Reviewing Your Business Credit Report

Review your business credit report on a regular basis in order to ensure that the reported information about your business is current and accurate. Be sure to verify that none of the following problems appear that would negatively impact your business credit report:

• Previous Information : Make sure that your business credit report does not contain any old account information that has since changed.
• Missing Information : All of your pertinent information, such as accounts with your key vendors, should be included on your report.
• Unauthorized Information : Everything on your credit report should be familiar to you. If anything appears that you have not personally authorized, you should act quickly to investigate it.

Repairing Your Business Credit Report

If you discover that there are mistakes being reported on your business credit report, it is your responsibility to contact the business credit bureau and get the corrections made.

Send a letter to one of the business reporting bureaus (including your company name, your D-U-N-S and/or Tax ID number, and your personal contact information) explaining the error and how it should be correctly being reported. If you have any supporting documentation related to the correction you are requesting, make sure you include copies of those documents as well.

If the error is the result of a company’s mistake in reporting your information to one of the business credit bureaus, it is best to contact that company directly and request that they correct the information that they are reporting. For example, if a company is incorrectly reporting that you were more than 60 days late on a payment, when in fact you were given 90 days to pay, remind the company that they were paid within the timeframe established in the terms of your agreement, and ask that they report your timely payment to one of the business credit reporting bureaus.

Updating Your Business Credit Report

If you discover any incorrect information or problems in your business credit report, you should take immediate steps to resolve them. If old information appears, such as closed accounts or paid off loans, get the information updated.

If there is information missing, such as newly opened accounts, get the information added. Notify the financial institutions or companies you do business with and ask them to report your current payment performance history to one of the credit reporting bureaus.

Adding to Your Business Credit Report

Often times, the information being reported to the business credit bureaus is correct, but there if information missing. You may have additional financial transactions that will improve your business credit profile and credit rating, so it is beneficial to notify the business credit bureau. Important information to add to your business credit profile includes:

• Increases in Payroll : Since your company's size is a factor in your business credit rating, you should notify one of the business credit reporting bureaus if the number of employees on your staff increases.
• Improvements to Financial Statements : The only financial statements that the business credit reporting bureaus can access directly are those of publicly-traded companies. By providing copies of your company's financial statements to one of the credit reporting bureaus, they can gain a more comprehensive understanding of your company's financial picture.