Business credit reporting is a system that is used to rate how companies manage debt. It is very similar to personal credit reporting. The major differences between business credit reporting and regular consumer credit reporting are the scoring system and the agencies that collect the information.

Business Credit Reporting Agencies

Business credit reporting is handled by major business credit bureaus Dun & Bradstreet and Business Credit USA. Experian and Equifax also have a business credit focus that is separate from normal consumer credit reporting. These agencies collect payment history information based on business credit card or business loan payments.

Business Credit versus Personal Credit

The major differences between business credit reporting and regular consumer credit reporting are the scoring system and the agencies that collect the information. Business credit scoring done by Dun & Bradstreet uses the Paydex scale, which rates the company 20 to 100 based on the timing of payment on accounts. Early or prompt payments are given higher scores, 80-100, and late payments (considered slow) are given lower scores relative to how late payments are. Unlike personal credit scoring, there is a much heavier focus on timely repayment of debt in business credit scoring.

Many of the same details that are found in a consumer credit report are found in a business credit report. These include tax liens, judgments and bankruptcies. Business credit reports, however, will have background information about the company, and all of the credit information is made available to the public. Unlike with personal credit reports, companies do not have to give permission to anyone who wants to review their business credit.