How to Check Your Business Credit Score
Knowing your business credit scores can help you when applying for loans or refinancing debt.
Our How to Check Your Business Credit Score guide will show you how to check your commercial credit score to access your PayDEX score, Experian business credit score, and more.
Want to Easily Monitor Your Business Credit? Get a Nav account to monitor and check your business credit scores.
Check Business Credit Score
Business credit enables businesses to borrow money, buy goods and services, and expand their operations. Without business credit, many businesses would be unable to get started or grow.
Each business credit agency has its own numerical scoring system. This score, known as a business credit score, is used to determine a business's creditworthiness.
A company’s business credit score:
- Helps identify potential credit risks
- Makes it easier to get loans and financing
- Helps attract customers and investors
- Improves your reputation
- Saves money in the long run by making it easier to borrow money or negotiate better terms with creditors
To check your business credit score, you'll need to access your account history from one or more of the major credit reporting agencies: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.
Recommended: Check your business credit score and protect it using a credit monitoring service like Nav.
How to Check Your DUN & Bradstreet PAYDEX Score
Dun & Bradstreet is the top business credit reporting agency of the three major business credit reporting agencies. The name of their business credit score is called a PayDEX score. This score is a number issued between 0-100 (100 being the best).
To find your PayDEX score follow these steps:
- Login to your Dun & Bradstreet account (www.dnb.com > Login > View, manage, and update my information).
- Make sure you have a minimum of three trade lines established.
- Call Dun & Bradstreet at (248) 641-3800.
- Explain that you want to check your business credit score. They will tell you to purchase D&B PayDEX® ScoreCreditBuilder™, an $899 annual service from them that will allow you to check your score.
- Purchase D&B PAYDEX® ScoreCreditBuilder™.
- Check your business credit file, payment history, and score.
How to Check Your Experian Intelliscore Plus Credit Score
Experian Business is another of the major business credit bureaus, the second most utilized business credit reporting agency after D&B. The name of their business credit score is called Experian Intelliscore Plus Credit Score. This score is a number issued between 1-100 (100 being the best).
To find your Experian business credit scores follow these steps:
- Visit: https://sbcr.experian.com/.
- Type in your business information.
- Click “Get Your Report Now.”
- Purchase CreditScoreSM Report for $39.99.
- Check your Experian Intelliscore Plus Credit Score listed on your business credit report.
How to Check Your Equifax Payment Index Score, Business Credit Risk Score, and Business Failure Score
Equifax business credit reports use three different scores for calculating creditworthiness for lenders; namely:
- Equifax Payment Index Score (scores creditworthiness from 1-100; the higher, the better)
- Equifax Business Credit Risk Score (scores risk from 101-992; the higher the score, the lower the risk)
- Equifax Business Failure Score (scores risk from 1,000-1,610; the higher the score, the better likelihood your business will still be around in 12 months)
Each of these scores can be found on your Equifax Small Business credit report.
To find your three Equifax Small Business credit scores, follow these steps:
- Order a copy of your Equifax Small Business credit report for $99.95, purchased at https://www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-reports-small-business.
- Find all three scores on your business credit report.
UPDATE: Equifax’s website is being updated. You won’t be able to purchase a copy of your business credit report at this time. The website should be back up soon.
How to Check Your FICO SBSS Score
You cannot check your personal FICO SBSS Score. FICO creates an SBSS credit score each time a lender runs your credit report. The score is determined based on other major credit reporting bureaus’ reports (e.g., Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Small Business) and is based on your personal credit report and other proprietary criteria.
The FICO SBSS business credit score ranges from 0-300. Scores over 180 are ideal for getting approved for lines of credit or loans.
The best way to ensure your business's FICO SBSS Score is high is to keep both your business and personal credit reports in good standing and make sure your business’s health is good. Here are some ways to maintain your score:
- Pay all your bills on time (personal and business).
- Keep good cash flow (operating capital and reserves).
- Generate profits consistently.
- Keep your debt to income ratio low (i.e., keep debts no higher than 30%).
- Own lots of business assets. These can always be liquidated or used as collateral.
Recommended: Get Nav to easily monitor your business credit and check your business credit scores.
Frequently Asked Questions
A good PayDEX score is 80. A score higher than 80 indicates that the company is more likely to pay its employees on time, in full, and without any outstanding debts. Additionally, companies with high PayDEX scores are generally considered to be reputable and stable employers.
How do you know your company's credit score? There are a few ways to find out. First, you can access your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. Second, you can ask your lender or capital provider what your company's credit score is. Third, you can check with a credit rating agency to get an estimate of your company's credit score.
There is no universal credit score for businesses, but there are a handful of different credit scoring models that lenders and insurers use to determine a company's creditworthiness. A company's creditworthiness affects its access to loans and insurance, so it's important to get good marks from all the major credit bureaus.
No, business credit does not affect personal credit. If you form an LLC for example, you’ll have a separate business credit profile apart from your personal credit report. Keep in mind that you may need good consumer credit scores to help establish your business credit profiles. This is because some lenders may request your personal credit report to qualify you for business loans, etc.
A bad business credit score (PayDEX score) is anything below 60. A bad business credit score could mean expensive interest rates on loans, difficulty finding a lender, and other financial difficulties. Many businesses use credit scoring to determine a potential customer's creditworthiness. Your aim should be for a PayDEX score over 75.
Yes, to find out your company's financial stability, risk rating, business credit grades, and other comprehensive business data reports, to better understand your company's financial health, you can request your business credit report and business credit file from any of the major business credit agencies. You can also check other business credit scores through other lesser-known bureaus.
