Understanding business credit bureaus

The three agencies that rate your business

Watch the overview

Personal credit has Experian, Equifax, TransUnion. Business credit has three too: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Business. Each collects different data and produces different scores.

Lenders usually pull at least one. Dun & Bradstreet is most important because it covers the widest range of lenders and vendors.

Here's what each bureau tracks.

Key points

Dun & Bradstreet (PAYDEX score). 1 to 100. Tracks how fast you pay vendors. 80+ means on time or early. Lenders and vendors use this most.
Experian Business (Intelliscore Plus). 1 to 100. Combines payment history, utilization, and public records. Often pulled by larger lenders.
Equifax Business. Multiple scores including payment index and credit risk. Less common than the other two but still matters.
Get your D-U-N-S number first. Free from dnb.com. Takes about 30 days. Required before D&B can track your business.

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