A business starts building credit by obtaining vendor accounts that report payment history to credit bureaus. This establishes an initial business credit profile and score over time. Once 5 payment experiences have been reported, the business can then qualify for revolving store credit cards. Proper setup of business entity, address, phone and online presence helps credibility for initial approvals.

1. How to Build an Initial
Business Credit Profile and
Score

2. Ty Crandall
Director of Business Services
(877) 600-2487
ty@creditsuite.com
www.CreditSuite.com/BusinessCredit

3. • www.CreditSuite.com/BusinessCredit

4. Business Credit
• Business Credit is credit that is obtained in a
Business Name
• With business credit the Business builds its
own credit profile and credit score
• With an established credit profile and score,
the business will then qualify for credit

5. Business Credit
• This credit is in the business name and based
on the business’s ability to pay, not the
business owners
• Since the business qualifies for the credit, in
some cases there is no personal credit check
required from the business owner

6. Business Credit
• The business can use its credit to qualify for
revolving store credit cards like Staples,
Lowes, Sam’s Club, Costco, BP, Wal-Mart,
even MasterCard, Visa, and AMEX
• The business can also qualify for credit
lines and loans

7. Business Credit Benefits
• A credit profile can be built for a business that
is completely separate from the business
owner’s personal credit profile
• This gives business owners DOUBLE the
borrowing power as they have both Personal
and Business credit profiles built

8. Business Credit Benefits
• Business credit scores are based only on
whether the business pays its bills on time
• A business owner can obtain credit much
faster using their business credit profile versus
their personal credit profile.

9. Business Credit Benefits
• Approval limits are much higher on business
accounts versus personal accounts
• Per SBA, credit limits on business cards are
usually 10-100 times higher than consumer
credit

10. Business Credit Benefits
• When done correctly Business Credit can be
built without a personal credit check
• Business credit can quickly be obtained
regardless of personal credit quality

11. Business Credit Benefits
• Most business credit can be obtained without
the owner taking on personal liability, or a
personal guarantee
• This means in case of default, the business
owner’s personal assets can’t be pursued

12. Business Credit Benefits
• When a business owner applies for financing,
their business credit IS reviewed
• Not having business credit established will get
an owner DECLINED for financing
• There are no regulations that require the
lenders notify the business owner for their
reason for denial, so most never know

13. Business Credit Building
– The business starts with no credit profile
– The business gets approved for new credit that
reports to the business credit reporting agencies
– The business uses the credit and pays the bill
timely
– A positive business credit profile is established
– As the business continues using the credit and
pays bills timely it will qualify for more credit
A business starts building a brand new credit profile
much the same as a consumer does

14. Step 1- Build Business Credibility
• The perception lenders,
vendors, and creditors have of
your business is critical to your
ability to build strong business
credit.
• Before applying for business
credit a business must insure it
meets or exceeds all lender
credibility standards

15. Business Name
• It is very important that you use your exact
business legal name
• Your full business name should include any
recorded DBA filing you will be using
• Insure your business name is exactly the same
on your corporation papers, licenses, and
bank statements

16. VERY Important
• File your corporation and get your EIN
• Get your phone listed with 411 (List Yourself)
• These two items are ESSENTIAL to get
approved for initial business credit

17. Business Address
• Business Address
–Must be a real brick-and-mortar building
–Deliverable physical address
–Cannot be a home address
–Cannot be a PO Box
–Cannot be a UPS address
• Some lenders will not approve and
fund unless this criteria is met

18. Perception is EVERYTHING
• You should have a toll free phone number
• You should have a fax number
• You need a professional email address, like
name@yourcompany.com
• You should have a nice looking, professional
website

19. Bank Account
• Having a high account balance is essential in
obtaining an excellent Bank Rating
• Having a good Bank Rating is essential for
approval
• Try to keep a bank balance of $10,000 or
higher for a High 5 Bank Rating

20. Licensing
• Insure you have proper licenses
– State
– City
– County
• Make sure your address is correct on all
licenses

21. Business Listings
• Take the time to verify that main agencies
(State, IRS, Bank, and 411 national directory)
have your business listed the same way and
with your Exact Legal Name.

22. Business Credit Reports
• It’s an exceptional idea to pull your reports
with D&B and Experian to check your trade
lines, score, and profile BEFORE applying
• Trying to get approved with existing bad credit
presents unique, additional approval
challenges
• Review your report and dispute derogatory
items first BEFORE applying for initial credit

23. Step 2- Obtain Business Credit
Reports
• Use Creditera
• Here’s our link with a BIG discount
www.CreditSuite.com/businessreports
• $29.99 monthly
• Get D&B and Experian Business
• AND get Transunion and Experian personal
• EXCLUSIVE spot for Business FICO score

24. • http://info.creditera.com/healthycredithealth
ybusiness?clickid=wcATkAxMp3UsyV%3Azy
%3ATWX2yqUkTSui1pQxeYxY0&iradid=12822
4&irpid=79346&iradtype=TEXT_LINK&iradsize
=&irmpname=Business+Finance+Suite&irmpty
pe=mediapartner&utm_source=Partner&utm
_campaign=79346

25. Step 3- Obtain Vendor Accounts
FIRST
• A business credit report can be started much
the same as a consumer report commonly is,
with small credit cards
• The business can be approved for small credit
cards to help them build an initial credit
profile
• These types of initial cards in the business
world are commonly referred to as “vendor
credit”

26. Vendor Accounts
• A vendor line of credit is when a company
(vendor) extends a line of credit to your business
on "Net 15, 30, 60 or 90" day terms.
• This means that you can purchase their products
or services up to a maximum dollar amount and
you have 15, 30, 60 or 90 days to pay the bill in
full.
• So if you're set-up on Net 30 terms and were to
purchase $300 worth of goods today, then that
$300 is due within the next 30 days.

27. Vendor Accounts
• You can get products and
services for your business needs
and defer the payment on those
for 30 days, thereby easing cash
flow
• And some vendors will approve
your company for Net 30
payment terms upon verification
of as little as an EIN number
and 411 listing

28. Do NOT Apply Using Your SSN
• Always apply first without using
your SSN.
• Some vendors will request it and
some will even tell you on the phone they
need to have it, but submit first without it
• Many don’t even know you can get approved
without it

29. Do NOT Apply Using Your SSN
• When you apply using your SSN you almost
always are giving a personal guarantee
• One easy way to know if you have business
credit already is if you obtained credit without
signing for it and providing your SSN
• TRUE business credit doesn’t require a SSN in
most cases to qualify

30. Do NOT Apply Using Your SSN
• Business credit is using your EIN to qualify for
credit
• When you have enough credit built for your EIN,
you can then get approved without providing
your SSN
• If you provide a SSN, your personal credit WILL
be pulled in most cases
• That personal credit will then be used for the
approval decision

31. Do NOT Apply Using Your SSN
• Most credit issuers will approve you without
your SSN if your EIN credit is strong enough
• If your EIN credit is not good enough, you might
be declined and they then might ask for your
SSN
• No matter what ANY credit representatives tell
you, credit CAN be obtained based on your EIN
only

32. STARTER Vendor Accounts
• You must start a business credit profile and
score with starter vendors
• Starter vendors are ones who will give you
initial credit even if you have no credit, no
score, or no trade lines now
• Most stores like Staples will NOT give you
initial starter credit, so DON’T even try
applying

33. True STARTER Vendors
• Laughlin Associates
• Deal with corporate setup and compliance
• Report to Experian
• Only 411 listing and EIN required
• Reports in 30-60 days
• Net 30 Terms

34. True STARTER Vendors
• Creditera
• Business and personal credit monitoring
• Report to Experian and D&B
• NO approval requirements
• Reports in 180 days
• Net 30 Terms

35. True STARTER Vendors
• Quill Office Supplies
• Office, packaging, and cleaning supplies
• Report to D&B
• Must place initial order first unless D&B score
is established
– Usually they’ll put you on a 90 day prepayment
schedule
– If you order items each month for 3 months, they
typically approve you for a Net 30 Account

36. True STARTER Vendors
• Gempler’s
• Work supplies and products
• Report to D&B
• Place initial order over $50 and select “Invoice
me” option
– They will pull credit
– If not approved, pre-pay for order and keep
purchasing and choosing “invoice me” option until
approved for Net 30 account

37. True STARTER Vendors
• Reliable Office Supplies
• Office supplies and promotional products
• Report to D&B, Experian and Equifax
• Place initial order, then request your order be
invoiced or billed to your company
– They will pull your credit
– If not approved, keep ordering and requesting to
be invoiced or billed
– The more orders you place the better your chance
of approval for Net 30 terms

38. True STARTER Vendors
• Uline Shipping Supplies
• Shipping, packing, and industrial supplies
• Report to D&B
• You must have your DUNS number
• They will ask for 2 references and bank
reference
• First few orders might need to be pre-paid to
initially get approved for Net 30 terms

39. True STARTER Vendors
• Monopolize Your Marketplace
• Everything you need to know about marketing
and business 10 audio CD set
• Report to Experian
• TRUE starter account
• Upon check out choose “4 equal payments of
$59.99” option
• First charge takes place in 30 days
• Need bank account, EIN, deliverable address
• 30-60 days for reporting

40. Vendor Accounts
• You need to have a total of at least five 5
payment experiences to start getting
revolving store credit
• A payment experience is the reporting of an
account to 1 business credit reporting agency
• An account reported to both D&B and
Experian would count as 2 payment
experiences

41. Vendor Accounts
• Pay your Net 30 vendor accounts
in-full and on-time
• You must be patient and allow time
for the vendors' reporting cycles to
get into the reporting systems
• It typically takes 3 cycles of "Net"
accounts reporting to build credit
scores

42. Vendor Accounts
• Most Merchants and major retailers do offer
business credit, they just don’t advertise it
• There is no benefit to the merchant to
promote credit with no personal liability if the
business owner is willing to take on that
liability
• So they don’t promote their business credit
cards and regularly ask for a SSN

43. Obtain Revolving Accounts
• After 5 trade lines are established using
vendor accounts, obtaining revolving accounts
is the next step
• Revolving accounts are cards a business
owner can use and not be required to pay the
full balance owed each month

44. Obtain Revolving Accounts
• Revolving account approvals will begin coming
from stores
• Store revolving credit must be obtained
before the business owner starts getting Visa,
MC, Amex, type cards

45. Obtain Revolving Accounts
• Most stores will NOT approve a business owner
for business credit unless the owner has an
established credit profile and score, just like in
the consumer world
• Vendor accounts must be used first to establish a
profile and score, then store credit can be
obtained
• It usually takes only 90 days or less to establish a
score and profile with trade lines

46. Learn more about business credit at
www.CreditSuite.com
Ty Crandall
877-600-2487
ty@creditsuite.com
www.CreditSuite.com/BusinessCredit