Posts Tagged Business Credit Reports

The Importance of a Business Credit Report

Francis Murphy asked:




A business credit report is a report that indicates the creditworthiness of a company. A document like this can be obtained from a bank or a credit reporting agency. The information contained a business entity’s current financial position and credit history as well as public records such as bankruptcies, foreclosures and judgments. Information for a credit report is largely culled from creditors and similar sources.

It is important for a business to maintain a solid report. A good business credit report can be critical to obtaining favourable financial terms for a business when creditors are reviewing its creditworthiness. A good credit history is also influential to help customers decide who to do business with. Credit reports can help businesses manage their credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Essentially, this helps maintain the financial security of a business entity and is an indicator of the business’ financial health.

Business credit reports can be obtained from credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus. These companies provide and store personal credit histories as well as provide credit reports upon request. Unlike personal credit reports, permission is not required from business owners should a person wish to request a business entity’s credit report.

Those who request a business credit report are known as “end users” and they are not allowed to show the report to anyone else without permissible purpose. However, it is not illegal to resell credit reports, although the reseller must indicate the end user and their permissible purpose.

It is not enough to assume that a favourable personal credit score can secure your business a good business credit score. Every business should encourage its vendors to report your payment history to credit reporting agencies so that such information is on file. Separating your personal report from that of your business ensures that your personal credit standing will not be affected should your business face any risks.

Business credit needs to be constantly managed and monitored so that anyone who views your report receives current information.

Ida

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Small Business Credit Reports and Scores

Adam Tijerina asked:




You know you have personal credit reports and credit scores, but were you aware that if you run a business, you also have a business credit report and score? If you run a small business, find out why it is important to access your own reports and those of your customers, vendors and suppliers and how that information can affect whether or not you get access to an increased credit line or more stringent credit terms for your company.

Your small business credit report and score can indicate to a potential customer, vendor or supplier your credit worthiness and can have factor in the what kind of credit terms you get or if you get any financing at all. They will see how many accounts you have opened, how many of those accounts are past due, the average amount you owe, and whether you have ever been past due on any of your accounts.

You can also get access to public records such as bankruptcies, judgments, liens, alternate company names and other DBAs all on a small business credit report.

All this information is then compiled and given a credit risk score by Equifax which can indicate how likely a company will fall behind over 90 days on their bills or result in a charge off over the next year. Wouldn’t this information be useful in deciding on who to do business with?

Equifax also provides a business failure score which can predict how likely a big business will fail and have to file bankruptcy over the next year.

There are no free business credit reports as their are with personal credit reports. You can chalk up the cost of this information as a cost of doing business which can save you thousands of dollars by going with a responsible vendor or supplier or new customer who will not default on their payments.

Buying small business credit reports and scores can help you make smart decisions about who you decide to do business with and can prevent you from working with an unreliable customer, vendor, or supplier who has a lousy payment history and keep your cash flow low.

Allison

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How Business Credit Reports Work

Shelly Cruz asked:


Minimizing risk and maximizing growth opportunities are the ultimate goals for any organization. The importance of business credit reports cannot be undermined as it helps businesses in making informed decisions. Business credit reports are used to adjudge the reliability of new business partners, vendors, and suppliers. It is also beneficial for entrepreneurs as it assists them in analyzing the credit standing of their company.

Business credit reports provide information pertaining to the background of organizations. It helps in assessing prospective business alliances and thus reduces the chances of making business decisions, which may have negative repercussions. With the assistance of business credit reports, organizations gain a clear understanding of other businesses (vendors, suppliers, prospective alliance partners) and their credit worthiness. Associating with companies having dubious background will not only tarnish the image of the organization but may also prove to be a financial liability. Such checks become vital for creditors or lending agencies because failure to do so may lead to bad debt. Business credit reports can help in mitigating risk by identifying signs of potential credit problems.

Business credit reports are also used by entrepreneurs, to track the credit worthiness and standing of their company. It helps them in determining whether their company is an attractive credit prospect for suppliers. In cases were a business needs credit, business credit report helps in identifying the amount of credit that can be obtained and determines the rate of interest on which the credit can be obtained. It works in the same way as a personal credit report, wherein individuals can check their credit report to see if credit would be extended to them and the likely rate of interest. Business credit reports also assist entrepreneurs in gauging the level of interest, which is likely to be shown by investors. All these factors have direct implications on your business and should not be ignored or taken lightly.

A typical business credit report includes a review of the following areas:

Company information and its background.

Payment records and history.

Credit risk rating (high, medium, and low).

History of legal issues.

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) fillings.

Business credit report is a tool used extensively by businesses to analyze, judge and make sound business decisions.



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