As is the case with individuals, when a business applies for any sort of finances it is usual for the lender to carry out a credit check. If the credit check is not deemed satisfactory, the chances of getting the finance required are dramatically reduced. This is why it is important for all businesses to check their credit reports, especially smaller businesses that are more likely to be in need of financial help.
For instance, if you do not have adequate net working capital for fund your needs, you may find yourself in need of a business loan. However, without a decent credit history and score, you will struggle to find a lender that will help you out. Even if you do find one, they may charge you crippling rates of interest that could have a serious negative impact on your business finances.
Checking your credit report
With this in mind, you need to make sure you check your business credit report on a regular basis. You can order this from one of the major credit reference agencies and it can provide a huge amount of useful information. In addition to providing information about your credit history and score it can even help you by showing any untoward transactions.
We all know that fraud and identity theft are common issues in today’s society, and these crimes can affect businesses just as much as they can individuals. Making sure you regularly check the business credit report means that you can pick up on anything untoward and address it with the credit reference agencies so that it can be sorted out. This is something that can have a big impact on your ability to get credit, as there may be transactions on there that are not bona fide and are adversely affecting your credit score.
The other thing to remember is that mistakes can be made by the credit reference agencies and those that log the information that goes onto the report. Again, by checking your report regularly you can pick up on information that may be inaccurate, out of date, or simply incorrect, and then get the issue quickly and efficiently dealt with so that it brings your credit score to what it should be rather than having a false low score due to the information on the report.
One more way in which your credit report can help you is that it will stop you from wasting times applying for loans that you will not be eligible for. Many lenders will stipulate what your minimum credit score needs to be in order to borrow money from them. There is no point making an application if your score is too low, as this will do more damage to your credit rating. Instead, check your score on the credit report and make sure you know whether you will be eligible to take out a loan with the company before you make your application. This can save you both time and inconvenience.
