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4 Benefits of Monitoring Your Business Credit

By Connor Wilson –

Monitoring business creditYou don’t need a new year to resolve to work on your credit. It’s a common goal, and as people look to buy a home or a new car or get out of debt, credit monitoring becomes a hot topic. If you’re a small business owner, you might be surprised to know that you don’t just have a personal credit score, you also have a business credit score to think about. In a Nav survey, 45% of responding small business owners did not realize they had a business credit score, 72% didn’t know where to find information on their business credit score, and 82% had no idea how to interpret their score. If you fall under any of those categories, it’s definitely time to learn more about your business credit score.

Running a business means time is at a premium, so why should you invest time in monitoring your business credit? Here are 4 benefits of keeping an eye on your business credit score.

1. More timely dispute incorrect information

Credit bureaus are far from perfect, and they make mistakes. This is true for personal credit, but almost more so for business credit. Having an incorrect tradeline on your credit report can wreak havoc if not taken care of promptly, and often they are left for months or even years, much to the surprise of the impacted individuals.

By keeping an eye on your business credit, you can become aware of mistakes and begin the process of filing a dispute with the credit bureau. Most credit bureaus have an established process for you to not only file a dispute but to track the progress of your complaint, and help expedite the process as much as possible. Filing a timely and correct dispute can help protect you from the nightmare of false information on your report.

2. Better decision making when applying for financing

It’s key to know where you stand when you apply for financing. If you were applying for a mortgage, you’d likely want to know more or less where your credit score was,  to know what to expect moving forward. The logic applies to business credit — by having a keen eye on your business credit, you can know better when to apply for the financing you need to take your business to new heights, or to help cover a rough period or a lull in cash flow. Nav can not only help you monitor your credit but match you with the best financing options for your business, helping you save time.

3. Catch identity theft early

Just like falsely reported information on your report, identity theft can ruin your credit profile and put you in a deep hole. By setting alerts or just checking in regularly, you can be more aware of attempts to steal your identity or to use your information to open credit. Things that could otherwise make life miserable can be a simple inconvenience, and much easier to deal with.

4. More accurate goal setting

If your resolution is to work on your credit profile, monitoring your business credit is crucial. Keeping your goals measurable is key, but so is being able to monitor your progress. By monitoring your business credit, you can check on your progress and see just how close you are to meeting your goals.

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About the Author: Connor Wilson is a writer at Nav, a free site giving business owners access to their business and personal credit scores, and tools that match them to the best financing and services.

This article originally appeared on Nav.com.

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