Business Credit-Building Pointers

Good credit is like a financial superpower.  It allows businesses and individuals to get higher limits, lower interest rates, and loans, among other things.  So even as you’re juggling a dozen other priorities, don’t forget about building your business credit.

Tyson Elliott names three key tips in a Small Business Television article.  Perhaps the most basic step is making sure that what you’ve got is indeed a business credit card; he writes, "[I]f the application asks for your personal information such as your social security number . . . . this is a dead give-away that it’s a personal credit card in disguise as a business credit card."

Then there’s the matter of having all your paperwork in order.  "That means having your articles of corporation filed properly with the secretary of state in the state you do business in, as well as filing with the IRS for a Tax ID number (sometimes called an EIN number)," according to Elliott.  And you’ll make want to ensure business credit reporting agencies are aware of your company, too.

Step four, if we can extend the list by a little, is to simply charge everything.  Why pay with cash or a check when you can hold onto the money for a month and improve your credit score at the same time?  Taking care of your credit card bills is an important part of this step, of course.

Improving your business credit should save you money in a very tangible way.  Good luck achieving this goal.