Lenders, suppliers, insurance underwriters, and other organizations may use business credit scores to help make decisions about working with your business.
A business credit score that indicates low risk may help your business qualify for better rates on credit cards, loans and lines of credit, and can increase its overall borrowing power.
If your business is perceived as high risk, banks may be less willing to lend, and vendors may charge higher premiums or negotiate stricter terms.
Business credit and personal credit are two different things. A good personal credit score can help you qualify for greater personal financial responsibility, such as a mortgage. Business credit scores may help do the same thing for your company, but reflect only the financial health of the business.
Unlike personal credit scores, which typically require consumer consent to access, business credit scores can be obtained without the business owner’s consent. Business credit scores and ratings may be accessed by companies, individuals, and the federal government to help determine the financial health of companies seeking contracts, financing, or bonds, among other reasons.
No, not all business credit scores are the same. Different providers have different methods of generating scores. Business credit scores overall are not standardized and cannot be compared across providers.
We have partnered with Dun & Bradstreet, a provider of business credit reporting, to give you easy access to two of its commonly used business credit scores. We have included both scores so you can better understand how information reported about your business may be used and who may use it to make decisions about working with your business.
The Dun & Bradstreet business credit scores available in Business Advantage 360, our small business online banking, predict the likelihood that a business will make a severely late payment (or a severely late financial services payment) over the next 12 months. In other words, they predict whether a business will pay its bills on time.
No, not all businesses have these credit scores. If your business is new, it may take some time to generate these business credit scores. In some instances, based on your type of business, your business may never have these business credit scores. To generate these scores, Dun & Bradstreet must have access to past payment performance, and firmographic and financial information; if your company has suits and liens that information will factor into these scores as well.
No, scores alone do not determine whether you'll get credit. Many lenders rely on what is known as the 6 Cs of credit when deciding whether or not to approve, for example, a loan or line of credit: capacity, capital, collateral, conditions, character, and communication. Some lenders may take a business credit score into consideration, but they may also take into consideration your business plan and financial statements, as well as any other information required in their application. Depending on your business, the lender, and the type of product you are seeking, your personal credit score might be considered as well.
Bank of America Small Business clients can enroll in the Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Score Program for free by logging into Business Advantage 360 and selecting Tools & Investing > Business credit scores. A Business Advantage 360 small business online banking ID is required to enroll in the program and to access the business credit score. Don't have a Business Advantage 360 small business online banking ID? Get started here using your Small Business account number.
Dun & Bradstreet provides comprehensive business data and insights that can help lenders and other companies make decisions for their businesses. Dun & Bradstreet supports businesses with business credit reporting and a variety of other solutions.
No, viewing your business credit scores won't negatively impact your business or personal credit scores.