Understanding business credit bureaus

The three agencies that rate your business

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.