Business credit scores: what the numbers mean and what lenders do with them

On this page

• Three agencies score your business, each on its own scale
• Your personal credit still counts
• SBA sets no minimum score, and cash flow comes first
• A clean trade record is worth real cash
• Fix the file that matches how you borrow
• Build the file with free steps

Three agencies score your business, each on its own scale

A business credit score estimates how likely your company is to pay late or fail. It draws on reports that suppliers and lenders send to credit agencies. SBA names three major agencies: Experian, Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet. Each uses its own scale, so a number from one agency cannot be compared with a number from another.

• Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX. The scale runs from 1 to 100 and measures payment timing. D&B says 80 means payments have generally been made within terms, and a score above 80 means earlier than terms. A 70 reflects payment about 15 days beyond terms, and a 50 about 30 days beyond. D&B counts trade experiences reported in the last 24 months.
• Experian Intelliscore Plus. The scale runs from 1 to 100, where 1 is high risk and 100 is low risk. Experian labels 76 to 100 low risk and 51 to 75 low to medium risk. It labels 26 to 50 medium risk, 11 to 25 medium to high risk, and 1 to 10 high risk. Experian says the score aims to predict seriously derogatory payment behavior.
• Equifax. It publishes its own business scores. Read the scale printed on your own report before you compare anything.

Your personal credit still counts

Lenders look at the owner as well as the company. SBA says an LLC or corporation can hold a credit file separate from its owner. A sole proprietor's activity lands on personal credit reports instead. SBA also says loan eligibility for a new business typically rests on the owner's personal credit score.

Personal guarantees tie the two files together. In the Federal Reserve's 2025 survey, 59% of firms with debt secured it with a personal guaranteepersonal guaranteeYour promise to repay the loan yourself if the business cannot. . On Standard 7(a) and 7(a) Small loans, the lender must review the personal credit reports of owners and guarantors. Sources: Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, p. 9; SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 1 and Ch. 2, Para. C.2.a.

The Fed sorts firms by credit risk for its survey. It treats an 80 to 100 business score, or a personal score of 720 or higher, as low risk. It treats 50 to 79, or 620 to 719, as medium risk. It treats 1 to 49, or below 620, as high risk. Those bands are the survey's labels. They are not any lender's cutoffs.

SBA sets no minimum score, and cash flow comes first

SBA sets no minimum credit score; the lender applies its own credit standards. Any cutoff you hear is that lender's own policy, and policies vary by lender.

FICO SBSS: discontinued for 7(a) Small loans effective March 1, 2026; lenders use their own commercial credit analysis, and scoring models are optional. Source: SBA Procedural Notice 5000-876777.

Cash flow comes before any score. SOP 50 10 8.1 calls the applicant's cash flow the primary source of repayment. It says a request must be declined when the lender's analysis shows no reasonable assurance of repayment from cash flow, regardless of collateralcollateralProperty a lender can take and sell if a loan is not repaid. (Sec. B, Ch. 1, Para. C, p. 118).

A weak score is one reason among several. Among firms denied some of the financing they sought, 30 percent named a low credit score. A larger share, 37 percent, named too much existing debt. The firms chose their own reasons, and they could choose more than one. Source: Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms, p. 14.

A clean trade record is worth real cash

Supplier terms are the most direct payoff from a good trade record. Suppose you buy $20,000 of inventory a month on net 30 terms. You then owe suppliers about $20,000 at any time, and that balance costs you no interest.

If suppliers see no payment history and ask for payment up front, you must fund that $20,000 yourself. Replacing it with a credit line means paying interest on $20,000. Each percentage point of interest is $200 a year, because 1 percent of $20,000 is $200.

Slow payment works the other way. A PAYDEX of 70 reflects payment about 15 days beyond terms. Suppliers who see that pattern may shorten your terms or ask for deposits. That turns free float into cash you must supply.

Fix the file that matches how you borrow

Start with the file your lender will read.

• You buy mostly on supplier terms. Work on the trade file. Pay on or before terms and make sure your vendors report.
• You borrow from a bank or an SBA lender. Work on your personal credit, your debt level and your cash flow. SBA rules make cash flow the primary source of repayment. On Standard 7(a) and 7(a) Small loans, they also require a personal credit review. Lenders may add a business scoring model, but SBA does not require one.
• You operate as a sole proprietor. SBA says your activity is tied to you and shows on your personal credit reports, so start there.

Look for errors before you apply. Federal law lets you ask each national bureau for a free personal report every 12 months. The bureaus also offer free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized to fill those orders (FTC). Business reports come from the business agencies and follow their own access rules.

Build the file with free steps

Most of a business credit file costs nothing to build.

1. Form an LLC or corporation if you have not. SBA says a sole proprietorship has no legal or financial separation from its owner.
2. Get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. It is free.
3. Register for a Dun & Bradstreet number, as SBA advises. D&B says the number is free.
4. Buy from vendors that report to a business credit agency. SBA says a score appears after several trade lines report.
5. Pay on or before terms. D&B scores payments against terms.
6. Check your personal reports, and correct what is wrong.

A fee does not change what suppliers report about how you pay. Paying a third party to open accounts for you adds cost, and the score still follows your payments. Start with the free steps, and add a product only if you can name what it will report and to whom.