Yes, the costs of business credit can be tax deductible. You should consult your tax attorney for more detailed information, but interest and finance charges incurred on your business account are tax deductible. This is an important distinction between business credit and personal credit, and is one of many reasons why it is in your best interest to separate your business expenses from your personal expenses.

Yes. No approval is needed from a business owner to order a business credit report. Unlike personal credit reports which are regulated under permissible purposes only, commercial business credit reports can be ordered as often as you wish.

It's true that many small business owners fail to separate their business expenses from their personal expenses. The credit card used to take the family out to dinner also gets used to gas up a company vehicle or to pay for supplies used by the business. Half of all small businesses use some form of personal credit to finance their businesses.

However, the weakness of relying solely on personal credit is clear. If your business ever becomes at risk, your personal credit score becomes at risk as well.

Additionally, many creditors today are moving away from relying on personal credit alone when judging the financial health of the owner's small business. Personal credit is considered in the industry not ideal in predicting business behavior. Furthermore, smart creditors are taking advantage of new blended commercial scoring tools that integrate both personal and business credit attributes to assess and predict small business risk.

You can check to see if the business bureaus have your business in their databases, plus verify and request a correction to your business information, if necessary. You must be the owner or a corporate officer to suggest changes to business information, and may be asked to verify your identity prior to submitting a business update request.

SmartBusinessReports.com provides access to some business credit databases.

Business credit reports do not use consumer data, so there is no regulation associated with it.

A business credit report is used to present a current, objective picture of how a business manages its financial obligations. Information in business credit reports is either from a 3rd-party source or is 3rd-party verified. As such, this information is reliable and non-biased allowing for an objective view of a company's overall financial health.

A business credit report presents a current, objective picture of how a business manages its financial obligations. It can include:

A business credit report provides understandable business credit information, including comprehensive demographic, financial and public record information, as well as analytic scores.

You've got a great idea and the capital and know-how to make it happen. But entrepreneurial success also depends on something else many small business owners don't pay enough attention to: the business' credit.

Just as your personal credit has a big impact on your financial health, your business credit can help you get competitive business loan rates and terms from potential suppliers. Having complete, up-to-date information on your business credit report and a good business credit score is the best way to obtain favorable financial terms.

The current economic climate makes it more important than ever for small business owners to know their business credit score. Small businesses, which often have challenges managing cash flow, are especially vulnerable to economic changes. A strong credit score can help small business owners’ access additional capital during difficult times.

Don't assume that your favorable personal credit score will be enough to secure a good business credit score. While lenders and vendors may initially consider your personal credit history, once your business pays its first bill, it will begin building its own credit history. Here are some basic facts every small business owner should know about business credit ratings:

By reviewing public records and other business information, companies save every year on the cost of acquiring new businesses and managing liability and potential fraud. Reviewing public records and other business information also establishes sound business relationships that can extend for years.

Financial services, insurance, real estate, contactors, legal and professional services, staffing agencies, telecommunications, transportation, Fortune 1000 companies and small businesses use public records to reduce business credit risk and manage liability and fraud.

There are many advantages to establishing and maintaining solid business credit. A few of these benefits are listed below.

1.) With better business credit you will be able to obtain more working capital for your business. You will also be able to borrow money at lower rates.

2.) Having a separate line of business credit, such as a business credit card, makes it easy to keep your business expenses separate from your personal expenses. This means when it comes time to file your taxes, you'll already have separate financial records for business expenses and personal expenses, making both your life and your tax attorney's life simpler.

3.) With a business credit line, you can also extend credit to your employees by requesting additional cards. You can even control how much they can spend by adjusting their credit limits.

4.) With Cash Back Rewards for your business, such as those offered by the First Equity Platinum Visa, you'll have more money available to invest in the growth of your business.

5.) Perhaps the most important benefit of separating your business credit from your personal credit is that having a separate line of business credit means that your personal credit is protected if your business ever gets in trouble.

No, you do not need an EIN or a federal tax ID number in order to apply for credit in the name of your business. You can just use your social security number.

Business Credit Bureaus require minimum information to generate a business credit report and score. If a business doesn't meet the requirements, a credit report and score is not generated. Minimum information is at least one trade line and/or one demographic element.

PERSONAL vs. BUSINESS CREDIT
	Personal Credit Profile
	FICO/Beacon
	Scores from 350-850
Credit score determines
	Loan/Lease approvals
	Interest rates
	Insurance rates
Three major credit bureaus
	Tracked by S.S.N.
	Consumer Protection Laws
	PRIVACY
Business Credit Profile
	- Paydex/Intelliscore
	Scores from 0-100
	- Credit score determines
	loan/lease approval
	Interest rates
	Credibility of business
	- Four major credit bureaus
	- Track by E.I.N./Name/Address
	- No State/Fed Regulation
	- NO PRIVACY
Factors Affecting Score Compilation
	Personal Score
	35% Payment History
	30% Balances Owed
	15% Length Of Time
	10% Types of Credit
	10% New Credit
	# Recently Opened
	# Recent Inquiries
	Time since recent Open
	Time since last Inquiry
	Business Score
	100% Payment History
	Not all vendors Report
	VERY Interpretive by Bureau
	‘High Risk’ & ‘No Credit’ Lists

When the economy falters, small businesses face trying times – and there's no doubt that this is one of them.

After years of cheap and readily available funding, businesses are finding credit harder to come by. For example, U.S. structured financing – the financing behind the financing – went from more than $300 billion per month in June 2007 to less than $50 billion per month in November 2007. Rising prices have put upward pressure on the cost of doing business. Consumers are tightening their belts in the face of a rising cost of living, a decline in home values and fears of a sharp economic slide being stoked by the press.

For the moment, one downturn seams to lead to another, and businesses – large and small, across virtually all sectors of the economy – are feeling the squeeze. While the overall business bankruptcy rate is climbing, small businesses – particularly those whose owners used home equity or personal money to fund their enterprises – are battling for survival and at risk of delinquency or default.

Business owners need every tool at their disposal in times like these to avoid trouble and spot opportunities to grow. When success depends on the ability to build capital, business credit monitoring can help.

That's why it's no surprise that we see the use of monitoring growing rapidly year after year — especially in the current economic environment.

Just like your personal credit report, Business credit bureaus only accept company credit and payment history from creditors and suppliers. If you would like to see your creditors or suppliers report to the business credit bureaus so your credit and payment history is displayed on your business credit report, please write your supplier a letter of request.

Your business credit score is one of the first things lenders, suppliers and even some customers look at before deciding to do business with you. A poor credit score can make it difficult, or even impossible, to get funding and obtain lines of credit for your business.

The first step in improving your score is to become aware of the factors that drive your current business credit score and report. By managing these more effectively, you can make a positive impact on your credit score, which can lead to more opportunities to grow your business.

There are four important reasons to monitor your business credit report:

1. Avoid unpleasant surprises: Your business credit profile is often the basis for decisions others make about your company. It is used to determine how much money lenders will loan you, how much credit suppliers will extend to you, what interest rates you'll be charged and what you'll pay for insurance premiums. That's why it's important to know what's in your business credit report and monitor it for accuracy and changes.

2. Protect your business: Business identity theft and fraud losses cost American companies billion’s each year. Both can negatively impact cash flow, cause problems with creditors and suppliers, and even affect your business's reputation. A great way to help protect yourself and your business is to regularly check your company's credit report for unusual activity that might indicate fraud.

3. Correct mistakes: Your credit report paints a picture of your business for the world to see. Out-dated or incorrect information can give the wrong impression about your business resulting in unfavorable decisions that negatively impact your bottom line. By keeping track of your business credit report you can identify inaccuracies and request corrections.

4. Build your score: A poor business credit score can make it difficult or even impossible, to get funding and obtain lines of credit for your business. The first step in improving your score is to become aware of the factors that drive your current company credit score. By managing these more effectively you can make a positive impact on your credit score, which can lead to more opportunities to grow your business.

If you are a small business owner, a credit card designed for your type of business makes a lot of sense. A small business card is a commercial card that builds credit standing in the name of your business, and it can offer a higher credit line for working capital than you might obtain with an equivalent consumer card. A small business credit card provider may also be able to approve your business for an account even if you have not already established a commercial credit history in the name of your business.

Choosing the right credit card product will maximize the value you get from your credit provider as well as enhancing the probability that you will be easily approved.

There are many ways to gain access to credit for your business. Some types of credit involve loan fees and closing costs. These are often secured bank loans which use property or other collateral to back the loan. In the event that you cannot repay your loan, the creditor has the right to seize the property used as collateral in the loan.

Other types of business credit do not have any loan fees or closing costs associated with them. One of the easiest and quickest ways to gain access to credit for your business, without loan fees or closing costs, is to apply for a business credit card.

If you have a business credit card, you can request additional cards for your employees. Even better, as the owner of the business, you receive all rewards points earned from the purchases made by your employees.

The best way to establish a high credit limit is through responsible use of credit using the most appropriate credit card products. For a small business credit card, your credit improves every time you make a timely payment. You can request credit line increases from your credit issuer as your credit standing improves, and most credit card programs also grant credit line increases periodically on an automated basis. By using a credit card account and making payment by the due date each month you can build up a very significant credit line for your business over time.

Yes! The fastest and easiest way to obtain unsecured credit for your business is to apply for a business credit card. Unlike secured bank loans, credit cards are unsecured loans so you won't have to worry about having a lien placed on your assets.

A commercial credit line is a source of working capital for your business. It can help you pay for business resources while you wait for payment from your customers, and in many cases the financing costs are tax deductible. Use of a credit card to access your commercial credit line allows for additional convenience and security, as well as a self-documenting statement of transactions for record keeping. You can even get a free credit card for any employee you choose, with a credit limit controlled by you as the Authorizing Officer.

Credit cards offer one of the most convenient types of credit for a small business. As with consumer credit cards, you can use a business credit card at millions of retail locations and ATMs worldwide. You also have access to online shopping, which is very difficult without a credit card. Also, unlike a fixed payment loan, you have the option to pay off only a portion of the balance in a given month. This greater flexibility of payments means you have money available when you need it most, and it gives you the freedom to buy the things you need when you need them.

Credit monitoring is a key tool used in managing risks and maximizing revenue. Often, being the first to know about financial distress can help creditors ensure collection of their assets from distressed accounts. The converse is also true. Quickly spotting accounts on their way up provides opportunities for growth that may not be there from latecomers. Monitoring systems employ event-based notifications, or triggers (delivered in the form of an alert). Effective use of triggers can help credit managers’ partner with business customers who are on the way up and limit exposure to those on the way down.

With business credit monitoring tools, it's impossible to overstate the importance of reviewing credit data for changes, particularly among the more volatile small businesses. Data that may be monitored includes:

First, business credit bureaus recommend that you place a fraud alert with any of the credit bureaus. To place a fraud alert on your business credit report, simply send a letter on your company letterhead requesting that a fraud alert be placed on your business credit report and include a brief explanation why. You will need to include the signature of the company's business owner, along with that person's contact information. The business credit bureaus will add a message to the company's business credit report asking that the business be notified prior to any lender extending business credit.

Then, sign up for a business monitoring of your company's credit report. A great way to help protect yourself and your business name is to regularly check your company's business credit report for unusual activity that might indicate fraud. Business credit data

Business Credit Bureaus use standard industry and government guidelines for keeping data on file. Expiration dates for data ensures that the information presented in a report is current enough to create an accurate picture of financial health.
Trade Data: 36 months

Business public records are records of actions or incidents filed or recorded with a government agency for tax and other regulatory requirements. These records are made available to the public to protect the interest of the filer.

Business credit reports combine information from sources including actual trade payment experiences submitted by payees, public record information, collections information, company background and comparative data placing a company's payment performance in context with its industries. The following are a few examples of the agencies and entities that data is pulled from: state filing offices, public records, and credit card companies, collections agencies, Corporate Financial Information and marketing databases.

Business credit bureaus collect credit obligation information from thousands of businesses nationwide. These businesses are typically the suppliers and lenders with which a company has existing financial relationships. They also collect legal filings from the various local, county and state courts across the United States. Company background information is collected from a variety of independent firms.

Like personal credit scoring, business credit scores provide a quick view of risk potential based on where the score falls on the scale - the higher the score, the lower the risk. However, business credit scores use a scale that range from 0 to 100.

Checking your business credit report does not affect your business credit score. Pulling your own business credit report is considered a soft inquiry. Soft inquiries do not affect your business credit score, and they are not revealed to potential lenders or creditors.

Credit Ranking Scores are determined through a statistically derived algorithm that determines risk based on multiple factors: ? Credit: number of trade experiences, balances outstanding, payment habits, credit utilization, trends over time ? Public records: recency, frequency and dollar amounts associated with liens, judgments, bankruptcies ? Demographic information: years on file, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, business size