Just like personal credit can help you buy a car or get a mortgage, business credit can help you secure funding for your small business. It also affects the rates and terms you’ll be offered.
The problem? Errors sneak into business credit reports more often than you’d expect. When they do, those mistakes can make you appear less creditworthy to lenders.
There is good news, however. If something in your report isn’t accurate, there are tried-and-true steps you can take to dispute and fix it.
In this article, we’ll share what business credit reports include, explain where credit report errors can show up, and help you take control when things go wrong.
Understanding Business Credit Reports
In a previous article, we taught you all about business credit for SMBs.
Now, think of a business credit report as your company’s financial reputation on paper, showing how well you manage your business’ money and debt.
There are three big players who provide business credit reports, each using their own distinct methods to assess your SMB’s financial health:
- Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) business credit reports are based on industry data, public records, and information collected from vendors and suppliers.
- Experian business credit reports include data collected from suppliers, lenders, and public records, including legal filings such as liens and bankruptcies.
- Equifax business credit reports incorporate data from the Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE), trade credit information, and public records.
Each agency also boils down your data into a credit score: A single number that represents the information in your business report. Since the agencies use slightly different sources, your score might vary a bit depending on which agency provides it.
Generally, your score will be between 0 and 100, with a higher number signaling to potential funders that your business is less risky and more reliable.
It’s important to note, however, that not all funding options rely on business credit reports and scores. For example, eligibility for revenue-based financing is much more flexible, focusing more on your business’ cash flow, as opposed to credit.
Elements of a Business Credit Report
Each agency has its own way of collecting, verifying, and scoring data. As such, your business credit report may vary slightly depending on the credit agency you go through.
That said, most business credit reports tend to include the following core elements, no matter the agency:
- Company information: Includes your business name, ownership, number of employees, revenue estimates, and corporate structure.
- Operational data: Locations, branches, and the scale of your business operations.
- Historical data: How long your business has been in existence, as well as any key milestones and overall growth trends.
- Business registration details: Your registration status, licences, and any incorporation information.
- Government activity: Any government contracts, grants, or interactions with regulatory agencies.
- Industry classification: SIC and/or NAICS codes that place your business in a category.
- Public filings: Any liens, judgments, bankruptcies, or UCC filings you may have.
- Payment history and collections: How consistently you pay your bills, and whether any debts have gone to collections.
- Accounts: Relationship details about vendors or lenders who report to the agency.
- Credit score: As mentioned above, this numerical rating reflects your overall business credit risk.
You’re probably thinking that’s a lot of information, from a lot of places, covering a potentially very long stretch of time. And you’re right. Business credit reports pull from many different sources, which means there’s a high potential for error.
Unfortunately, even the smallest credit report mistake can cause major headaches for your SMB; from affecting your ability to access credit, to losing out on important business opportunities.
Common Errors Found in Business Credit Reports
It may come as no surprise, but errors on credit reports happen quite frequently.
While hard data specific to business credit report errors is limited, we can look to consumer credit as a warning sign that all agencies can get it wrong.
In fact, in 2024 nearly half of consumers found mistakes in their reports—with one-third of those errors serious enough to impact credit scores.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the most popular credit report mistakes are related to:
- Identity, including mistaken or incorrectly spelled names; erroneous phone numbers or addresses; listing of accounts that belong to another person with a similar or same name as yours; and/or accounts that are under your name, but due to identity theft.
- Account status, such as duplicate debts; late or delinquent payments that were actually made on time; closed accounts still listed as being open; and accounts where you are listed as the owner, where in reality you are only an authorized user.
- Financial details, including incorrect balances or credit limits that don’t reflect your real financial standing.
Even something seemingly insignificant, like the wrong industry classification code, can hurt your business credit score. For example, being mislabeled in a high-risk NAICS category could make your business seem less reliable to lenders.
In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced it was launching an inquiry into the issue of credit report errors and transparency. However, since then, there have been no further updates on this investigation.
So what does this mean? Until real reforms take place, the onus is on SMB owners to stay on top of their own credit situation, by regularly checking their business credit reports and proactively disputing any errors they find.
Step-By-Step Guide To Disputing a Business Credit Report
Not sure where to get your business credit report, let alone how to fix a credit report error?
Below, we walk you through how to access your report, spot mistakes, and dispute them with ease.
1. Obtain and Review Your Credit Report
First, access your business credit report:
- Dun & Bradstreet offers free access to a basic business credit report. If you require more detailed insights, monthly subscriptions start at $49.
- Experian allows you to purchase a one-time business credit report starting at $49.95. Like D&B, they also offer subscription plans if you want deeper or more frequent reporting.
- Equifax doesn’t list prices or details on their website. Rather, you must fill out a contact form to request access to your credit report.
Unlike with consumer credit, bureaus aren’t required to provide business credit reports for free. As such, starting with the free version from D&B is a good starting point. Once you’ve reviewed the basics, you can then decide whether it’s worth paying for a more detailed report.
2. Identify and Document Errors
Take a deep, thorough look through your business credit report. Take note of everything, from the way your name is spelled, to your industry code, to how your debt repayment history is presented.
If anything seems off, even something that seems insignificant, document it. Write down what the issue is, where you found it, and which business or entity provided that piece of information.
Round up all the proof you’ll need to dispute the credit report error. Gather invoices, payment confirmations, and account statements to support your case. You may also need to directly contact the business that provided the incorrect information to the credit agency.
A word of caution as you build your case: Not all credit agencies report the exact same information. That means an error could show up on one report, but not another.
3. File a Dispute
Each credit reporting agency has its own method for submitting a dispute:
- You can make a simple update to your Dun & Bradstreet report, online. For more complex disputes, call 1-800-463-6362 to report the error.
- With Experian, you can click on a button at the bottom of your report to complete an online form. Conversely, you can attach the report in an email to [email protected] requesting the bureau to investigate the items in question.
- Interestingly, while Equifax has a dedicated page for consumers who wish to file disputes, they don’t appear to have a similar one for businesses. You will likely need to submit a message through its Business Support portal.
No matter the avenue you use, be sure to keep a record of everything you submit (and to whom), in the event you need to follow up.
4. Monitor Progress
Once you’ve submitted a dispute, keep an eye on it. Credit bureaus generally aim to resolve disputes within 30 days, but it’s smart to do regular status checks.
Meanwhile, watch your report to confirm the error gets fixed—and follow up if you don’t hear back or notice any changes.
Staying proactive will help ensure your business credit report consistently reflects accurate, up-to-date information.
Shape the Future of Your Business Credit With Bitty
Fixing mistakes on your business credit report might sound like a hassle. But the effort is worth it, especially when you consider how credit report errors can hold your business back.
Taking the time to catch and correct these inaccuracies is one more way to stay in control of your financial future, and one that ensures your credit report reflects the strong, reliable SMB you’ve built.
Meanwhile, if you need capital while you work on building or improving your business credit, Bitty’s revenue-based financing can help.
At Bitty, we offer fast, flexible funding, providing you the cash your business needs now, while helping you establish a steady payment history that can boost your credit over time.
Take charge of your credit today! Apply for revenue-based financing with Bitty to power your next business move.
