If you own your own business, you are eventually going to need business credit. This is much like your personal credit, but it represents the financial stability of your business. The better your business credit is, the more lending opportunities you will have over time. This takes a while to develop, so you might as well start learning about it now.
The guide below briefly explains how to build business credit so that you can get the score that you need.
Business credit is designed to help you get business loans, business credit cards, financing for company cars, etc. Essentially anything you need a loan for in relation to your business can spawn from your business credit. You can use your personal credit for this, but that is not always ideal. If you have a partner you work with or you have bad personal credit from the past, it may be best to put everything under the business name.
Your business credit score is tied to your employer identification number (EIN), which you can obtain from the IRS. This is like a social security number for your business. Even if you act as the guarantor for a business loan or credit card, the credit you build will be linked to your EIN, not your SSN.
Since your business credit is not associated with your personal credit, building business credit may give you the chance to maintain lending options even with bad personal credit. If you have an issue happen in your personal life, it will not impact your ability to get funds for your business. At the early stages of this process, your personal credit will be assessed as a backing source for the business, but once you have solid business credit, that will be all the bank will focus on.
The easiest way to start building business credit is to get a business credit card. Chase Ink offers a great program for people with no business credit, but there are other cards out there worth exploring. The more active you are with the card in spending and – more importantly – repayment, the higher your score will be. If you spend money on your business credit card and then pay it back at the end of the month, you will start to build a business credit score.
You may also get a small business loan, if you can find a lender who is willing to work with you. All of your monthly payments will go toward your business credit. Keep this process up as you continue to reinvest in your business, and you will have plenty of lending options when you need them.