Having a strong business credit score can open a lot of doors — from easier financing and lower interest rates to better deals with vendors and insurers. It can even increase the value of your company.
If you’re a small business owner, it’s a number you should definitely keep an eye on.
But what exactly is a business credit score? How is it different from a credit report? And how do you get this information? Here’s everything you need to know.
Business Credit Score vs. Credit Report
Your business credit report contains your company’s financial history, while the credit score is a number that summarizes your risk level based on that data. Both are important, and understanding one helps you understand the other.
How to Access Your Business Credit Information
Business credit reports aren’t usually free like personal ones, and you may see different scores depending on the bureau. The three main business credit reporting agencies are:
Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business.
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)
To get started, you’ll need a DUNS Number — it’s free, but can take up to 30 days. Your company won’t automatically appear in their system until you register.
Once set up, you’ll be able to view your Paydex Score, as well as other indicators like delinquency risk and business failure scores.
Available Plans:
- CreditSignal (Free): Access to your Paydex Score and alerts about changes to your credit profile.
- CreditSignal Plus ($15/month): Includes five ratings, including delinquency risk.
- CreditMonitor ($39/month): Full access to your credit file and detailed financial health metrics.
Experian Business
Experian offers a few paid plans to access your business credit score, stability rating, payment trends, and account history.
Options include:
- CreditScore Report ($39.95 one-time): Score and basic report.
- ProfilePlus Report ($49.99 one-time): More detailed version with extra data.
- Business Credit Advantage ($189/year): Ongoing access to your score and report with monitoring tools.
Equifax Business
Equifax provides a comprehensive report including multiple scores:
- Business Credit Risk Score (101–992)
- Business Failure Score (1000–1880)
- Payment Index (0–100)
Pricing:
- One report: $99.99
- Five reports: $399.95
- Credit monitoring available for an added monthly cost.
What’s a Good Business Credit Score?
Each bureau uses its own scale, but here’s a general breakdown:
- D&B Paydex Score: 1–100. A score of 80+ is considered good; below 50 signals higher risk.
- Experian Intelliscore: 0–100. Again, 80+ is strong.
- Equifax: Uses multiple scores. The higher the number on each scale, the better.
How Business Credit Scores Are Calculated
Similar to personal credit, business credit scores are based on:
- Payment history: On-time payments to lenders, vendors, insurers, etc., boost your score.
- Credit utilization: The amount of credit used vs. available credit.
- Account age: Older accounts (in good standing) help increase your score.
- Tradelines: Established credit accounts that demonstrate consistent financial management.
- Business age and size: Older, more established businesses tend to have stronger scores.
- Industry risk: Some industries are viewed as higher risk, which can impact your score.
How to Read a Business Credit Report
Although each agency formats their reports differently, most include the following:
- Business details: Company name, address, contact info, years in business, and structure.
- Scores and ratings: Based on credit behavior and financial stability.
- Credit summary: Number of tradelines, credit limits, utilization, and recent inquiries.
- Payment history: Records of how and when payments were made.
- Public records: Any liens, bankruptcies, collections, or UCC filings.
