Getting a Credit Report for Your Small Business

As a small business owner I am constantly on the look out for ways to continue financing my ever expanding organization without investing all of my personal funds. Other than contacting friends and family members for some working capital business loans and credits are usually the only option. However, when lenders become involved in business financing the businesses credit report goes under the microscope.

Like many small business owners I had no idea what my companies credit report might look like. I assumed it would be similar to, or better than, my personal credit but without actually looking at a report I was grasping at straws. That was when I decided to start looking into getting a copy of my business credit report.

My first stop was Dun and Bradstreet, the company which provided my business with its DUNS number. D-U-N-S is short for Data Universal Numbering System which is a unique, nine digits, identification number that is often used to identify a business for financial reasons. In addition to providing this identification number Dun and Bradstreet provide a variety of services to help companies, small and large, to monitor their credit. These services range from $29.99 to a basic credit worthiness overview to over $400.00 for a comprehensive credit score, credit monitoring, and advice to improve your companies' credit score.

The basic credit report I ordered for my company was very simple to read and provided a detailed overview of my companies' history, worth, income, location, and more. It showed my companies overall risk summary which included the risk of late payments. In addition to that it showed my companies current payment history (current payments, late payments, etc.) and had a section that reported liens or public suits.

For those small business owners who are not listed on Dun and Bradstreet yet or who have recently been denied business credit there is an alternative. When your company is denied credit you have the option of writing a letter to the credit reporting agency used to perform the credit check formally requesting a copy of your business credit report. In most cases you will have to provide a copy of the denial letter and the request should be sent from the companies' primary owner on company letterhead if possible. When a request for a credit report is made this way it usually takes 30 days for the credit reporting agency to mail the credit report to the company.