• Establishing good business credit can help a business get better interest rates on loans, acquire more credit and establish a good reputation with fellow business owners. Business credit secrets can help your business establish better credit and avoid credit damaging schemes that can tarnish your business's history.
  
  

Credit File

• Establishing business credit with the credit information company, Dun and Bradstreet, or the D&B, can help businesses to get better interest rates on loans and increase the chance of buying on credit from other businesses. The Small Business Administration recommends creating a business credit file with D&B by calling customer service at 1-866-785-0430 or by visiting their website. Businesses can also establish themselves as credible by becoming listed in the D&B's database with a D-U-N number, which is a nine digit identification number also used to establish a credit file for an individual business.
  
  

Fair Credit Reporting Act

• The Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to give consumers and business owners the ability to review and request credit report information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the top three nationwide credit reporting companies must provide a free credit report every 12 months, which can be ordered by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by going to annualcreditreport.com. Free credit reports can help your business build better credit, as you can see your payment history, public record information and the companies that have requested your credit report. Requesting reports from other companies, using a credit reporting company such as Equifax or TransUnion, can also help you discern which companies will pay you on time and increase your cash flow.
  
  

Separate Finances

• Though keeping business finances separate may not directly affect your credit score, in order to avoid hassles when it comes to reporting business expenses to the IRS, you should pay all business expenses using a business credit card or separate bank account. Comingling business and personal expenses can make it difficult to deduct business expenses accurately on yearly tax forms. Using a business credit card can also help business owners keep accurate records of their business with monthly credit card statements from the bank, which provide itemized lists of business expenses. Keeping track of business spending will also help business owners avoid overspending, which could help the business's credit score in the long run.
  
  

Avoid Scams

• According to the Small Business Administration, 15 to 30 percent of all commercial credit losses are a result of fraud. Read your business credit card statements every month to look for unusual activity on the account and report anything suspicious to the bank, such as charges you do not remember making. You can also call Equifax at 1-800-525-6285 or TransUnion at 1-800-680-728 to put a fraud alert on your credit report to prevent scammers from opening any more accounts in your name and to prevent identity theft. Shred all receipts and bank information before throwing it away and keep all personal information away from where employees or customers could steal it.