The typical small business borrows on the strength of its owner’s personal credit, for the simple reason that no one ever pointed out there was another way. We think that has it the wrong way round, and that it can be put right.
Our story
Building a business credit file is not difficult. It is simply unexplained. There is a definite sequence to it: register the entity and get an EIN, separate the money, become findable, then open trade accounts that genuinely report. Hardly anyone sets out which steps count, or the order they belong in.
So owners work it out by guesswork, or hand money to someone promising a number. We took the other route: extend real trade credit, report how it is paid every month, and hand over a checklist naming each remaining step.
What we will not do
This sector has an honesty problem, and three habits account for most of it. We keep clear of all three:
- We never promise a score. What appears on your file is a record of how your business actually pays. Anybody warranting a particular number is either speculating or selling you something worse.
- We never invent credit history. The trade account on your plan is genuine credit you draw on and repay, not a line conjured up to flatter your file. Bureaus refuse furnishers who report fabricated accounts, and they are right to. Payment behaviour that never happened is not history.
- We never claim reporting we have not earned. Sending your activity to a bureau means that bureau approving us as a data furnisher first, through an application and vetting process measured in months. A bureau is named here only after that has happened. Anything short of it we describe as roadmap.
How we handle your data
What we ask for is your EIN, not your Social Security number. That EIN is encrypted under a key belonging to your record alone, kept out of every log, and displayed to nobody but you. Each time it is read, that is written down.