Summary
- A D-U-N-S® Number is an identifier in the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) credit system. Once you get one for your business, what's next?
- Learn how to open credit accounts that can help you build business credit.
- Learn how to build, manage and monitor business credit to help your business access better funding options and other opportunities.
Like many business owners, the retail store owner I spoke with told me she was trying to move away from using personal credit to finance her business. To help her do that, she’s started the process of establishing business credit.
“I’ve got a D-U-N-S® Number,” she told me, “but I’m confused. What do I do next?”
Getting a free Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) D-U-N-S Number is one of the first steps in the process to establish credit.
It’s the identifying number for a business in the Dun & Bradstreet commercial credit database, and your business must be assigned one in order to create a business credit profile in their system. In addition to helping establish business credit, D-U-N-S Numbers may also be required when doing business with other businesses or getting certain types of small business loans.
But then what?
How to get a D-U-N-S Number
You can check to see if your business already has a D-U-N-S Number using the Dun and Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number lookup tool. If your business doesn’t yet have a D-U-N-S Number, you’ll need to get one. It’s free to register on the D&B website, and it will take about two weeks in most cases to get your number assigned.
How to use a D-U-N-S Number to establish business credit
After you get a D-U-N-S Number, the next major, and perhaps most crucial, step in the process of building a business credit history is to establish credit references (often called tradelines) that will appear on your credit report with Dun & Bradstreet and other commercial credit reporting agencies.
Payment history is the most important factor that influences business credit scores and without any accounts reporting it’s difficult for a credit bureau to calculate a business credit score.
In fact, to calculate a D&B PAYDEX® Score — one of D&B's most well-known credit scores — Dun & Bradstreet says a business needs at least two companies reporting at least three credit experiences to the Dun & Bradstreet credit report of the business entity.
For startups
If you have a brand new business, it’s helpful to make sure you set up your business properly before you start to build credit. This includes choosing your business name, and getting a business address and phone number. Get Nav’s free step-by-step checklist to set up your business the right way.
How do you get business accounts?
To get accounts that report to the major business credit bureaus, small business owners can use the following kinds of business accounts:
Nav Prime helps you accelerate your path to funding by improving your credit history with access to up to two tradelines.
Use net-30 accounts
If you can’t qualify for a business credit card at this time, you aren’t necessarily out of luck though.
A number of vendors sell supplies or services to businesses “on terms” where you order items and pay for them later.
The most common arrangement is net-30 terms where the invoice is due within 30 days of the invoice date. Vendors offer a wide variety of products that businesses regularly use, from shipping and office supplies to furniture and equipment. The initial credit limit may be small but if you pay on time, it will often be increased.
These vendors report to business credit.
Pay on time
Once you have several accounts appearing on your business credit report, the next step is to make sure you make at least the minimum payment amount on time. Again, payment history is the most important factor when business credit scores are calculated. You don’t want to get busy running your business and forget to pay a bill; that can set you back in your efforts to move away from personal credit.