Business Credit Success Stories
How do I?
Choose a Business Structure
Establishing your business as a separate entity is the first step to separating your business and personal credit. Not sure why that’s important? This video should help.
Get an EIN
You’ll need an EIN to file your taxes and open a business bank account (step 3). Banks and potential business partners may also request it when you fill out paperwork. Having this number for your business is an important step in establishing your company.
Make sure you have a D&B
D-U-N-S® Number
Your company’s D-U-N-S Number identifies your business credit profile and helps other companies pull your business credit report.
Update Your Business Information
Incomplete or inaccurate business information can impact your business credit scores and ratings. It’s easy to update your information with Company Update.
Pay on Time (Or Early)
When you don’t pay on time, vendors can submit negative trade references which can affect your business scores & ratings. Learn what else can affect your business credit profile.
Ask for Trade References
If you have vendors that you know you pay on time and that you have a good relationship with, ask them if they already submit trade references to D&B. If they don’t, see if they will. You can submit trade references yourself using CreditBuilder.
Monitor Your Scores & Ratings
You’ll want to know if there have been changes to your business credit scores and ratings. New information like liens, judgements, bankruptcies, or negative trade references can affect your profile. Free services like CreditSignal® will send you alerts if there are any changes to your scores and ratings.
Monitor Inquiries
When a business pulls your business credit file to help determine if your company qualifies for a loan or can be trusted with a contract, it’s called an inquiry. The names of the companies pulling your report are confidential, but you can find out when an inquiry has been made and what industry the inquiring company is in.
I want to know what industries have made inquiries on my business.
Update your information and get a free D-U-N-S Number
Update your business information for free and apply to get a Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number with this self-service portal.
Free alerts on changes to your D&B Scores & Ratings
Monitor changes to your D&B scores and ratings and help ensure you have the most up-to-date business credit information on your company.
Take Action to Build Your Business Credit File Today
Establish and build your D&B® credit file by submitting good payment history** that could otherwise go unreported to Dun & Bradstreet.