The different credit reporting agencies use standard methods for scoring consumer credit reports. Therefore, you will not typically see significant differences in scores. However, it is a little different when it comes to business credit reports.
Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet produce business credit reports and generate credit scores, but they use completely different methods to arrive at the score. They also report different information that suppliers, vendors, and lenders may need. Here is a quick summary of what each agency reports and how the Experian business credit report differs from the others.
Experian Business Credit Report
An Experian business credit report estimates the likelihood a business will fall behind on its bills within the next year. This is particularly useful to lenders that want to protect their investment.
Experian gathers information from both suppliers and lenders and also uses public records, such as liens, judgments, or bankruptcies. Experian examines payment history and available credit as part of its calculation. Scores range from 0 to 100.
Experian also prepares a Financial Stability Risk Rating on a 1 to 5 scale. A low score lets lenders and suppliers know that a business is at a lower risk of defaulting or facing bankruptcy in the next 12 months.
View a sample Experian business credit report or Order now.
Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report
Dun & Bradstreet focuses on how promptly businesses pay their bills. D&B’s Paydex index gives suppliers a rating to assess how long it will take to get paid for their services and the likelihood a company will pay its bills on time. The report includes data supplied by vendors, public records, industry data, and historical data to compile the index.
View a sample Dun & Bradstreet business credit report or Order now.
Equifax Business Credit Report
Equifax business credit reports use data from the Small Business Finance Exchange (SBFE), trade credit information, and other public records to calculate a credit risk score, failure score, and payment index.
The credit risk score forecasts the possibility of delinquency or charge-offs on a scale of 101 to 992 and the business failure score forecasts bankruptcy likelihood within the next year on a scale of 1000 to 1610.
View a sample Equifax business credit report or Order now.
The Differences in Business Credit Reports
There are some major differences between the type of data you get from the three credit reporting agencies. For example, the basic business credit reports from Equifax and Experian show complete business identity information. D&B provides a company profile.
Experian and Equifax both provide a Risk Dashboard, Business Description, and a summary of Payment & Legal filings. Dun & Bradstreet focuses on the health of a company compared to similar businesses and predictive information available on the company to help determine the likelihood of getting paid on time.
Experian Premier Profile
Experian also offers a top-level report that includes additional depth, such as:
Credit limit recommendations
Financial reports for publicly-traded companies, including balance sheets and income statements
Trade payment summaries, including account status and high credit balances
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing when assets are used as collateral in a secured transaction with individual identification
Secretary of State details and file inquiry counts
View a sample Experian Premier Profile report or Order now.
Other D&B Reports
D&B also offers other reports, including a more in-depth look at public records, such as liens, judgments, collections, and detailed UCC filings.
The D&B BIR report provides a breakdown of suppliers that have reported granting credit terms, including credit line amounts, limits, and whether payments were made within the terms.
View a sample Dun & Bradstreet BIR report or Order now.
accredit Makes It Easy to Pull Business Credit Reports
accredit empowers business decisions by providing a fast and easy way to pull business credit reports. Businesses can quickly search and select business credit reports that are most useful for the needs on a single site. They can then compare, contrast, and find the exact type of report they need.
One big advantage accredit offers is it does not require you to commit to expensive long-term subscriptions with credit reporting agencies. You can use accredit’s self-serve website to pull the reports you need when you need them without committing to long-term subscriptions.
Search and select the business credit reports you need here.
- 0-10: High Risk
- 11-25: Medium-High Risk
- 26-50: Medium Risk
- 51-75: Low-Medium Risk
- 76-100: Low Risk
Experian also prepares a Financial Stability Risk Rating on a 1 to 5 scale. A low score lets lenders and suppliers know that a business is at a lower risk of defaulting or facing bankruptcy in the next 12 months.
View a sample Experian business credit report or Order now.
Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report
Dun & Bradstreet focuses on how promptly businesses pay their bills. D&B’s Paydex index gives suppliers a rating to assess how long it will take to get paid for their services and the likelihood a company will pay its bills on time. The report includes data supplied by vendors, public records, industry data, and historical data to compile the index.
View a sample Dun & Bradstreet business credit report or Order now.
Equifax Business Credit Report
Equifax business credit reports use data from the Small Business Finance Exchange (SBFE), trade credit information, and other public records to calculate a credit risk score, failure score, and payment index.
The credit risk score forecasts the possibility of delinquency or charge-offs on a scale of 101 to 992 and the business failure score forecasts bankruptcy likelihood within the next year on a scale of 1000 to 1610.
View a sample Equifax business credit report or Order now.
The Differences in Business Credit Reports
There are some major differences between the type of data you get from the three credit reporting agencies. For example, the basic business credit reports from Equifax and Experian show complete business identity information. D&B provides a company profile.
Experian and Equifax both provide a Risk Dashboard, Business Description, and a summary of Payment & Legal filings. Dun & Bradstreet focuses on the health of a company compared to similar businesses and predictive information available on the company to help determine the likelihood of getting paid on time.
Experian Premier Profile
Experian also offers a top-level report that includes additional depth, such as:
- Credit limit recommendations
- Financial reports for publicly-traded companies, including balance sheets and income statements
- Trade payment summaries, including account status and high credit balances
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing when assets are used as collateral in a secured transaction with individual identification
- Secretary of State details and file inquiry counts
View a sample Experian Premier Profile report or Order now.
Other D&B Reports
D&B also offers other reports, including a more in-depth look at public records, such as liens, judgments, collections, and detailed UCC filings.
The D&B BIR report provides a breakdown of suppliers that have reported granting credit terms, including credit line amounts, limits, and whether payments were made within the terms.
View a sample Dun & Bradstreet BIR report or Order now.
accredit Makes It Easy to Pull Business Credit Reports
accredit empowers business decisions by providing a fast and easy way to pull business credit reports. Businesses can quickly search and select business credit reports that are most useful for the needs on a single site. They can then compare, contrast, and find the exact type of report they need.
One big advantage accredit offers is it does not require you to commit to expensive long-term subscriptions with credit reporting agencies. You can use accredit’s self-serve website to pull the reports you need when you need them without committing to long-term subscriptions.
Search and select the business credit reports you need here.