Know the score with your business credit score

Credit Sore in 60 seconds? Want to get your business credit score in just 60 seconds? Capify can help you with that right here and it won’t affect your credit rating one single ounce. But why should you know the score and what can you do with that information? We have put together a helpful guide so you can know your business credit score inside out.

A SwiftCheck report contains the commercial credit information of an organisation such as any overdue debts, registered defaults, invoice payment history as well as any court judgments that may have been entered against a business.

It also has information on directors, shareholders and officeholders within the organisation, so you can understand the business you are dealing with.

What is your business credit score?
Essentially your business credit score is a number that tells whether you are a viable SME to be approved for finance or to become a business customer. The score reflects your credit obligations and repayment history with lenders and suppliers. Other factors that come to bear are:

• How long your SME has been operating
• The size of your business
• Any legal filings with regard to finances
• How your repayment performance stacks up against comparable counterpart businesses
• Outstanding debts
• Industry risks
• Your credit utilisation ratio

Why is your business credit score relevant?
At some stage your SME is going to need trade credit and finance. When this happens, your business credit score will take centre stage. A strong business credit score signals to lenders, vendors, suppliers and business partners that you are a viable financial bet and likely to repay your dues on time. In short, a good business credit score drastically increases your odds of securing finance when you need it.

When you apply for credit such as a loan from a bank or apply for post paid services from a telecommunications or utilities company, they generally assess both the information on your application as well as information on your credit report against their own lending policies to make a decision on whether they will give you credit.

As part of completing your commercial credit application, you will have given a lender, phone or utility company permission to view your credit report held by a credit reporting body such as Equifax.

It’s important to know that Equifax does not decide who should get credit, however, the information we provide may form part of the lenders’ decision making.

Find Credit Score for business

1. Refine your searchNot seeing the results you expected? If your search produces too many results or you can’t find the one you’re looking for, try using the ABN or ACN.
2. Terms explainedNot sure what some of the abbreviations in the search results table mean? Here are some explanations:

   Current registration status
   DRGD = deregistered
   REGD = registered
   N/A = status not available

   Organisation type
   P/L = Proprietary Limited, Pty Ltd
   N/A = information not available

3. Sort columnsYou can sort each column in the search results table by ascending or descending order simply by clicking on the column heading.
4. Tool tipsClick the blue tooltip icon in the search results table headings to see more information about the information presented in that column.

What should I do with my business credit score?
Your business credit score is a fluid creature. Creditors know this so they generally determine your creditworthiness on a continual basis. This is why it is so important to keep close tabs on your business credit score. If you notice a dip in your credit score, check for errors first and foremost. If you spot one, immediately notify the credit agency who generated your score.
Other ways you can bump up your business credit score are to:

• Make your payments on time
• Lower your business credit utilisation ratio
• Open multiple credit accounts

Get your business credit score online right now in just one minute using Capify’s handy online tool. Simply click here. Or if you need some extra funds to make on-time payments and enhance your business credit score, speak to us about our supportive small business loans too.

Or call 1300 760 930 to speak with one of our friendly Lending Consultants now.