NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 16, 2018 / There are over 150 places you can get your credit scores for free online. So where do you even begin?
For business owners, that question gets even trickier, since your business has its own credit reports and scores that could be used when you apply for a business loan, insurance or even when you're vetting (or being vetted by) a new business partner. The financing process can be especially confusing and frustrating for business owners since they aren't entitled to free annual business credit reports and often don't understand how business credit scores work, the data that's used to generate them and how they're used in the approval process.
Consumers and business owners are in the same boat -- there are a lot of credit scores out there, so which is the right one to monitor and protect by checking it regularly? The answer is simple -- there is no one score that is the "real" business credit score. Different scores are used by different lenders and you often don't know which score is being used up front.
"The most important credit score is the one that will get you what you want;" says Gerri Detweiler, Director of Education with Nav. "Whether that's business financing, a personal loan, or even discounts on your insurance rates. It's important to monitor your scores through a variety of sources since you rarely know in advance which one a lender will use."
Why One Score Isn't Enough
Many are familiar with the big three personal credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), but may not be familiar with the major business credit reporting agencies. Equifax and Experian also provide business credit scores and are joined by the oldest credit bureau in America, Dun & Bradstreet, as the three leading commercial bureaus. Since you don't know which bureau will provide the data used in a business lending decision, keeping an eye on all of the data is crucial.
Apart from being important in acquiring business financing, monitoring your business credit scores can help protect you and your business from fraud. "Business identity theft is a serious problem and you can't freeze your business credit," says Detweiler. "Monitoring your credit through a variety of commercial credit bureaus is the best way to alert you to potential problems."
How to Check Your Business Credit Data
Each major business credit bureau has an option to check a business credit report on their website, but it comes at a cost. Here's a breakdown of how much each bureau charges:
Experian: To check a business credit report, Experian will charge anywhere from $39.95 for a relatively basic report to $99 for a valuation report. There's also the option to pay $179 for a year of unlimited access to a business credit report, along with alerts and business credit score improvement tips.
Equifax: Equifax charges $99.99 to $399.95 for a report.
Dun & Bradstreet: Dun & Bradstreet has a free option to receive notifications regarding your business credit report, but seeing the actual report will cost you. Plans starting at $149 per month and up will allow you to monitor and view your business credit reports.
How to Monitor Your Data for Free
There are some sites that allow you to see one bureau's business credit data or even a score. A recent collaboration between Equifax and Nav will allow business owners to see their business credit scores from each major bureau for free.
SOURCE: MentionWorth
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