After speaking with my contact at Dun & Bradstreet yesterday about its business credit builder products, I learned that there have been recent positive changes made this year that are important for you to know. These enhancements are good news for small business owners and make the programs offered at DNB more streamlined and affordable to establish, improve, and protect your corporate credit. (Full disclosure: AllBusiness.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of D&B.)
Now keep in mind that obtaining a DUNs number does not cost anything to your company, but receiving your number can take over 30 days if you choose the free route. However, you can obtain your DUNs number in less than 24 hours by either purchasing one of its business credit builder programs or if you are a government contractor, government vendor, or grant recipient.
Now let’s review each of its business credit solutions and how they can help build corporate credit for your small business much faster than the traditional route of waiting for your creditors to report.
DUNs File Creator
Price $229
This product is ideal for you if you need to have a DUNs number issued right away. As soon as you purchase this product they will issue your number in 24 hours and you can have a DNB business file in their system within 5 business days. You have the ability to add extensive information on your file like company background information, operational information and financial statements.
One of the drawbacks is that it does not include the ability to add trade references to your file. You will have to wait for vendors, creditors or suppliers to report their payment experience with you to Dun & Bradstreet. So if you are trying to build business credit history fast then this would not be the best choice for you because you have to wait until your suppliers report your payments.
Some other product features include:
- Key D&B scores & ratings including D&B Rating, Financial Stress Score, Commercial Credit Score and Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating.
- Comprehensive overview of payment history including D&B’s PAYDEX.
- D&B’s Credit Limit Recommendation
- Financial performance including Key business ratios that measure financial strength.
- An overview of public filings including Suits, Liens, Judgments and UCC filings.
- Notification (alerts) when significant changes occur within your credit file.
- Easy-to-use web-based interface
* Tip – there are credit builder companies like the Business Credit Insiders Circle that provide access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB for building small business credit.
DNBi Self Monitor Basic
Price $449
If you choose to purchase this product then most likely they will waive the DUNs File Creator fee so don’t hesitate to request it. This particular product is ideal for you if you already have existing trade references that you want to add to your file. This service allows you to submit up to 8 references over a period of 3 months for a total of 4 payment experiences to be added.They allow this extra cushion just in case they are unable to contact one of your references for payment experience verification.
Now if the price on this is a bit of stretch for you then you may want to take advantage of their monthly payment option. It costs $39 per month and requires a 3 month minimum term. Keep in mind that if you select this option you are only allowed to add 1 trade reference per quarter with the option to add more if you continue the service.
The product features for this are similar to the DUNs file creator with the main difference being the ability to add trade references.
*Tip – there are credit builder companies like BCIC that report your payments to Dun and Bradstreet. Not only do they give you access to vendors, suppliers, and companies that report to DNB but they also help you build business credit history too!
If you decide to purchase one of these DNB products or need some guidance regarding the status of your DNB report then call Dun & Bradstreet at 866-203-3151.
Stay tuned for Part 2…
Marco is founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle available at Start Business Credit.com
You may contact Marco directly at: ceo@startbusinesscredit.com
Follow Marco on Twitter @MarcoCarbajo and read more of his insights on building small business credit.
