Building up your business credit profile as soon as possible is one of the most important financial moves you can make as a small business owner. Simply put, a company with a good credit score is more valuable than a company with a poor credit score and has better odds for success, since a company with good credit has access to better financing opportunities.
Of the three business credit reporting agencies, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) is the one most used by business lenders. Lenders and other businesses may use your D&B Score to determine how risky it could be to do business with your company.
One easy way to improve your business, or commercial, credit score with D&B and other business credit rating agencies is to have a business credit card that reports to those agencies, use it regularly, and pay it off in full each billing cycle. As an entrepreneur, having good credit can come in handy if you need access to capital to scale your business or to manage cash flow during slower periods of the year.
When your company just starts out, it will have no credit history—and no credit score. It can take months or years to build up a good score, so the sooner you can get started by opening a small business credit card, the better.
The more quickly you can build up your business credit, the sooner you can legitimize your business in the eyes of lenders, separate your personal finances from your business, and unlock better business opportunities and partnerships for your company. Plus, the rewards and perks on small business cards, like cash back—as well as the credit limits for which you qualify—tend to be richer than those on personal cards.
To start building credit, you’ll need to incorporate your business as an LLC, a C-Corp, or an S-Corp (this can also help protect your personal liability for some business activities), and register it with the state to receive an employer identification number (EIN). You can use that number to establish a business bank account and open a business credit card and use it to start building a positive business credit history.
Even if you’ve done all of the above, many—but not all—business credit cards will require a personal guarantee and a personal credit check before approving your card application.
How credit card issuers report to credit bureaus
Before we get into the specifics of which credit cards report to D&B, it’s important to understand how business credit card issuers report to business credit bureaus. Different credit card issuers report payments to credit card issuer differently, and it’s important to understand how your credit card reports payments. Some corporate cards, particularly those that require a personal guarantee, report transactions to consumer credit agencies, which impacts your personal credit.
Other cards report your transactions to business credit agencies, but here, again, not every card that reports to the agency will help you build credit. Some business credit cards only report negative information to the business credit agencies, which means that using the card can only hurt you.
The best business cards for building business credit regularly report all transactions to business credit agencies, including the amount of credit you’re using and your history of on-time payments. If you want to build your business credit profile, it’s important to make sure you apply only to business credit cards that report all activity to the business credit agencies.
As with personal credit scores, the higher your score, the better rates you’ll get when applying for loans and the easier time you’ll have engaging in business transactions like leasing property or financing equipment. In general, to maintain a good business credit score, you’ll want to use less than 30% of credit available to you, make sure you pay all bills on time, and avoid applying for multiple new loans or credit cards all at once.
Why your business should have a business credit card
There are many benefits to business credit cards beyond building your business credit score. Such benefits include the ability to:
- more efficiently manage your cash flow
- earn cash back (with certain cards)
- separate your business expenses from personal ones
When selecting a business credit card, be sure to investigate whether it requires a personal guarantee and if it reports your on-time payments to business credit agencies like Dun & Bradstreet. If building your business credit profile is important, you’ll want to make sure you have a credit card that can help you do that.
Not all credit card issuers report to D&B–why that matters
Not all business credit cards report to Dun & Bradstreet or to the other business reporting agencies, and some only report negative information to credit agencies. If you’re not sure how or whether an issuer reports to the business credit agencies, ask them.
Since D&B is the most used credit reporting agency by business lenders, it’s important to build up your credit profile with that agency. If you are using a credit card that does not report to D&B—even if you’re paying your balance off regularly—your positive payment history will not appear on your credit report with the agency or influence your D&B credit score.
That said, while Dun & Bradstreet is the most commonly used business credit score, it is not the only one. Some lenders might also use the business credit scores created by Experian, Equifax, or other agencies. Each agency has a slightly different formula they use to calculate scores, and even one agency might have multiple scores measuring different aspects of a company’s creditworthiness.
Having a good business credit score can make it likelier that you’ll receive a loan when you need it—and ensure that you have access to the best terms for that debt. Even if you don’t need credit right now, building up your business’ credit profile may be helpful long-term.
Last year, 43% of small businesses sought financing at some point, with 58% of them looking for financing for operational expenses and 38% who wanted the money to expand, according to data from the Federal Reserve. If you need a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, the lender will check your business credit score first. Check out our SBA loan calculator tool to find the best payment terms for your business.
Lenders aren’t the only ones who look at your business credit score. Vendors, investors, insurers, and other stakeholders may also look closely at your business credit history to determine whether you’re a trustworthy business with whom they want to partner. If you have a poor credit score or not credit history at all, they might worry that’s an indication that you may not stay in business long.
Which business credit cards report to D&B?
There are many different business credit cards that report to D&B. Below you’ll find several options to consider for your business. No matter which credit card you choose, it’s important to always pay your bills on time (automate this, if possible), because missed payments can hurt your credit score.
Ramp
One unique thing about the Ramp charge card program is that it comes with additional tools designed to help businesses reduce their spending.
Pros:
- No personal guarantee
- No annual fee
- Valuable cash back
- Additional tools to track spending
- You can issue unlimited cards, with preset limits, to team members
Cons:
- Not available to sole proprietors
- Must have $75,000 in liquid assets
Tillful
Tillful is a new, secured business card launched in June 2022.
Pros:
- No personal guarantee
- No annual fee
- Offers cashback
Cons:
- Requires a $500 minimum security deposit
- Started in 2022, Tillful does not have an established track record
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select Good Credit
This credit card aimed at small business owners promises unlimited rewards and a required minimum payment of either $15 or 1% of the balance, whichever is higher.
Pros:
- No annual fee
- Offers cashback
- Cardholders have payment flexibility to determine the date of their monthly payment
Cons:
- Requires a personal guarantee
- If you carry a balance, the interest rate can be steep
Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Card
This card allows users to customize their rewards and offers additional cashback to users with a Bank of America business checking account.
Pros:
- Introductory offer includes 9% interest for the first nine months and $300 statement credit bonus
- No annual fee
- Checking account owners can have cashback deposited directly into checking account
Cons:
- After nine months, interest rate its 15.24% to 25.24%
- Requires a personal guarantee
U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa Business Card
If you spend $4,500 in the first few months as a cardholder, you’ll get an additional $500 cashback as an introductory bonus.
Pros:
- $100 software credit toward FreshBooks or QuickBooks
- No annual fee
- Introductory offer is 0% interest for 15 months
Cons:
- After 15 months, interest rate is 16.99% to 25.99%
- Requires a personal guarantee
Corpay One Mastercard
Corpay One Mastercard is a charge card that you can use to pay both your bills and vendors as well as to make purchases.
Pros:
- You have 51 days to pay off your balance
- No annual fee
- Additional tools to automate spending
Cons:
- Requires a personal guarantee
- To get rewards, you must pay off your balance within the same calendar month as the charge
How Does Dun & Bradstreet determine your business credit score?
Dun & Bradstreet uses several factors in determining the business credit score of any company. These include the company’s history of on-time payments, the amount of time they’ve been in business, and the amount of available credit that they’re using.
Dun & Bradstreet relies on a reports from lenders and creditors, publicly available information such as mortgages and lien filing, and information that businesses themselves provide. You can log into your D&B account to make sure that all information is up to date.
What’s a D-U-N-S number?
To check your D&B score, you’ll need to get a D-U-N-S number (a Data Universal Numbering System number). This is a D&B number assigned to your business that functions sort of like a Social Security number for the company. You—and other parties—use that number to look up your business through D&B.
You might also need it if you ever apply to become a federal contractor. It typically takes about a month to receive your D-U-N-S number after your apply for it, but you can pay a fee to speed up the process.
Other types of companies that report to Dun & Bradstreet
While opening a business credit card and regularly paying your account off each month is one of the best ways to build business credit, some other types of vendors also report to Dun & Bradstreet. Opening accounts with these vendors as well could show Dun & Bradstreet that you have access to different types of credit and result in a boost to your score.
These companies typically offer their clients tradelines, or a credit line with Net 30 reporting terms. In addition to helping build your credit, these types of vendors can also help you manage your cash flow. Examples of other companies that report to D&B include:
- Digital marketing agency Creative Analytics
- Corporate swag producer Shirtsy
- Office product supplier Quill
In addition to vendors, you may be able to establish credit with suppliers, retailers, and service providers, any of whom might extend you credit and potentially report to the business credit reporting agencies.
Take control of your business finances and build business credit with Ramp
In addition to offering a best-in-class charge card and reporting payments to business credit agencies, Ramp provides many other tools to allow users to take control of their finances and improve their business credit.
Ramp’s spend management tools, for example, give you insight into your company’s spend and suggests ways that you can reduce that spend to make your company more efficient. That makes Ramp different from some other credit card companies, which encourage users to spend more to earn points.
Getting started with Ramp is easy. In less than 15 minutes, you can apply for a card and start making payments on a Ramp card.
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