for free. But free business credit scores are available from a very limited number of sources, such as Nav.
  • Access: Anyone can check a businesses’ credit scores, unlike consumer scores which are restricted to anyone with a “permissible purpose” under federal law.
  • Accuracy: A study published in the Wall Street Journal found as many as 25% of business credit reports may contain errors or are missing key information. If the credit report contains mistakes, the scores produced may not accurately reflect the risk of the business.

What is a good business credit score? Everything you need to know.

Here's an alt tag for the image: Good business credit scores chart.

Understanding a good credit score is one major key to overall business success. After all, having a good business credit score can lead to lower interest rates, access to the necessary financial resources needed to grow your business, and better trade credit.

Good (or high) business credit scores are considered a low risk for lenders and creditors, while low credit scores are considered risky for lenders. Therefore, it’s critical that you not only nurture your business credit score but also understand the ins and outs of what constitutes a good credit score.

Ericson, Cathie. Blogger Quickbooks Blog “What is a good business credit score? Everything you need to know.”
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/credit/good-business-credit-score/

Factors That Determine Business Credit Scores

The following factors may be used to calculate business credit scores. Each scoring model is different, though, so some of these factors may not carry much weight or may not be used at all.

  • Payment history
  • Age of credit history
  • Debt and debt usage
  • Industry risk
  • Company size

By far, the most important factor when it comes to business credit scores is payment history: does your business pay its bills on time? Some credit scores are almost exclusively calculated based on payment history.

Business credit score ranges chart.

These are some popular business credit scores. Just as there are many different versions of consumer credit scores, though, there are other business credit scores besides these. Just by checking these scores and making sure they are strong, you’ll be ahead of most business owners who never check or work on theirs.

10 Step Guide for Setting up Your Business Credit

  • Personal Credit: Improve your personal credit score with tailored strategies and expert guidance.
  • Personal Tradelines: Utilize legal and effective tradelines to boost your personal credit profile.
  • Personal Financing: Access personalized financing solutions to meet your financial goals effectively.
  • Legal Services: Ensure your business operates within legal boundaries with comprehensive legal support.
  • Business Credit: Establish and strengthen your business credit profile for enhanced financial credibility.
  • Business Tradelines: Access strategic tradeline solutions to optimize your business credit score.
  • Business Financing: Explore opportunities and secure grants to support your business growth and innovation.
  • Business Consulting: Receive an expert opinion before starting your business
  • Marketing and Pricing: Implement effective marketing strategies tailored to promote your business and attract customers.
  • Business Investing: Gain access to expert investment advice and services to maximize your financial portfolio

Get the credit your business deserves

Join over 250,000 small business owners who have built business credit history and
managed credit with Nav Prime — the clearest path to becoming financially healthy,
without any big bank barriers.

#1 financial health platform for small businesses

Our company is building the leading financial health platform for small businesses. What
started as a way for small business owners to easily find funding has become a destination
for over 350,000 small businesses to get everything they need to understand the full picture
of where their business stands, and how their business data can impact their financial
health profile and their access to capital.

  • Small businesses are the backbone of our communities: There are over 30 million small businesses in the U.S. They create jobs and build thriving communities, but the current financial infrastructure doesn’t meet their needs. Nav’s connected financial health platform creates a personalized experience for each individual small business—and empowers small business owners to make confident financial decisions.
  • Why Nav matters: Personalized, data-driven financial insights enable informed business financing decisions that help businesses grow, generate profits, hire employees, and help communities thrive—one business at a time.
  • Business Credit Scores & Reports: Strong business credit scores can be key to getting your company approved for trade credit and financing. But they can be very different than personal credit scores. Understand how they work and how to build strong business credit.
Mortgage and Lease All Business Bills
Net 30 Accounts NAV, Shirtsy and Grainger
Personal Loans Credit Strong and Line of Credit
Credit Cards Department Store, Secured and Unsecured Cards.

You only need four categories to manage your Business Credit Profile.

You don’t need a lot of experience and knowledge to do the things listed above, and to achieve a 80 Paydex Score. You also don’t need a lot of written materials, videos, training, finance experts, debt counselors, credit repair companies or persons, or any other source to do the SIMPLE things above. You can do this all yourself, and save a lot of money, and gain the valuable knowledge, and education of the credit industry.

This is the Crash Course Credit Program that we created by Artificial Intelligence, and we know it will boost your scores to the number that we have indicated. It’s easy to use, it’s detailed, organized, but it does take someone who is Self Sufficient. As we stated we don’t do the work for you, but we do the work with you, and we guide you through the process.

Business Credit vs Personal Credit

Keeping Business and Personal Credit separate can be tricky for small business owners, especially when you are the sole business owner. Even if you're the sole business owner, experts recommend having a clear distinction between your personal and business finances.

Building business credit aside from your personal credit is part of that equation. Your personal credit score and business credit score are two separate, but related numbers that tell lenders how creditworthy you or your business are. On the same surface, the difference between the two scores is clear: one relates to your personal financial history, and the other to your business financial history.

Many small business owners use personal credit to run their business. However, doing so could put you at risk if your business is ever in trouble. Plus, many creditors today are moving away from relying on personal credit alone when judging a business’s financial health since personal credit is not considered an ideal of “business” behavior.

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Build the Foundation for Success


Ready to strengthen your business's financial foundation? Contact us at GRH Enterprises today to discover how our tailored business credit solutions can elevate your company. Whether you're seeking to establish business credit, improve your credit profile, or access strategic funding options, our expert team is here to guide you.