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One of the first things that a lender, partner or sometimes even a client will want to look at when doing business with you is your online business credit report. Business credit reports are, obviously, the principal method of understanding your business’ profitability and trustworthiness, so it is essential that you know what components of a business are monitored by the business credit report.

A business credit report consists of a number of factors. The credit score, which is proprietary to the credit bureau and will vary depending on whom you are using (Experian, Dunn & Bradstreet, etc) is not the only, or even the most important, component of your credit credit report. Your online business credit report will provide you or the inquirer initially with a credit summary and key facts about the business, the corporate registration and contact information, and the key personnel involved in the business. It will also provide you with detailed financial treads, predicted payment behavior, and an in-depth credit history. Like personal credit reports, it will contain all applicable information about banking, bankruptcy filings, judgment filings, liens and credit inquiries made in the last nine months. In sum, it will provide a very accurate and to-the-point rundown on all the key facts and figures about the business.

If you want a free, reliable online business credit report, you should check out www.annualcreditreport.com. Annual credit report is a site that provides information about your business credit from each of the main credit bureaus free of charge. It is especially useful, as inquiries that are made through this site do not have an adverse effect on your credit score, as they are considered “soft pulls.”

Knowing your credit score is a very important part of running a successful business. It is essential to keep your score up so that you, and others, know that your business is running soundly.


This Business article was written by Mark Karavan on 1/9/2010