If your business needs to obtain a credit report, Equifax is one of your options. An Equifax small business credit report can help you decide if you should allow a customer to open an account, use credit to make a purchase or borrow money from you. You may also want to order a credit report from Equifax on your own business, so you can dispute any errors.

Equifax for business uses financial payment history, credit history and demographics to determine the credit worthiness of consumers and businesses. Before you decide to use Equifax business rating scores, make sure you understand pricing and costs for business credit reports. You will incur costs for

1. Using Equifax credit reports to check the credit of consumers;

2. Using Equifax business reports to check the credit of other businesses;

3. Monitoring your own Equifax business credit score.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Order a consumer Equifax credit report

Before your business gives credit to a consumer, you can reduce your risk by checking the consumer's Equifax credit report. The report provides a consumer's employment, credit and income history. The cost of each report varies greatly, depending on the number of reports you will be ordering and optional features you may request. Generally, you can expect to pay in the range of $1 to $20 per report.

I recommend: MicroBilt gives examples of what you get when you purchase an Equifax consumer report. From the linked page, click the "Get Started Now" button to begin the process of getting a price quote for your company. Command Credit also offers subscriptions to Equifax consumer reports. The linked page explains how to get a price quote for your company.

Obtain Equifax business credit reports

Equifax business credit reports allow you to feel comfortable that another business will pay you promptly for supplies or services you deliver. The report details a company's history paying rent, credit cards and other bills. You can obtain an Equifax commercial credit report on a business in the range of $3 to $20. The $3 price is typically an introductory, promotional offer.

I recommend: Forius Business Credit Resources is a good source for sample pricing, as well as an example of what an Equifax commercial credit report looks like. Equifax offers new customers 30 days of commercial credit report checks for $3 per report.

Check up on your own Equifax credit report

By checking your own Equifax credit report, you can learn what other businesses are viewing in your credit history and make sure your credit history is correct. You are allowed to obtain one report each year for free. Unlimited reports are available through subscription services for about $15 per month.

I recommend: Credit.com offers daily monitoring of your Equifax credit report and FICO score. Equifax offers a similar service with credit monitoring and alerts when key changes occur.

Using an Equifax small business credit report is essential for businesses that want to promote their own positive record and check out the credit records of others. A positive Equifax credit report can show potential clients your business history and help lower your risks when you take on new clients or suppliers.

There are many ways that your business can use a credit report. Equifax has several options and provides other services as well. Equifax for business can help you to:

1. Screen potential clients and suppliers by investigating their credit report from Equifax.

2. Use your own positive Equifax business scores to prove your trustworthiness to clients.

3. Avoid fraud by screening potential clients.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Review the Equifax small business credit report of other businesses

Before your company enters into a business relationship, it is essential that you know the credit history of a potential partner. By reviewing Equifax business credit reports and continuing to screen them for signs of problems, you can reduce risk.

I recommend: Equifax offers services that will: analyze the credit risk of potential customers and suppliers; screen your potential clients as required by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and continue to monitor the credit rating of clients to ensure that their Equifax business credit score is still in good condition.

Use Equifax credit report services to improve your marketing potential

Use Equifax business reports to your advantage to help improve the image of your company. Equifax has several services that can help you improve your marketing potential.

I recommend: Equifax business report services can help you acquire new customers; cross-sell and up-sell your existing customers; and help you retain customers.

Use Equifax business reporting to avoid fraud

As technology improves, so do the tools used by thieves to steal from your business. Use Equifax business to help you from being a victim of fraud by screening potential customers and suppliers for discrepancies in their identities and backgrounds.

I recommend: Equifax offers services that will help prevent fraud by making you aware of current fraud alerts and also helping you verify the identification of your customers and suppliers. Equifax will also help you to provide a background screening of your customers.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check out an Equifax business report on your own business to see what potential clients see. Make sure to call the company if you see and discrepancies.

Receiving a credit report from Equifax will offer your business many benefits. Some of the benefits of using Equifax for business include receiving an Equifax small business credit report, a business principal report and an OFAC alert.

These Equifax business reports are the basic reasons you should learn different business credit reports: Equifax applications and uses. But your business can benefit from Equifax business reporting for other uses. To get started, consider these options.

1. Use an Equifax business report, or several different ones, for your business.

2. Find Equifax business rating scores for your business.

3. Find an Equifax annual credit report for your business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use a credit report Equifax for your business

There are many uses an Equifax credit report can provide your business. Equifax business credit reports can help you screen potential employees, make sure new customers are not a risk to your business and find new customers with excellent credit. You can also use them to check other business' credit reports when you're considering working with them. You'll want to begin using Equifax business credit reports for your business immediately.

I recommend: Microbilt provides several small business Equifax credit reports. Merit Credit Engine provides Equifax credit report tools and products.

Obtain Equifax business rating scores for your business

Your business will benefit from knowing what your Equifax business rating scores are. The higher your scores, the better your business' credit is. Your business will benefit and prosper from keeping your credit score high. It will make your business look good to potential clients, employees and other businesses you may want to work with. You'll want to consistently monitor your business' credit score, and make sure it's steady and high.

I recommend: TrueCredit allows you to monitor your credit score through Equifax and two other credit reports. Equifax can provide your business with its 3-in-1 credit report and FICO score.

Obtain an Equifax annual credit report for your business

Another report your business will benefit from receiving is an Equifax annual credit report. You can receive an annual credit report free once a year, every year. This will allow you to see how your credit was used during the year and make sure there aren't any fraudulent activities. It will also allow you to see what improvements you should make with your credit in the upcoming year, and compare how your credit is being used year to year.

I recommend: Companies Incorporated provides you with three ways to obtain your Equifax corporate credit report. CreditReport.com offers a free Equifax credit report and score.

Equifax is one of the top companies in the country that provides individual and business credit report information. Your business will likely come in contact with Equifax or another credit reporting firm whenever it takes out a loan or even a line of credit. Equifax's technology and analysis allows it to produce credit scoring as well as reports that can help you grow and protect your business. The credit reporting business contains some terms that are worth understanding as your paths are likely to cross.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

FICO Score

FICO stands for Fair Isaac Company, the organization that devised the calculations to create a credit scoring process. Business credit scores range from 0 to 100, with zero being high risk and 100 a perfect FICO score. Factors that influence a business' FICO score include outstanding balances, payment history and credit utilization.

I recommend: Entrepreneur features an article about Beacon 09, the newest Equifax FICO score designed to help lenders improve risk management.

Credit monitoring

Credit monitoring programs like the one offered by Equifax allow businesses 24/7 access to their credit report files and score rankings. The service will also send your business alerts should any red flags or changes be identified. Business credit monitoring is a great way to prevent against identity theft.

I recommend: June Tree's "The Digerati Life" blog features an entry about Equifax credit score monitoring. Scroll down to see Chip's comment about how businesses can benefit from credit monitoring services.

Identity theft insurance

Equifax has a suite of identity theft insurance programs, all of which offer reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of someone assuming either an individual or business identity fraudulently. In addition to reimbursement for monies stolen, Equifax also will reimburse, to some extent, out-of-pocket costs like legal fees and loss of income involved in resolving the ID theft.

I recommend: Equifax released news via PressReleasePoint announcing its new $1 million identity theft insurance upgrade for consumers.

Theft resolution specialist

As the name implies, it is the job of a theft resolution specialist at Equifax to begin fixing any problems that arise as a result of theft that impacts your business' credit score. This specialist is assigned to you if you have purchased Equifax's ID theft monitoring service.

I recommend: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses Equifax's ID theft program as well as the role of a theft resolution specialist.

Credit report

A credit report is a listing of records available about your company. The information on this report is gathered based on credit applications that have been filled out, payment trends and history, judgement and bankruptcy filings and even banking, insurance and leasing information. Many businesses use Equifax's credit report services to learn as much as they can about a particular vendor or customer before conducting business with them.

I recommend: 101 CreditReport's definition of a business credit report is much more succinct than the one above.

Master data management

Equifax's Master Data Management service is similar to a business credit report, but offers even more details to help a company manage its business relationships more effectively and protect against risk. Equifax's software can be downloaded for use at your place of work, providing you with unprecedented access to information about the financial behavior of customers and suppliers.

I recommend: Equifax's website explains the company's Master Data Management program in detail.