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Whether it’s to generate working capital, buy new equipment, or hire some help, many small business owners need financing, especially in their early days. Unfortunately, they often lack the business credit necessary to meet lender qualification requirements.
If you’re struggling to qualify for the small business loan you want, here’s a list of the 11 best companies that help build business credit in 2022.
FairFigure: The New Business Credit Monitoring & Tradeline Company
We consider FairFigure to be one of the most robust, innovative companies on this list because they help you build credit in three different ways.
First, FairFigure offers top-of-the-line business credit monitoring, which provides detailed reports and scores that give you a close-up look at what your current business credit health is and any potential issues or discrepancies there may be.
At the moment of this writing, their paid product provides business credit reports and scores for Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Creditsafe. It also provides access to FairFigure’s own Foundation Report & Score.
Their freemium credit monitoring product provides access to a Creditsafe credit report and score.
This is important because you can be proactive about business credit monitoring and resolve any issues before they have a chance to impact your business credit score negatively.
Next, FairFigure’s subscription payments are reported as a tradeline. Making on-time payments to FairFigure helps boost your business credit score just as it would with a net-30 vendor or supplier because payments are reported to major business credit bureaus.
Third, this company offers a business credit builder account called FairFigure Lift, which deposits funds straight into your business bank account. It’s EIN-only and doesn’t require a personal credit check, which lets you keep your business and personal credit separate.
FairFigure Lift provides easy-to-get financing. This allows you to get financing and build your business credit at the same time.
And you can make repayments through weekly installments for maximum flexibility. These payments are reported as an additional tradeline on your credit reports.
When you combine the business credit monitoring, built-in tradeline, and business credit builder, FairFigure can be an excellent resource for building a stronger business credit profile.
Nav: Business Credit Monitoring & Vendor Tradeline
When you’re trying to build good credit, you’ll need to check your scores and reports frequently to monitor your progress. Fortunately, Nav offers a subscription service that gives business owners access to their:
- Business credit scores and reports from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), Experian, and Equifax
- Personal credit scores and reports from Experian and TransUnion
Nav’s service has four tiers. The entry-level tier is completely free. The free service gives you limited (but still useful) access to your business credit reports and scores
You’ll need to pay for the $29.99 per month option to access your full credit data. In addition, for only $10 more per month, Nav will throw in tradeline reporting services to help you build business credit.
They’ll share your monthly payment activity with the business credit bureaus, including D&B, Experian, and Equifax. In addition, they promise never to report negative history, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally hurting your score by missing a payment.
Because Nav’s service includes so many valuable benefits in addition to adding a vendor account to your business credit reports, it’s well worth the monthly fee. If you’d like to know more check out our full Nav Review.
CreditStrong: Business Credit Builder Loan
CreditStrong offers a unique product known as a credit builder loan. While they have competitors that provide something similar to consumers, they’re the only company that offers these accounts to businesses.
Think of a credit builder loan as an inverted installment loan. Once you sign up, CreditStrong puts your proceeds into a locked savings account. They serve as collateral, much like the cash deposit for a secured credit card.
Next, you make monthly payments, which CreditStrong reports to Equifax, PayNet, and the SBFE. The account then shows up as a financial tradeline in each business credit report.
Finally, you can cancel the account at no cost once you feel you’ve built enough credit history or have paid off the entire balance.
CreditStrong is another great financial tradeline for businesses that lack credit history. Because they use your loan proceeds as collateral, they don’t even need to check your business or personal credit score when you sign up.
All you need to qualify is an Employer Identification Number (EIN), three months of business activity, and a legal entity structure other than a sole proprietorship, such as a corporation or a limited liability company (LLC). Also read our full CreditStrong Business review for more information about this.
Credit Suite: Business Credit Coaching
Credit Suite doesn’t extend credit to businesses directly, so you can’t use them to acquire a vendor or financial tradeline. Instead, they provide a program that walks you through the process of building credit step-by-step.
When you sign up, CreditSuite provides a wealth of resources to help you accomplish all of the following:
- Build business credibility: Lay the groundwork for credibility with lenders by acquiring an EIN, a 411 listing, and a business bank account.
- Establish business credit reports: Set up and activate your business credit file with each major business credit bureau.
- Get initial business credit: Acquire initial vendor tradelines such as net 30 accounts.
- Get revolving credit: Sign up for accessible financial tradelines such as a business credit card.
If you’d rather not deal with the hassle of figuring out the best ways to build business credit on your own, Credit Suite can help you streamline the process.
Credit Suite’s pricing isn’t cheap, with the program costing $3,000. However, their business credit coaching service is reportedly the best in the industry. Many of their competitors charge $5,000 to $10,000 for an inferior service.
If you want someone to hold your hand through your first $100,000 in credit line approvals, Credit Suite is the way to go. Also check out our full Credit Suite Review if you’d like to know more about it.
CEO Creative: Net 30 Account
So far, we’ve focused on financial tradelines, which are accounts like credit cards and loans from lenders and creditors. They have a more significant impact on your business credit than vendor tradelines, so you should prioritize them.
However, that doesn’t mean you should neglect your vendor tradelines. In many cases, they’re much easier to qualify for and can help you lay a better business credit foundation or at least round out your credit profile.
In fact, many of the financial tradelines that are more difficult to obtain require that you have a minimum number of tradelines in your credit report. As a result, adding a few vendor accounts to your business credit reports is necessary when you’re just starting out.
The easiest way to quickly acquire multiple vendor tradelines is to go after net 30 accounts from suppliers like CEO Creative.
They offer printing services and sell a diverse catalog of products, including office supplies, branded apparel, graphic design supplies, and electronics.
CEO Creative reports to Creditsafe, D&B, Equifax, and the National Association of Credit Management. To qualify for their account, you need to be a United States business in operation for three months with a clean payment history.
Businesses with no business credit history usually get accepted.
Crown Office Supplies: Net 30 Account
Crown Office Supplies sells assorted office goods, electronics, custom t-shirts, and school supplies.
However, the goods are secondary here. The tradeline is what you’re really after. Fortunately, their net 30 account is open to new and established businesses.
To qualify, you need to be a United States business in operation for at least three months with no derogatories or late payments. They make it really easy for businesses without business credit to apply and get accepted.
Business T-Shirt Club: Net 30 Account
The next net 30 account we recommend applying for is from the Business T-Shirt Club. They’re a company that provides blank and customized apparel for businesses. This includes shirts, sweatshirts, hats, jackets, and more.
They allow new and established businesses to apply for their net 30 account, which they share with Equifax, Creditsafe, Ansonia, and Cortera.
Vendor Link: https://www.businesstshirtclub.com/page/benefits/credit-reporting
Wise Business Plan: Net 30 Account
The last net 30 account on our list is with Wise Business Plan. They’re a company that provides multiple services to small businesses, including licensing and entity formation, business planning, logo design, and digital marketing.
They report to D&B, Equifax, and Experian, and their net 30 account is available to both new and established businesses. To qualify, you need to be a United States business with an EIN, register with the Secretary of State, and have no major delinquencies.
Vendor Link: https://wisebusinessplans.com/wise-net-30-application/
The Bottom Line
If you’re a small business owner looking to build credit, we recommend starting with the companies on this list. With all the vendor and financial tradelines above, you’ll be well on your way to a good business credit score and the financing your business needs.
Get started today!
Also Read:
- How To Build Business Credit Without Using Personal Credit
- Net 60 Vendors
- Tier 2 Business Credit Vendors
- Tier 1 Business Credit Vendors
- Business Credit Builder
- Startup Business Credit Cards with No Credit
- Secured Business Credit Cards That Report to D&B
Nick Gallo is a Certified Public Accountant and content marketer for the financial industry. He has been an auditor of international companies and a tax strategist for real estate investors. He now writes articles on personal and corporate finance, accounting and tax matters, and entrepreneurship.