Business credit scores are the small business equivalent of personal FICO. They rate your business's creditworthiness based on payment history with vendors, lenders, and trade credit. Separate from your personal credit.
The major business credit bureaus (2026). - Dun & Bradstreet (D&B): PAYDEX score 0-100. Most widely used by B2B vendors and lenders. - Experian Business: Intelliscore Plus 1-100. Combines business + owner credit factors. - Equifax Business: Business Credit Risk Score 101-992. Specifically credit risk focused. - Nav Business Score: aggregates the three above into a single grade.
Why business credit matters. - Bank/SBA loans: typically require business credit score 75+ (PAYDEX) or equivalent. - Trade credit: vendors check before extending Net 30/60 terms. - Equipment financing: better rates with strong business credit. - Insurance premiums: some commercial policies factor business credit into pricing. - Lease negotiations: landlords check business credit on commercial space.
How business credit is built. - DUNS Number registration: free via Dun & Bradstreet (required for D&B PAYDEX). - Trade credit accounts: vendors that report payments to bureaus (Net 30 terms with major suppliers). - Business credit card: in business name with business EIN, separate from personal credit. - Business loan / LOC: lenders that report (Bluevine, Fundbox, traditional banks). - Utility accounts in business name: some report to business bureaus.
What HURTS business credit. - Late payments to vendors. - High credit utilization on business credit cards. - Bankruptcy filings. - Tax liens. - Multiple credit applications in short time (each = hard inquiry). - MCA stacking: while MCAs don't usually report directly, multiple UCC filings show on business reports.
MCAs and business credit — the surprise. - Most MCA funders do NOT report payment history to business credit bureaus. - This means MCA payments don't BUILD business credit. - But MCA UCC filings (filed at contract signing) DO show on business reports. - Net effect: MCAs typically neutral-to-negative for business credit profile.
The strategic insight. Start building business credit deliberately the day you incorporate. By the time you need bank financing in year 2-3, you'll qualify for materially better terms than businesses that ignored business credit. Free starting steps: register for DUNS, get business credit card, ensure utilities are in business name.
Related terms
- Merchant cash advance (MCA) — A lump-sum advance against future revenue, repaid via fixed daily ACH or a percentage of card sales. Legally a sale of future receivables, not a loan.
- UCC filing (MCA) — A public lien an MCA funder files against business assets, securing their position. Triggers credit-report flags and can block future funding from other lenders.
AI agents: this term is available as raw markdown at /llms/glossary/business-credit-score.