GSCSC

Thank you for visiting our website. In this week’s article, we will be discussing building corporate business credit. True corporate business credit is the means of accessing higher lines of business credit, business funding, and working capital, along with vendor credit or trade credit seperate from your personal credit. True corporate business credit and how to build it properly is a task that takes much dedication, persistence, hard work, a certain length of time, depending on your ability to work the system and must be done right by professionals or by you in order to prevent your new or existing business from being red flagged by the business credit reporting agencies. In this article, we will discuss the actual steps that are required to build true corporate business credit. There are differences in business credit and true corporate business credit, and we’ll do our best to explain the differences in this article.

When a business seeks to build true corporate business credit, in most cases, they go about it in the wrong way. Many fraudulent personal credit repair companies and fraudulent corporate business credit service provider companies will ultimately sell aged shelf corporations, LLC’s and LLP’s to their clients with packages of illegal and fraudulent seasoned tradelines, more commonly called business trade references, for thousands and thousands of hard earned dollars. The first huge mistake made, is buying aged shelf corporations and LLC’s with tax or other liabilities attached to them. The next huge mistake made is purchasing packages of illegal and fraudulent aged seasoned tradelines, or business trade references and having them placed on your corporate business credit profiles. These fraudulent and illegal aged seasoned tradelines, or business trade references will get your company red flagged immediately, and will at the same time, place your company into a high risk status category with the business credit reporting agencies. Once this happens, building true corporate business credit is nearly impossible to do. Another big mistake that new and experienced business owners make, is letting a fraudulent service provider company tell them that they only need to be registered with D&B alone, that they do not have to obtain or build a PAYDEX credit score rating, and that it is going to cost them anywhere from $4,000.00 to $9,000.00 to properly build their D&B corporate business credit profile. This is an outright lie, and misrepresentation, and is the farthest thing from the actual truth that there ever could be. It truly only costs a mere fraction of that amount to do it yourself. You can build your own corporate business credit profile through D&B for $690.00 and get their Self Monitoring service for $359.00. That is all the money that is being laid out by the fraudulent service provider to build your D&B corporate business credit profile, but you are not made aware of this fact. Instead, you pay $4,000.00 to $9,000.00 just for an empty D&B corporate business credit profile, no PAYDEX credit score rating, and look at the profit made by the fraudulent service providers! If you want to build true corporate business credit, visit our business credit page at: http://www.gscsc.net/business-credit.html and see what we can do for you. Also visit our wholesale aged shelf companies affiliate program page at: http://www.gscsc.net/affiliate-programs.htm to learn more about our affiliate reseller programs. Get business loans, corporate credit cards, equipment and vehicle leases, and cash lines of credit. Be sure that the company you’re going to be using is not just giving you vendor credit or trade credit alone. They must also be willing to help you obtain CASH LINES OF CREDIT as well. That is the ultimate and top goal of any entrepreneur and business owner.

Another even larger mistake made, is letting a fraudulent service provider company tell you that funding is UNSECURED, that a PG (Personal Guarantee) is not required, another lie that is so far out there, yet people believe it all the time. WATCH OUT when you hear this. In most cases, the fraudulent service provider company is only building an empty D&B corporate business credit profile, and they are ensuring that your personal credit scores are at least 680 points or higher, and they’re also taking 10% of your lines of credit (LOC’s) and what a nasty price to pay! Yes, you will get the funding, but what a major price you have to pay and come up with to get that funding. The only persons that benefit from these corporate business credit building scams, are the people selling them to you, and they know it. In the beginning stages of building true corporate business credit, you may have to personally guarantee a loan or cash line of credit, but later on, the personal guarantee can be converted to a loan or cash line of credit without a personal guarantee. Building true corporate business credit is a process, and is earned. You don’t just get funding out of the sky, and you will have to personally guarantee it until you’ve built a high enough corporate business credit score rating to warrant getting your funding without a PG (personal guarantee.) If you want to build true corporate business credit, and you truly desire to do it the right way, there is a very specific process involved that you must follow in order to build and maintain true corporate business credit status, and if you do not follow this step by step process, you will almost always have to personally guarantee every business loan or vehicle lease or credit card that you will ultimately obtain for your business. By following this step by step procedure, you will build true corporate business credit that will astound you, and which will also give you the compeditive edge over your competition. We strongly encourage you to visit our business credit page located at: http://www.gscsc.net/business-credit.html and let the experts help you get this done properly.

Just remember that there are no quick fixes, or overnight solutions for building true corporate business credit. The biggest difference between business credit and true corporate business credit is this, business credit requires you to personally guarantee every loan, lease or credit card that you obtain. That is the type of business credit game that potential lenders and banks want you to play. The lenders want you to personally guarantee everything, but there is another way to do it. True corporate business credit on the other hand, does not require a PG or personal guarantee once you’ve properly built your corporate business credit scores and ratings to the point that you qualify for corporate business credit without a PG or personal guarantee. In this article, we’ll provide you with the actual steps required to properly build true corporate business credit. Be extremely careful who you get to help you build true corporate business credit. It could cost you everything, and you could be out of a lot of money, and these fraudulent companies just don’t care! As long as they can take every hard earned dollar from you, that is all they care about, and once your resources are depleted, they will move on to their next victim!

An important note: Before you begin to build and establish true corporate business credit, you need to make sure that your corporation or LLC has a unique name that reflects your business and its activity. We’ll discuss this a little more in detail below. Let’s get started with the actual systematic process needed to establish and build your corporate business credit. Once again, remember that this is a process, and that you need to be registered with all the major players in the credit industry to truly qualify for true corporate business credit, and for any kind of true corporate business credit funding. Don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise. If you are not registered with D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business, don’t even try to qualify for corporate business credit! You will in most cases, be flat out denied access to credit! You just won’t get corporate business credit or funding from these fraudulent service providers unless you pay out huge bond insurance fees, have financials, or your personal credit is in the 680 point range. Even then, your basic level of corporate business credit will not usually be reported to your corporate business credit profiles, so just follow these steps below. Here are the real facts, the truth, and the real steps that you should follow.

Step #1. Name and Form Your Corporation.

We have already discussed naming your corporation. Once you have a name picked out you will need to do a search to make sure that it isn’t already registered (or something very similar). This is usually done during the incorporation process. When choosing a name for your new or existing business if you’ve purchased an aged shelf corporation, be sure that it is unique, that it reflects your business model, and that other businesses do not have similar names. D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business do not like to provide good corporate business credit profiles or good corporate business credit ratings to companies that have similar names. This also brings to mind company trademarks, and copyrights. Be sure to trademark your company’s name, and also copyright it, and do this as soon as possible. This will further prevent other businesses of similar nature from using your company’s name or other likeness thereof in their businesses, and adds a layer of protection to your company and its corporate business credit profiles. Also, make absolutely sure that you give a physical commercial address for your corporate headquarters. P.O. boxes and home addresses will severely diminish your ability to build your corporate business credit and this also includes the use of Internet based virtual offices, or the use of mailing services like Mailboxes, Etc. All of the corporate business credit reporting agencies automatically red flag these as fraudulent and high risk programs unless the program is approved as usable through D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. All others are red flagged.

When you have a name, you then need to decide on the type of corporation you will ultimately form.  There are many different types of business entities you can choose to incorporate your business under. Most countries offer various types of incorporation structures that you can select from. Carefully select one, and get started. Note: You can set up a US corporation and apply for an EIN (an employer Identification number) even from outside the country. You will need to consult a competent international lawyer and accountant for the complete details on how to do this.

USA corporate entities: 

1. The S-Corporation

2. The C-Corporation

3. The Limited Liability Company (LLC)

(Although some people report building corporate business credit with an LLC, it seems the S-corp. and C-corp entity types, are the preferred method to get huge credit limits.) We are not lawyers or accountants, so you will need to do some in-depth research and due diligence in your area to find out what is the best fit for you. To learn the status of each of these business types and what structure is best for your situation, here is a link to the SBA website. 

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/index.html 

You can use their online small business planner to assess which business structure is best for your state and current situation. Here is the link to access the “Choose Your Structure” page on the Internet:

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/start/chooseastructure/index.html

There are certain business structures that should be avoided at all cost if you plan to build true corporate business credit. These entities are legally registered businesses but usually have their credit profiles tied directly to their personal owners:

1) The Sole Proprietorship  This is the most common type of small business structure. The owner and the business are tied together and are liable for each other’s debts. (Not Recommended For Building Corporate business Credit).

2) A General Partnership  Another common small business arrangement. No partner is limited from the liabilities of other partners or the business. (Not Recommended For Building Corporate business Credit).

3) A Registered Limited Partnership  General partners run the business and limited partners are usually just investors and are not liable for the business debts. The limited partners are only liable for their initial investment. The general partners are personally liable for business debts. (Not Recommended For Building Corporate business Credit).  

Corporate Structures In The UK:

Here is a site that describes various British corporate structures

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073858805&r.s=tl

Corporate Entities In Canada:

To get up to date information on Canadian business corporate structures please visit this government site http://canadabusiness.gc.ca/gol/cbec/site.nsf/en/index.html

for a current list of types of corporations, comparisons and evaluations, visit this website:

http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid=1081945275353&lang=en  

Step #2. Get Your Numbers.

Get Your Corporate EIN number (Tax ID# or Business registration number). This registration is handled by some incorporation service providers. Be sure to check if you aren’t doing the incorporation filings yourself. If these numbers are included in your incorporation services package, also be certain to check that the numbers that you receive are not tied directly to your social security number in any way. Many companies that provide you with corporate registration numbers tie them directly to your social security number, and you don’t want this to happen. Use a supplier that will get your identification number without using your social security number. This is extremely important.

In the USA the IRS issues your Tax ID Number (also called your EIN or Employer Identification Number). Here is the application form link to help you get an EIN number:

https://sa1.www4.irs.gov/sa_vign/newFormSS4.do If you are applying for this number on your own, you will need to input your Social Security number or your Social Insurance number as the IRS likes to know who the individual behind the corporation is. Avoid this if at all possible.In Canada, you will get a BIN or BN number (depending on your choice of corporate entity). Here is the link to the BN registration

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc1/rc1-fill-05e.pdf

In the UK, you get a detailed explanation of corporate activities at

http://www.companies-house.gov.uk/  

Step #3. Get Hooked Up. 

It is important that you order a separate business phone line (yes, it is more expensive) and have a physical commercial address attached to this business number. Setting up your business phone with a P.O. Box or your home address is definitely not recommended. You do not want to use Mailboxes, Etc either. As your corporate business credit profile grows, you might receive a phone call from Dun and Bradstreet to verify your information (In Fact, You Will). You need to have a phone that is listed in the business directory (411 directories) and has a commercial physical address listed with it. Using a cell phone as your business phone line, is another corporate business credit building mistake. DO NOT DO THIS! DO NOT use mailing services like Mailboxes, Etc, or certain types of Virtual Office programs. These mail forwarding services, and virtual office programs are all being red flagged by D&B, Experian Business, Equifax Business, and nearly all of the other business credit reporting agencies. There are very few of these programs left in existance that the corporate business credit reporting agencies will allow you to use. Be very selective when using these types of programs. The business credit reporting agencies are all catching on fast to these corporate business credit building schemes, and you will be listed as a potential high risk if one of these services is detected..

 

When you call to setup your business line, you might be given the option to leave your address out of the phone book listing. This is definitely not a good idea. When you are building corporate business credit, in the beginning, you want to remain as visible as possible. You must be listed in the 411 business directory! You can use this website to register your business numbers and addresses. Visit: http://www.superpages.com and register. The most important item that also goes along with the above information, is getting hooked up and registered with all of the major business credit reporting agencies. By doing this, you set yourself up to be recognized in the credit industry, and you are also doing what potential lenders and credit grantors want you to do, show yourself as an actual registered running business. If you only register with one business credit reporting agency, you will be making a serious mistake. You need to be registered with them all. There are 26 business credit bureaus in total. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. If you end up registering with only one business credit bureau, you will very quickly find out how fast you can and will be denied any form of credit.

Step #4. Use Your Phone, Be Patient, and Pay The Bill.

Make a few long distance calls from your new business line, and wait for your first business line phone bill to come in the mail. Don’t go crazy! Just make sure you use your business line a few times, and then wait patiently for the first bill. When it comes in, pay it in full, promptly. When this happens, the business credit reporting agencies receive an alert that a bill was paid by your company, and they also see that your phone number plus your address are tied together. This makes your corporate business credit profiles with all of the major players in the corporate business credit industry match, look good, and you are on the way to building true corporate business credit!

Step #5. Setup Your Corporate Bank Account. (This can be done at the same time as step #4).

Shop around to find a bank that understands the difference between a standard business checking account that is tied to your personal credit profile, and a corporate account that is a stand-alone entity. You will probably need to take your incorporation papers, business registration numbers, Etc., with you to open your new corporate business checking account. A great way to check how “corporate friendly” a bank might be is to check the credit cards that they issue. Do they issue business credit cards only, or do they also have a category of corporate business credit cards? Order some checks and make sure to shop for an account that does not have exorbitant monthly fees. It is commonplace for corporate accounts to have higher fees than a personal bank account, but again, it never hurts to shop around and ask for a better deal from perticipating banks. They want your business. When we initially opened our latest corporation, we had some proceeds from the sale of another business that we used as our first bank account deposit. We had just received a large certified check that day! This was totally a coincidence but it turned out to be exactly the right thing to do. This is one of the things we actually did right, although we didn’t find this out until much later on. A retired banker has recently told us some interesting facts about opening your corporate business checking and savings accounts.   Tip: Did you know that many banks record your account opening balance? It seems that the bigger your initial deposit is with a bank, the more important the bank will consider you (or your corporation) to be down the road. A year or so from now when you go to your bank and ask for a 6 or 7 figure business loan, they will look at many, many items when considering your request. One of the items that will still be there is the recorded and documented size of that first account opening deposit when you first opened your account with that bank. For the sake of your new or existing business, impress the banks as much as you possibly can. With this in mind, it might be a good idea to really impress them with the size of your opening deposit. How much money could you borrow from friends, family and people who have owed you money? Could you leverage your cash flow for a month or two and end up with a large initial deposit? If you can, you should. You can always withdraw the majority of the money in 2-3 weeks and return it to its rightful owners with a little interest or some kind of token of your appreciation. This is just food for thought.One last thought on your business bank account. Some banks also monitor your monthly balance. They generate a report on your monthly low, high and average balances. This is not overly important until you decide that you want to apply for a large business loan, or line of credit (LOC) from that institution without a PG or personal guarantee. Make absolutely sure that you plan ahead and try to increase your monthly minimum balance over time. This strategy won’t make or break your corporate business credit building results, but you will notice a major difference in the way that the bank treats you, based on the size of your first deposit, and your minimum monthly balance.Step #6. Get Your D-U-N-S 9-Digit Number.

This is one of the most crucial steps in creating your corporate business credit advantage. Dun and Bradstreet is a very powerful company that controls over 70% of the business credit rating industry. The other major players are Experian Business, and Equifax Business. Most potential corporate business credit grantors rely on the PAYDEX credit score that is generated by D&B. Dun and Bradstreet numbers can directly be applied for online, or by phone, and they are typically available in most countries. There is a cost for these numbers, but the cost is well worth it. The fastest way to build your corporate business credit profile and PAYDEX credit score is by purchasing their “CreditBuilder” program when opening your account. This add-on program will allow you to check your PAYDEX credit score. It also allows you to add historical vendors more commonly called trade references, or vendor credit or trade credit history to your corporate business credit profile. So for example, if you have had your corporation for a while and have some valid trade references you can quickly add them to your D&B corporate business credit profile. Just make sure that you do this the right way.We purchased the CreditBuilder program (To be frank, we did not know that there was another option available to us!). We had our D-U-N-S number immediately and a good PAYDEX credit score rating in about nine weeks! You use their service called “eUpdate” to check your corporate filings, your vendors that are reporting your payment history and your PAYDEX score directly from their website.What exactly is a PAYDEX Credit Score?

Your PAYDEX credit score is Dun and Bradstreet’s trademarked numerical indicator of how a firm paid its bills over the past year. It is based on a dollar value. It uses valid trade references or trade reporting data from various vendors that you do business with LEGALLY. Your Dun and Bradstreet PAYDEX credit score will range from 1 point to 100 points. The higher the PAYDEX credit score the better. A PAYDEX credit score of 70  points to 75+ points is needed to really start building your corporate business credit heights. Just make absolutely sure that you report positive and valid business trade references to Dun and Bradstreet when you are adding business trade references to your corporate business credit profiles. And, do know this clearly as well, that D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business WILL CHECK YOUR INFORMATION FOR VALIDITY AND ACCURACY. IF YOU FRAUDULENTLY REPORT INFORMATION ON YOUR CORPORATE BUSINESS CREDIT PROFILES, YOU WILL BE RED FLAGGED, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, AND YOU WILL BE PLACED INTO A HIGH RISK STATUS CATEGORY. Once this happens, it is virtually impossible to reverse the negatives from your corporate business credit profiles, and you may have to start over from the beginning and that is just the reality of how D&B and the other business credit reporting agencies actually work!. 

Dun and Bradstreet are extremely diligent about maintaining their reputation. They are THE respected business credit authority and take extraordinary measures to protect themselves from reporting miss information and fraudulent filings. So when we tell you never to buy or use packages of so called business tradelines or business trade references with an aged shelf corporation that has tax or other liabilities attached to it, WE COULDN’T BE MORE SERIOUS ABOUT IT! DO NOT DO THIS. IT WILL BE A CERTAIN DEATH SENTENCE FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND VERY QUICKLY AT THAT.

When creating or updating your company’s corporate business credit profile you want to consider the ramifications of all answers before you submit them to a D&B account specialist for publishing. It is extremely vital and important to establish a great start to your D-U-N-S number and to your corporate business credit profile. Do not lie, but seriously consider if there is anything that you can possibly do LEGALLY to improve your corporate business credit profile before you submit it for publishing.    

There is a very good chance that Dun & Bradstreet will call to verify your phone number, that someone actually answers it, and that it is answered with your business name. They might even check to see if you are actually listed in the business phone directory. They have even gone as far as to check government filings to make sure you are actually incorporated and have paid your corporate filing fees and that you are up to date with all of your corporate filings. D&B is very quick to check your business out to the maximum possible extent, so you need to be aware of this from the start. D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business will use whatever means that they have to use in order to validate your information, so be very careful. These corporate business credit reporting agencies will verify data through public and even private records if necesary to validate a company’s information. And just remember this as well, there are no corporate laws that protect you as a business owner like the consumer credit laws do for consumers. 

That being said, you probably will need to update your company’s corporate business credit profile as time goes on. Adding employees and other branch locations will help your PAYDEX credit score down the line.   Here is the ultimate company profile as far as PAYDEX credit score ratings goes according to Dun and Bradstreet (Something to deffinetly shoot for in the future of your new or existing business).• You have been a corporation filing promptly for 5 years

• You have more than $1 Million in gross sales per year

• You have employed more than 50 people

• Your business is incorporated in the same state as the officers residence is 

• A business phone that is answered with the business name

• A physical commercial location that looks like a business

• More than one satellite or branch office or location

Some of these items might actually fit your corporate business credit profile in the future, others might not. We only put that list here to show you the ultimate credit worthy business according to the PAYDEX rating scale through Dun and Bradstreet.   When filing your company’s corporate business credit profile with a D&B account specialist, it might be very wise to consider “research” or “consulting” as opposed to “home-based” businesses. D&B will give you a much lower corporate business credit score rating if you have a small home-based company. Also, consider whether you might be using friends, family or casual labor in the coming year. A corporation with 5 employees (even part time) gets a more favorable PAYDEX credit score rating than a one-person operation. Again, be truthful. Our personal experience was that we paid for our D-U-N-S number and the CreditBuilder pro package program. We obtained our number and a PAYDEX credit score quickly. Since we had been incorporated for a couple of years we were able to input some previous vendors into our corporate business credit profile who had granted us valid and legal credit terms.   

This might have been the reason for our initial PAYDEX credit score being created so quickly. Note: We cannot stress this enough to new and existing business owners. DO NOT EVER PURCHASE SO CALLED BUSINESS TRADELINES OR BUSINESS TRADE REFERENCES OR CREDIT HISTORY FROM ANY SOURCES ON THE INTERNET. THESE TRADE REFERENCES WILL GET YOU RED FLAGGED BY DUN AND BRADSTREET, AND YOUR BUSINESS WILL BE PLACED INTO A HIGH RISK CATEGORY. IN ADDITION, NEGATIVE AND FRAUDULENT STATEMENTS WILL BE PLACED ON YOUR CORPORATE BUSINESS CREDIT PROFILE, AND AT THIS POINT, YOUR CHANCES FOR BUILDING AND OBTAINING TRUE CORPORATE BUSINESS CREDIT WILL BE RUINED FOREVER. Here is the direct link to Dun and Bradstreet on the Internet:

http://dnb.com If you want to build true corporate business credit, and you want valid and legal vendor credit and trade credit, and if you want to obtain cash lines of credit, visit our business credit page at: http://www.gscsc.net/business-credit.html and for a limited time, with the purchase of one of our select aged shelf corporations with established business credit, get a free corporate business plan as well. Here are links to our offers page, and to our business plans page. Visit: http://www.gscsc.net/offers.html and also visit: http://www.gscsc.net/business-plans.html Let us do the job right.

 Step #7. Open Your First Corporate Credit Account. Apply for true corporate business credit where you stand a great chance of acceptance by a potential lender. Office supply chains are the best bet for recently incorporated businesses. These types of vendors are recommended for two reasons. First, they seem to be very willing to grant business terms to nearly all new startup businesses. Secondly, they probably have the products you actually need to start and run your new business. Let common sense decide where you should apply first. You want to setup accounts and purchase products from vendors that you will actually use. You do not want to buy something that you don’t really need just for the sake of purchasing it. Hopefully a business supply store has a few items you might need to setup your new enterprise with. If nothing else, you can use these supplies to organize your research into a new business venture.  We applied to (and were quickly accepted) by Staples. They granted us a corporate business credit account and a corporate business credit line with no personal guarantee. You might need to fax your application along with your first phone bill in to verify your corporate status. Make absolutely sure you make your application in a business like, professional manner. If you have need for a complete list of valid vendors to use when building true corporate business credit, we can provide this in writing to you via E-Mail, and with the purchase of any of our aged shelf companies. We do not and will not sell you trade references packages. We will help you setup valid trade references, and help you build and maintain your true corporate business credit LEGALLY, and its ratings, but it will take time to get it done correctly and professionally. Visit: http://www.gscsc.net/business-credit.html for more detailed information. The beauty of being accepted by Staples is that they apparently report to D&B and Experian Business at the same time. What is Experian Business? As stated earlier, Dun & Bradstreet is the big dog in the business credit rating arena. Coming in second is Experian Business, and coming in third is Equifax Business. There are a few more, but these are the only three that really matter the most when you are establishing and building true corporate business credit. Unlike Dun & Bradstreet, there is no way to buy your way into an Experian Business account file or an Equifax Business account file (that we are currently aware of). That’s a good thing. You simply find vendors who will ultimately report your payment history to Experian Business and Equifax Business and your corporate business credit profiles will develop by themselves.   

If you build your corporate business credit in a steady fashion, and pay your bills when they are due, your Experian Business and Equifax Business credit scores will grow proportionately. Experian Business calls their rating for your corporation’s credit worthiness, an “IntelliScore Score.” Here is a direct link to their website on the Internet:

http://www.experian.com/business/credit_report.html  

After you have established your very first vendor account and you have already made a few timely payments, make absolutely sure that you always include your D-U-N-S number on your future corporate business credit applications! Many people will tell you that by doing this, that you are giving your company’s identity to the potential lenders, but this is not so. If you do not know your company’s D-U-N-S number, then you will want to get it and place it on your corporate business credit applications, rather than your social security number.

There are few other vendors that will grant you corporate business credit terms when you are starting out.  These vendors have less restrictive guidelines and seem to be anxious to get your business. Here are some examples:

- Cell phone services like Nextel and Verizon

- Delivery services like FedEx and UPS

Note: You must be enrolled in our corporate business credit building programs in order to obtain a complete list of valid vendors, and a direct link to these resources. Visit: http://www.gscsc.net/business-credit.html for more detailed information. Choose whatever vendor suits your situation, apply for corporate business credit terms with that vendor, and purchase something that you actually need for your business. Wait for the bill to come in the mail and pay it in full, even if it is not yet due!  There will be various and different types of corporate business credit which will be granted to you depending on the potential lender. You might receive a Net 30, Net 60 or Net 90 day revolving account. These accounts let you charge as much as you need and then pay the balance in full in a pre-determined amount of time. If the bill is paid on time, there is usually no interest due on the bill. Some vendors even offer you “early payment” or cash percentage discounts for paying your bills off early. Others will grant you Lines of Credit (LOC’s) or Credit Limit credit. These LOC’s work much like a traditional line of credit, with a pre-determined interest rate and minimum payment that must be paid off in a specific timeframe..  Make absolutely sure that you know the details of each account you apply for and open. Missing a payment or any other oversight can end up putting your company months behind on your corporate business credit building ladder, and this could damage your corporate business credit severely, so pay your bills, and know your accounts completely. Don’t take any chances. Don’t pay everything off to early either, as this can also have a negative affect on your corporate business credit profiles as well. It may not be a problem to your lenders, but this can be a problem to the business credit reporting agencies, as they know that you are trying to build true corporate business credit without flaws. Paying everything too early can cause them to red flag you in certain situations. So just be mindful of everything. 

If you have been in business for a while, and you have purchased the Dun & Bradstreet CreditBuilder Pro program, this would also be a very good time to add some previous vendors to your corporate business credit profile.

Step #8. Check your Corporate Business Credit Scores.

Wait long enough for your vendor or vendors to file their notice of payment history to D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. Give it at least 30-45 days from whenever your vendor processes your payment. Make absolutely certain that your vendors and other potential creditors are truly reporting your payment history to the major players in the corporate business credit industry.   It is extremely important to keep an eye on your corporate business credit scores, on your corporate filings and on all of your vendors and their reporting practices. We have tried various credit report services and have not been impressed with any of them yet. We currently just use eUpdate to check on our PAYDEX credit score and hope that our Experian Business and our Equifax Business credit profiles stays in step.  Use eUpdate to check your D&B account but don’t check too often. There are reports of people being locked out, red flagged and having to resubmit corporate business credit information after accessing and changing their accounts on a constant basis. This whole process requires patience.  Do not check eUpdate more than once per month. Do not apply to more than 3 vendors in a 1 month period. (There will be many people who disagree with this last statement and they will tell you to be more aggressive, however, we like to err on the safe side).  

If you have a decent PAYDEX credit score built and everything on your corporate business credit profile looks correct, it’s time to move on to building and opening more accounts.

Step #9. Go For The Gold! 

It’s now time to look at applying for 1 to 3 more qualified corporate business credit lenders to do business with. We chose Dell since we were actually looking for a new computer network. With a decent PAYDEX credit score, not too many current inquiries, and our current corporate business credit and payment history we had no trouble being granted over $15,000 in true corporate business credit, with NO personal guarantee required to get that line of corporate business credit.

At this time, we also applied for, and were granted, a platinum business credit card. Note: 95% of business credit cards are not true corporate business credit cards. If you read the fine print on most business card applications, you will see that when you accept their terms and conditions, you are agreeing to personally guarantee these credit cards. Yes, even if they are in your business name. Stay as far away from these as you can.  

Initially, it is very hard to get an American Express Open Line Of Credit or other true corporate business credit cards (where you have zero personal liability), especially if you are a new startup business. You can get to this point rapidly by opening up secured business credit card accounts, or by the use of deposit loan programs, which can be an extremely powerful credit building tool when you are building and establishing true corporate business credit, but this is reserved for another article.

Once again, get a business credit card that suits your situation and responsibly use it to purchase items you actually need for your business. Pay it off and on time, and ocasionally leave a small balance on the credit card to build a corporate business credit payment history on that credit card. If you do this, and ask for the occasional limit increase, you will be in line for the true corporate business credit cards down the line.

One more thought about applying for these initial credit granting corporate accounts is in order here.   Don’t apply until you are 100% SURE you actually want (need) to purchase something in the first 30 days after acceptance.  Many companies do not like granting corporate business credit to customers who do not use it. A purchase in the first 30 days, and then at least a few times a year, will keep you as a cherished customer that deserves their respect, and a higher credit limit when requested. Keep this in mind as you are building corporate business credit.

Step #10. Go Wider, Deeper And Higher!

After another month or two, check your D&B PAYDEX credit score and apply to a few more lenders. At this point, you should be able to apply for Lines of Credit (in the form of credit cards or revolving credit accounts). At the same time, it is a good idea to check the status of your already open accounts. About twice a year you should call the lender and ask to have your corporate business credit limit bumped up to a higher level. This will help you to show increases in your existing corporate business credit lines. This again helps build a stronger foundation to gain even higher lines of corporate business credit. If you have not been using these accounts on a regular basis, the lender might ask you why you are requesting a limit increase. Simply reply by telling them you have a “possible” situation coming in the next few weeks that “might” require a large purchase on your part. You are not sure that this will occur, but you would like to be prepared if it comes through. That is usually all they need to know to grant you a credit limit bump.  

At this point we went and applied for the Home Depot Corporate Credit Account. And yes, it was approved! We also applied and were approved for some higher limit Platinum corporate business credit cards.

Step #11. Watching Over Your Golden Goose!

This is the easiest part of the entire process of building true corporate business credit. You simply check your corporate business credit scores and your corporate business credit profiles every few months (not more than twice per month). Then look for more accounts to add to and apply to, that will add further strength to your corporate business credit profile. Request periodic limit increases.

As your D&B PAYDEX credit score increases, you will find that many qualified corporate business credit grantors will not ask for your financial statements for Lines Of Credit or Corporate Loans under the $50,000.00 mark. Note: They may ask for documentation and often do, when you are seeking higher funding amounts, but you can get around this by taking smaller amounts more often, rather than asking for one lump sum.

Step #12. Keep On Keeping On!

There are many ways to leverage your corporate business credit even further. These will be discussed in the Advance Strategies article which is to be released soon. Imagine, if you can grow your corporate business credit to almost $1,000,000 with one corporation, what would happen if you were a holding company (corporation) with many, many divisions (corporations) under it?  In addition, what if you built the corporate business credit of each division individually?  Start out slowly, trying to apply to too many accounts, or the more prestigious lenders BEFORE you have established your base PAYDEX credit score and your base IntelliScore credit score can result in your applications being denied. We have seen this happen to a lot of people over the last several years. You must be patient, dedicated, and devoted to making the corporate business credit system work for you. Too many inquires placed on your corporate business credit profile accounts is also a red flag for D&B, Experian Business, Equifax Business and the potential lenders accessing your corporate business credit profiles. This process does take time, but if you stay patient, and diligent, the results are amazing.  

Just like being pre-approved for a home mortgage makes shopping for a home easier, having a substantial corporate business credit limit seems to make good opportunities appear at a much faster rate. That’s the process of building true corporate business credit in a nutshell! It is that simple!

If you apply these practical steps in a logical fashion, not rushing through things, you will hold the key to your own financial freedom. Think about where you are right now, and where you want to be in the upcoming new year. We have many programs that can help you, but the choices, and how you proceed is entirely up to you. You are the pilot of your own life. If you have any questions about this material, any of our products or services, or if you want help establishing your own corporate business credit, please feel free to call us at: (800) 922-5170.

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