Building business credit can be challenging, especially if you are doing it for clients. You must do it carefully as a single mistake may not be recuperated. As a business credit builder service provider, this is something you cannot afford to happen as it can damage your reputation and credibility. Avoid learning these mistakes the hard way by learning from others.

Here are the 5 mistakes that many people make which lead them to fail in building their business credit.

1. Setting up the wrong entity.

Many businesses prefer to operate as sole proprietors. Although this is legal, the government and credit bureaus will treat the owner and the business as one legal entity. This means that all credit transactions of the owner and the business will be reflected in one credit report. This is not a wise decision to make as it will affect the business funding. It is recommended to have a separate legal entity for business that would allow the business to get a loan regardless of its owner’s credit standing. This is only possible if the business is registered as an LLC or a corporation, not a proprietorship. This way, the business credit and personal credit of the owner are completely separated and treated as two different entities. Any business transactions and credit records will not be reflected on the owner’s personal credit and vice-versa. Therefore, a business can still be capable of getting a high loan amount with low-interest rates even if the owner has bad credit.

2. Not building enough business credibility.

This is another reason it is better to register a business as an LLC or a corporation; it builds more credibility than a sole proprietor. Other things that will help build business credibility are getting EIN for the business, getting required licenses, creating a business website, and setting up a business address, phone number, and fax number that are different from what is used at home or personally.

3. Believing that you have built a true business credit when you are not.

It is important to note that a true business credit does not require the owner’s SSN for approval. It does not require a personal guarantee or personal credit checks of the owner. And any business credit transactions should not reflect on the owner’s personal credit reports.

4. Put SSN on credit application.

Leave the SSN blank when applying for credit. This way, the creditor will pull the business EIN and use that for approval. Take note that no law requires an SSN when applying for credit. More importantly, do not put any number on the area intended for SSN apart from SSN as it is illegal.

5. Applying for credit in the wrong order.

It’s crucial to start establishing credit in the right order. Businesses without credit profiles will most likely get a decline in cash loans. So, establish credit first on trade vendors. They will give initial credit, which is helpful for a business credit profile and credit score. Once business vendors’ accounts are established, you can start getting store credit until the business credit is established enough to get fleet or cash loans from banks or other financing companies. If you jump right away to apply for a cash loan and the business has no established profile, it’ll most likely get declined unless the business owner has a good consumer credit account which can be used to get a business loan with fast approval and even zero interest rate. But without solid consumer credit, then the business has to go through trade vendors first and take step by step to get a higher loanable amount.

Building business credit offers a lot of advantages for business owners. It lets them get a loan regardless of their personal credit score. It has faster loan approval than regular credit. It requires no personal guarantee. It doubles the business’ borrowing capability. It gives businesses more funds allowing them to expand. It requires no cash flow and protects the owner’s personal credit from business lapses.

As a business credit builder, you have a big role in your client’s business financial capabilities. Therefore, ensuring that your actions are accurate and efficient is critical. That is why a business credit builder software is necessary when running this business. It makes work easier and faster and has zero mistakes.

About the Author:

Lorenzo Rodriguez is the senior developer and owner of LMR International Inc., a software company in the USA that develops the first credit repair software in the industry and now the most user-friendly business credit builder software that professionals use.

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