There is a lot of work and planning that goes into running a successful business. One thing that can help you with your company by creating better opportunities is maintaining a high business credit score. There are some ways in which this is different than a personal credit score, so it can be a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to go about tracking and improving it. However, there are a few easy steps to help you improve it.
The first and most obvious step is to acquire a business credit card. This is a quick and easy step to get started, and will help you establish a good payment history. You don’t have to use it to pay for all of the company’s expenses right off the bat, but you could use it to pay for some supplies in the beginning, before you start seeing profits.
Once you get your company credit card, you want to make sure you are making your payments on time to improve your business credit score. Try not to use too much of the credit at once, as that will make it more difficult to pay off as well as potentially hurt your credit score. Making your payments on time or early, and paying at least the minimum payment, will improve your score over time. Making above the minimum payment will not only look better on your credit history, but will also keep your credit utilization down, which looks great for your company because it means that you have revenue.
If you are unable to get a loan for your business due to your credit score, there are always alternative lenders out there willing to help out. These lenders are more lax about the requirements to qualify for a loan, and many times they are also unsecured, which means that you don’t have to use up all of your assets in order to apply.
Building your business credit score isn’t something that will happen overnight. It may take a long time to establish your credit and show prospective lenders that you can maintain a line of credit and make enough profits to pay it off. However, these three simple steps will help you achieve that goal in a faster time period, if done correctly. If you need additional help, you can ask a financial advisor for more information or research the factors that affect your credit score for your company. A better understanding will help you plan how to improve it.