Healthy Credit Practices℠ | Establishing Healthy Credit

Ask the Credit Experts

home

members sign in

credit faq's

BUILDING A SOLID CREDIT FOUNDATION

What is healthy business credit?

Healthy business credit measures your company’s financial and management strengths against a factors commonly used in business credit decisions. We have created a simplified series of factors to help gauge a company's ability to access and maintain credit. Like the physical health of a human being, there is not a single metric that alone determines whether an individual is designated to be healthy or not. However, we have focused our attention on several specific factors whose measures help to gauge the stability, risk and fiscal health of a business.

How can I assess my creditworthiness?

The Healthy Credit Practices℠ program is designed to help you to do just that. By understanding factors that build business credit, you can gauge your company's creditworthiness, know where you stand and manage your company’s credit future.

Traditional methodologies use the 5c’s of credit to gauge creditworthiness. The limitation of this approach is that its credit factors are subjective and offer no way for you the business owners to measure, monitor or improve your own creditworthiness. The Healthy Credit Practices℠ program takes a different approach. Our 8 Pillars of Performance allow your to learn where you stand and offers tools for improvement.

How can I improve my creditworthiness?

Improving the overall creditworthiness of your company will most likely include both personal and business considerations. Start by increasing your understanding of how business credit is evaluated. Use our Healthy Credit Tools [add url: HCP.CreditTools.html] to gauge the state of your credit readiness, identify any obstacles and develop a Healthy Credit Plan for your company.

Where can I find business credit assistance?

Many non-profit assistance organizations offer business technical and credit assistance services. But be warned. Not all agencies are trained in methods to help a business improve their creditworthiness. Ask your local non-profit provider whether they specialize in loan packaging or if they actually have experience in helping company's to develop a longer-term business creditworthiness plan or reach out to a Healthy Credit Program Training Center in your area.

Visit our Credit Assistance & Training Center for resources and support.

		THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTABLISHING BUSINESS CREDIT
Every business has the ability to build their business credit profile, which sets the foundation for any company to develop its own credit standing. Establishing healthy business does not happen by accident. It all starts with a Credit Plan. Having healthy business credit can help you get the funds needed to operate or grow your business.A healthy business credit profile can also eliminate the need for you to use personal credit cards or borrow from friends to finance your company's needs. Establishing and maintaining a healthy business credit profile can: Open up avenues to future revenue opportunities Separate you from your business Lower your tax liability Protect your personal assets Help you keep more of what you make Improve your access to trade credit from suppliers Lower your insurance costs Establish a track record for future growth Build a strong financial foundation for future credit Start building a business credit profile, with some of these simple steps: Keep your business license current Obtain a Tax ID number for your business from the IRS Establish and maintain a separate business bank account Incorporate your business and keep your business filing information up-to-date with your Secretary of State Get a Dun and Bradstreet number for your business Separate your personal credit from your business List your business in the phonebook Establish a web presence for your business Open and maintain at least two business credit accounts Always pay your business debts on-time, or earlier Prepare a Healthy Credit Plan for your business