jessie_jones_godlover
New member
I am looking to establish business credit and would like to know what companies report to Dun & Bradstreet. Do business credit cards ? or big box stores?
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What companies report to D&B
- Thread starter jessie_jones_godlover
- Start date
michaelnfamily
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover I worked at D&B for 8 years, but it’s been a while so some things could have changed slightly.
As a general rule, larger companies, like a Walmart or Home Depot are much more likely to report to D&B than smaller companies. You can always self-report, although that will cost you money. Ignore the advice above about personal credit being the same as your business credit. That’s just wrong. It could be that your business credit is so weak that you have to rely on personal credit or guarantees (especially while your business is young), but they’re definitely separate beasts.
Working out a strategy to start building your business credit early can definitely pay off after a few years when you’re able to get vehicles, materials, loans, etc based on your company’s credit. But who you use can/should really depend on the industry your in. There’s lots of office/hardware supply companies, website hosts, virtual office spaces, etc that specifically pitch that they report to D&B.
Maybe most important, you need to pay “on terms”. The key to a strong business credit score is having other business trust you to pay them over time (such as on 30 day terms) and then they report that you actually paid on time (or early).
In terms of a list of specific companies that report, that information is purposely kept close to the vest. Most big companies don’t want their B2B customers to know they report, so there’s no big list out there. And finally, very few, if any, business credit cards report to D&B, unless, of course, you start miss payments. They’re way more likely yo report negative payment activity than anything positive.
As a general rule, larger companies, like a Walmart or Home Depot are much more likely to report to D&B than smaller companies. You can always self-report, although that will cost you money. Ignore the advice above about personal credit being the same as your business credit. That’s just wrong. It could be that your business credit is so weak that you have to rely on personal credit or guarantees (especially while your business is young), but they’re definitely separate beasts.
Working out a strategy to start building your business credit early can definitely pay off after a few years when you’re able to get vehicles, materials, loans, etc based on your company’s credit. But who you use can/should really depend on the industry your in. There’s lots of office/hardware supply companies, website hosts, virtual office spaces, etc that specifically pitch that they report to D&B.
Maybe most important, you need to pay “on terms”. The key to a strong business credit score is having other business trust you to pay them over time (such as on 30 day terms) and then they report that you actually paid on time (or early).
In terms of a list of specific companies that report, that information is purposely kept close to the vest. Most big companies don’t want their B2B customers to know they report, so there’s no big list out there. And finally, very few, if any, business credit cards report to D&B, unless, of course, you start miss payments. They’re way more likely yo report negative payment activity than anything positive.
jessie_jones_godlover
New member
@michaelnfamily Great information, so there is hope for credit establishing, so when I buy products in my industry should I just ask everyone to include my d&b number? So I have a business credit card does that do anything for your credit such as a business fico or anything?
michaelnfamily
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover Yeah… it’s really about whether they report to D&B or not. Big companies with lots of files are super desirable to D&B, so the company makes it easy for them to submit payments… often by connecting with their ERP/CRM/Accounting software. However, the small business version of this is to manually submit trade (at least it was when I was there) and that costs money. Most companies who automatically submits to D&B will ask for your D&B when onboarding as they’ll often use your credit score and limits to Lee-determine the credit levels they’ll offer you.
After leaving D&B, I worked for a competitor (Creditsafe) for a few years and put this resource together for small business owners. It’s not specific to D&B, but I think it gives a good oversight on how business credit differs from personal credit https://info.creditsafe.com/getting-started/business-credit
After leaving D&B, I worked for a competitor (Creditsafe) for a few years and put this resource together for small business owners. It’s not specific to D&B, but I think it gives a good oversight on how business credit differs from personal credit https://info.creditsafe.com/getting-started/business-credit
jennifaith
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover Im a small biz w/ a d&b. My biz credit card and biz phone report if that helps.
vikingqueen
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover I had D&B talk to me about the scores and reporting. I'm just a small retail so it doesn't affect me. All my vendors are long established so if anyone wants my business they seek me out. The pricing for a small business like mine is not justified. I belive initially business credit is tied to your personal. After few years you can get a credit account that doesn't affect your personal score. I got a business account way before D&B tried to get involved. So you don't needs a Duns numbers for a card. I think you only need it if you want to be a vendor for Walmart or other big box stores.
@jessie_jones_godlover Unless you have multiple employees on a payroll your “business credit” will always be no different than your personal credit
jessie_jones_godlover
New member
@scrivener So I need to hire employees just to establish business credit no matter the revenue?
@jessie_jones_godlover I dont think this is accurate but I'm not certain.
I never had a single "employee" all ICs. My biz credit had access to a decent chunk of capital bc our revenue had grown fairly high. And my personal cs was avg (albeit growing).
In general, my belief is that, if you have established and growing revenue, and esp if cf+, someone's gonna want in on that action and give you $$$$
I never had a single "employee" all ICs. My biz credit had access to a decent chunk of capital bc our revenue had grown fairly high. And my personal cs was avg (albeit growing).
In general, my belief is that, if you have established and growing revenue, and esp if cf+, someone's gonna want in on that action and give you $$$$
jessie_jones_godlover
New member
michaelnfamily
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover No. There are some criteria for getting D&B to issue a DUNS number for your company, but it’s generally pretty easy. Especially if you go through one of the US gov links, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/programs/?cid=stelprdb1257063 or a partner link like Apple https://developer.apple.com/support/D-U-N-S/ , the DUNS is generally created pretty fast and up sells are minimized.
Getting a number essentially establishes your report, but think of it like a resume. If you have a resume that’s blank, it’s going to be hard to use it to get a job.
Similarly, if you have a business credit report that’s empty (ie it doesn’t show that overs have trusted you enough to give you products on terms), then it’s going to be hard to use it to get a loan, lease or big contract. It doesn’t mean you can’t get those contracts, but your empty credit report isn’t going to help your case.
Also, some big companies (I’m thinking the Walmarts of the world) like to see that someone has been in business for a few years… so even if your not going to be able to use your business credit report in the short run, it makes sense to get a DUNS number as soon as possible as that starts the clock ticking on the “age” of your business.
Getting a number essentially establishes your report, but think of it like a resume. If you have a resume that’s blank, it’s going to be hard to use it to get a job.
Similarly, if you have a business credit report that’s empty (ie it doesn’t show that overs have trusted you enough to give you products on terms), then it’s going to be hard to use it to get a loan, lease or big contract. It doesn’t mean you can’t get those contracts, but your empty credit report isn’t going to help your case.
Also, some big companies (I’m thinking the Walmarts of the world) like to see that someone has been in business for a few years… so even if your not going to be able to use your business credit report in the short run, it makes sense to get a DUNS number as soon as possible as that starts the clock ticking on the “age” of your business.
@jessie_jones_godlover Payroll is the keyword along side 2 years of W2’s
@jessie_jones_godlover You can pay to report to D&B and get a biz credit score. It’s decently expensive so I wouldn’t do it unless you have an actual existing need for it.
fizzygiraffe
New member
@jessie_jones_godlover Companies that report to Dun & Bradstreet establish business credit. They use this information to help them obtain financing and to determine the company's creditworthiness.