Loan Qualifications

5 tips to help build your business credit.

If you’re in the early stages of your business, establishing a business credit history can go a long way toward helping you find business funding. Consider taking these actions to get started.

• Tip 1

  Register your business.

  The first step is to choose a business structure and register your business in the state you do business. Most businesses don’t need to register with the federal government, but you do need to file for a federal tax identification number. Unless you’re in a state with no state income tax, you’ll also need to get a state tax ID number. If you need help registering your business, you may want to consult with your local chamber of commerce.

• Tip 2

  Establish a business credit file.

  Verify whether your company has a credit file with the major business credit reporting bureaus, including Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Small Business and Experian Business. If you have an existing credit file with any agency, make sure that all the information listed is correct and updated. If you don’t already have a file, you can apply for one directly through each bureau.

• Tip 3

  Monitor your credit.

  Your personal credit may come into play when you apply for a business loan. Since lenders may review your personal and business credit ratings, it’s important to watch both and take steps to improve your scores, if necessary. These tips can help you improve or maintain your personal and business credit scores:

  • Aim to always make payments on time.
  • Keep your credit utilization ratio low.
  • Promptly dispute any errors on your personal or business credit reports.
• Tip 4

  Maintain positive cash flow.

  An important factor of qualifying for a loan is having the ability to repay the funds that you borrow. You can show that you’re capable of repayment by protecting and maintaining your cash flow. Learn how to increase your cash flow in order to help qualify for a business loan.

• Tip 5

  Borrow from companies that report to business credit bureaus.

  Business credit bureaus calculate credit scores based on available payment data. But not all lenders report payment data to them. To make sure that you’re actually building business credit, work with companies that report payment data to at least one major business credit bureau. OnDeck reports to Experian.