Business Credit, Dun and Bradstreet?

[chercyr2002]

If anyone on here has a small business, how did you first obtain credit? It seems that everything I fill out with my tax id. requires a personal guaranty. I do not want to use my personal credit my company is LLC for a reason we are 2 seperate entities. I don't want to mix anything. I found the Dun and Brad but I am not willing to pay 549.00 until I know what this will do for me. I am getting a DUNS number in the next few weeks but have no idea what that is for either. Do i use that instead of my SS#. Anyway my business is 2 yrs old, and we have pd cash for everything but now are looking to take on bigger projects and do a storefront/ wharehouse to stock supplies but need more moeny to do it. How do you get credit without involving personal finance? What is the best way to start?

[ANISE]

Have you had a business account in the last two years?Can you obtain letters of reference from your suppliers?Have you spoken to the small business division of the bank you personally use, and then every bank located near you?Take the day & makesome appoinments.They will want to see financials & letters of references.Plus they will want a gaurantor - do you have someone who will do that?

[spliceit]

As someone who grants/business credit there are alot of factors that are used. Most businesses fail in the first 2 years which is probably why people are not extending you credit. As for having a Duns # I don't know if that will help you. They will rate your firm and other companies will use that rating when they decide to give you credit or not.The place most companies start to get credit with is usually their bank in terms of line of credit. The only other thing you can do is apply for credit with suppliers who you have used consistantly during the first 2 years of business.

[JJ C]

D&B is the source your creditors go to when they want to check your company's credit history. When they receive the first inquiry about you D&B establishes your DUNS number.But, please - don't confuse your DUNS with your SS#. If you have already established a LLC you should be using your FEID (federal employer's identification number).D&B will give you free access to their report on you. Your report contains a company history, and they will ask you to post some of your company financial information (number of employees, gross sales, etc). It is strictly voluntary whether you want that information made public. The $549.00 they are asking you for gives you the ability to run the same kind of credit check on your customers that your vendors are running on you. Additionally, each time someone runs a D&B check on you, D&B will tell you, but not who ran the check. You need to talk with each of your vendors and find out what their credit practices are.My business is a little over two years old, and I have established my credit by, at first, paying cash as required by the vendor. Once they established my payment history with them most of them offered me 30 days net, which I gratefuly accepted.