What is a business credit report? A guide

A business credit report is a document that summarizes a company’s financial history, payment performance, credit profile and overall creditworthiness. It is commonly used by lenders, vendors and other organizations to evaluate a business’s financial reliability and risk.

Business credit reports provide insight into a company’s creditworthiness and ability to meet financial obligations. They typically include the following information:

• Business profile: Company name, address, phone number and other identifying information
• Ownership and background: Information about business owners, corporate officers and subsidiaries
• Business credit accounts and trade lines: An overview of your business credit accounts with suppliers, service providers and financial institutions
• Payment history: Records of on-time, late or missed payments
• Business credit scores and risk ratings: Business credit scores, ratings and other indicators used to assess creditworthiness and financial risk
• Financial information: Credit activity, payment trends and other financial data reported to business credit bureaus
• Public records and derogatory items: Bankruptcies, lawsuits, judgments, collections and liens

Both business and personal credit reports help assess creditworthiness, but they focus on different types of credit activity. Here’s how they compare:

To check your business credit report, you can typically request a copy directly from major business credit reporting agencies, including Experian, Equifax and D&B.

Below is a brief overview of each agency and how to access your business credit report through them.

Experian business credit reports compile key business credit data—including payment trends, public records and credit scores—to help organizations assess a company’s financial reliability.

How to access your Experian report:

1. Visit the Experian Business Credit Reports page.
2. Enter your business name and address in the Company Search tool.
3. Select your company from the list and purchase your preferred report tier. Experian offers several options, including one-time reports and annual subscription plans, depending on the level of detail and monitoring features included.

Equifax business credit reports compile information about a company’s credit history, payment trends and financial standing to help lenders and vendors make informed decisions. It’s also commonly used by business owners to monitor their business’s financial health and identify opportunities to strengthen their creditworthiness.

How to access your Equifax report:

1. If you already have an account, sign in to the Equifax Commercial Portal to buy a report.
2. You may also be able to purchase or access Equifax business credit reports through third-party business credit platforms and monitoring services. 

D&B is a data and analytics company that offers business credit reports to help you monitor and manage your business credit profile. The D&B business credit report allows you to view multiple types of credit scores, ratings and data to see how financially stable and reliable a company is before engaging in business with them.

You can get a free limited version of your business credit report from D&B as long as your business has a D-U-N-S® Number. 

How to access your D&B report:

1. Visit the D&B website and use the D-U-N-S® Number Lookup tool to locate your business profile.
2. Verify or claim your business listing if you have not already created a D&B account.
3. Sign in to your account and purchase the credit report or monitoring package you want. Choose from either one-time reports or credit monitoring and business insights plans with monthly or annual subscription options.

To maintain a strong business credit report, there are a few steps you can take—for example:

• Make payments on time. Payment history plays a key role in maintaining a good business credit score. By paying your lenders, suppliers and vendors on time, you’ll show that you’re a reliable, financially stable company.
• Keep credit utilization low. Many financial experts recommend keeping your credit usage under 30%. Try to use only the credit you need. 
• Apply with lenders that report payments to the business credit bureaus. If you’re thinking of opening a new line of credit, try to choose a lender that reports to the business credit bureaus. This will help build your credit history.
• Establish business credit accounts. Opening accounts with vendors or suppliers that report to business credit bureaus can help build your business credit history over time.
• Monitor your business credit reports regularly. This helps you catch errors that could impact your credit score. It can also help you spot signs of fraud early.

To better understand business credit reports, below are some frequently asked questions business owners may have:

Understanding your business credit report can provide valuable insights into your business and help you identify opportunities to strengthen your financial standing, improve creditworthiness and maintain strong business credit. 

Once you understand your business credit report, the next step is finding ways to build and maintain strong business credit. If you’re looking for a practical way to build business credit while earning rewards, a business credit card may be worth considering.

Capital One offers business credit cards designed to help cardholders earn rewards like cash back and bonus miles. Check if you’re already pre-approved for a Capital One Business card, without any impact on your personal credit scores.