Resource Category: Credit

Each payment experience you make as a consumer—mortgage, credit card, and car payments, to name a few—could show up on your personal credit report. The same goes for your business in regards to your business credit report. Payments to suppliers, loan payments, commercial lease payments, auto payments, are allpayment experiences that could be reported and end up on your business credit file. Data warehouses, like the Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE), along with business credit reporting agencies collect the information… Read More

With data breach after data breach hitting the newswires, many Americans are wondering what they can actually do to protect themselves from identity theft. Unfortunately, once your data is out there, it's hard to roll back the clock. A major data breach of personal identifying information like your name, Social Security number and birthdate puts some incredibly valuable keys in the hands of ... well, just about any fraudster or hacker with the willpower and know-how. That's a pretty scary… Read More

"How Often Does My Credit Score Change?" Nav customers often ask us this question. Most people guess their credit scores change once a month, but that’s not the full story. The quick answer is that your scores can change any time new information is added to your credit reports. Here’s how it works: How credit bureaus generate your score First, it’s important to understand how the major credit bureaus create a credit score. A credit score is calculated using information… Read More

Business tax liens can hurt your finances, your credit and can possibly even put your business in jeopardy. "A tax lien can be devastating to you and you should do everything you can to avoid it," says Barbara Weltman, attorney and author of J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes. What is a business tax lien? Here's how this goes down. The IRS says you (or your business) owes taxes. It sends you a notice (Notice and Demand for Payment). You don't… Read More

If you're trying to establish business credit, you've probably heard the term "tradelines." You know they are important, but you're not sure how to get them and how they can benefit your business. Here we’ll demystify them: What Is a Business Tradeline? A business tradeline is an "account" between a business and vendor. Like business credit cards, lines of credit, and loans. They include information from vendors who report to commercial credit reporting agencies. For example, a vendor account with… Read More