Business credit blog, in plain words
Everything you need to understand your business credit: Paydex scores, mismatches, building your file, monitoring and getting funding ready. Written by Credit Desk Founder and CEO Alan Hayon.
Our core guides
How to Get Funding Ready: A Business Loan Readiness Guide
Getting funding ready means your business credit, records and documents are in order before you apply. Use this business loan readiness guide to check fundability and prepare for your next application.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness Credit Monitoring: What It Is and Why Your Business Needs It
Business credit monitoring alerts you when your business credit scores, accounts, public records or company details change. Learn what to monitor, how often and how it protects your fundability.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readGoogle Business Profile and Business Credit: Why Lenders Check It
Your Google Business Profile helps lenders verify your business is real. Learn how it connects to business credit, how mismatches hurt fundability, and how to align it with your state filing and bureau files.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readHow to Build Business Credit: A Step by Step Guide for Small Businesses
Learn how to build business credit the right way: set up your business foundation, get listed with the business credit bureaus, open reporting accounts, and keep your file accurate and monitored.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness Credit Mismatches: What They Are and How to Fix Them
A business credit mismatch is when your bureau file does not match your state filing, website or Google Business Profile. Learn the common mismatches, why they hurt approvals, and how to fix them.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readPaydex Score: The Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
What the Dun & Bradstreet Paydex score is, how the 1 to 100 scale works, what a good Paydex score is, and how to build one lenders and suppliers trust.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 8 min readBusiness Credit Scores Explained: Paydex, Intelliscore and Equifax
A plain English guide to the main business credit scores: Dun & Bradstreet Paydex, Experian Intelliscore and Equifax business scores. Learn what each measures and how lenders use them.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readWhat Is a DUNS Number and Does Your Business Need One?
A DUNS number is a unique nine digit ID from Dun & Bradstreet that creates your business credit file. Learn what it is, who needs one, how to get one and how to keep the details correct.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readUCC Liens Explained: What They Mean for Your Business Credit
A UCC filing is a public notice that a lender has an interest in business assets. Learn what UCC liens are, how they show up on business credit reports, how lenders read them and how to keep them accurate.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness credit topics
Paydex score
All paydex score guidesPaydex Score: The Complete Guide for Small Business Owners
What the Dun & Bradstreet Paydex score is, how the 1 to 100 scale works, what a good Paydex score is, and how to build one lenders and suppliers trust.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 8 min readHow to Raise Your Paydex Score: A Step by Step Plan
A practical plan to increase your Paydex score: fix company details, add vendors that report, pay early, and keep errors off your Dun & Bradstreet file.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readWhy Did My Paydex Score Drop? 9 Common Causes and What to Do
Your Paydex score went down and you are not sure why. Here are the most common reasons a Dun & Bradstreet Paydex score drops and how to respond to each one.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness credit mismatches
All business credit mismatches guidesBusiness Credit Mismatches: What They Are and How to Fix Them
A business credit mismatch is when your bureau file does not match your state filing, website or Google Business Profile. Learn the common mismatches, why they hurt approvals, and how to fix them.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readAddress Mismatch on Your Business Credit Report: Why It Happens and How to Fix It
An old or wrong address on your Dun & Bradstreet, Experian or Equifax business file can split your credit history and fail lender verification. Here is how to find and fix an address mismatch.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness Name and DBA Mismatches on Your Business Credit File
When your legal name, DBA and business credit file do not match, lenders cannot connect your history. Learn how name and DBA mismatches happen and how to link them correctly.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readPhone Number Mismatch on Your Business Credit File: Why Lenders Care
A disconnected or different phone number on your business credit report can fail lender verification. Learn why your business phone matters and how to keep it consistent everywhere.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readWrong SIC or NAICS Code on Your Business Credit Report: Why It Matters
Your industry code on Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Equifax affects how lenders judge your risk. Learn how SIC and NAICS code mismatches happen and how to correct them.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readBusiness Shows as Closed or Inactive on Your Credit Report? Here Is What to Do
If Dun & Bradstreet, Experian or your state shows your business as closed, inactive or out of business, lenders may stop there. Learn why it happens and how to fix your business status.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readBuild business credit
All build business credit guidesHow to Build Business Credit: A Step by Step Guide for Small Businesses
Learn how to build business credit the right way: set up your business foundation, get listed with the business credit bureaus, open reporting accounts, and keep your file accurate and monitored.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readThin Business Credit File: What It Means and How to Build It Up
A thin business credit file has too few accounts for lenders to judge your business. Learn why files are thin, how it affects funding, and how to add depth the right way.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readNet 30 Vendors: How They Help Build Business Credit
Net 30 vendors let your business buy now and pay within 30 days, and many report payments to the business credit bureaus. Learn how net 30 accounts work, how to choose them, and how to use them to build business credit.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readBusiness Tradelines Explained: What They Are and Why They Matter
A business tradeline is any account that reports your payments to a business credit bureau. Learn the types of tradelines, how they affect your business credit, and how to add them the right way.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readBusiness credit scores
All business credit scores guidesUCC and public records
All ucc and public records guidesUCC Liens Explained: What They Mean for Your Business Credit
A UCC filing is a public notice that a lender has an interest in business assets. Learn what UCC liens are, how they show up on business credit reports, how lenders read them and how to keep them accurate.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readTax Liens and Judgments on Your Business Credit Report
Tax liens and court judgments can weigh on your business credit and slow down funding. Learn how they appear on business credit reports, how lenders view them and how to resolve and update them.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readBusiness credit monitoring
All business credit monitoring guidesBusiness Credit Monitoring: What It Is and Why Your Business Needs It
Business credit monitoring alerts you when your business credit scores, accounts, public records or company details change. Learn what to monitor, how often and how it protects your fundability.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readHow to Check Your Business Credit Report (and What to Look For)
Learn how to check your business credit report at Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Equifax, what each section means, and the most common errors to look for before you apply for funding.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readGet funding ready
All get funding ready guidesHow to Get Funding Ready: A Business Loan Readiness Guide
Getting funding ready means your business credit, records and documents are in order before you apply. Use this business loan readiness guide to check fundability and prepare for your next application.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readWhy Lenders Check Business Credit (and What They Look For)
Lenders check business credit to understand how your business pays, how much history it has and whether your records are consistent. Learn what lenders look for and how to prepare.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readWorking Capital Readiness Checklist: Prepare Before You Apply
A simple working capital readiness checklist for small businesses. Learn what working capital providers review, which documents to prepare and how clean business credit helps you get more options.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readGoogle Business Profile
All google business profile guidesGoogle Business Profile and Business Credit: Why Lenders Check It
Your Google Business Profile helps lenders verify your business is real. Learn how it connects to business credit, how mismatches hurt fundability, and how to align it with your state filing and bureau files.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readNAP Consistency and Business Credit: Name, Address and Phone Everywhere
NAP stands for name, address and phone. Learn why NAP consistency across your Google Business Profile, website, state filing and business credit bureaus matters for fundability, and how to fix it.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readHow Lenders Verify Your Business Online (and How to Pass Every Check)
Before they fund, lenders verify your business using your state filing, business credit files, website and Google Business Profile. Here is what they check and how to make sure everything lines up.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readDUNS and EIN basics
All duns and ein basics guidesWhat Is a DUNS Number and Does Your Business Need One?
A DUNS number is a unique nine digit ID from Dun & Bradstreet that creates your business credit file. Learn what it is, who needs one, how to get one and how to keep the details correct.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 6 min readEIN and Business Credit: How Your Tax ID Connects to Your Credit File
Your EIN is your business's federal tax ID. Learn how it connects to business credit, why EIN only credit is often misunderstood, and how to keep your EIN details consistent across lenders and bureaus.
By Alan Hayon, CEO · 5 min readGet credit ready before your next loan application.
A free review of your business credit file with a Credit Desk specialist. No SSN needed to start.