Question 1

What is a business credit score?

Accepted Answer

A credit score is the measure of how creditworthy your business is. In other words, your score shows a bank or lender how much of a risk it would be to lend your business money. The higher your score, the more likely it is that your business can pay back any debt, for example the repayments on a loan. Credit agencies each have their own scale for calculating your credit score. Our credit agency partner, Experian, uses the Commercial Delphi Score with scores that range from 0 (the highest risk) to 100 (the lowest risk).

Question 2

Why is a business credit score important?

Accepted Answer

Your credit score is important because it’s a measure of the financial health of your business. Not only does it show your financial position today, but it can be the difference between a healthy and unhealthy position in the future. The higher your credit score, the more funding you can get to fuel everyday operations and ambitious next steps. Businesses with higher scores can negotiate better terms with suppliers and are more likely to win contracts with new clients.

Question 3

What factors affect my business credit score?

Accepted Answer

There are several factors that affect your credit score – both positively and negatively. These include how promptly you pay suppliers and whether or not you have any legal notices against your business. Your Companies House SIC code is also a factor and so is your filing history. Credit agencies will also consider the age, industry and location of your business as well as certain information about its directors.

Question 4

How can I improve my business credit score?

Accepted Answer

The exact steps you need to take to improve your credit score will be specific to your business and the factors that are having a negative impact. But here are some general guidelines you can use to get started: Pay your bills and suppliers on time If you have several funding facilities with a few different lenders, try to consolidate them into one manageable loan from a single lender Check whether your business is filed under the correct Companies House SIC code File your full accounts with Companies House, on time and in the same month every year Make sure your business and its directors stay solvent, avoid County Court Judgements and resolve any that are currently outstanding

Question 5

What’s the difference between a personal and business credit score?

Accepted Answer

A business credit score reflects the financial reliability of your limited company, while a personal credit score reflects your individual finances, they are separate records assessed independently. Your personal credit score measures how creditworthy you are as an individual. In other words, could you personally pay back a debt? If you wanted an overdraft on your personal bank account for example, your bank would look at your score to decide whether you’d be able to make the monthly payments. Your business credit score is a measure of how creditworthy your business is. If you applied for a business loan, the lender would look at your business credit score to decide whether your business would be able to keep up the repayments. However it is possible that lenders may check both when you apply for business finance, particularly for smaller businesses or sole traders.

Question 6

How can I check my business credit score?

Accepted Answer

You can check your credit score right now by signing up to Capitalise for Business. If you’re already signed up, you can check your score at any time by simply logging in.

Question 7

How much does a business credit score report cost?

Accepted Answer

With Capitalise for Business, you can access your full business credit report starting at £19.95/month (plus VAT). Every time you log in, you’ll be able to see: Your credit score and how it compares to similar businesses Factors having a positive, negative and neutral impact on your score Credit information lenders will see about your business How many times third parties have searched for your credit profile Tips for improving your credit score

Monthly plan	What you get
Business Free	View your basic business credit score Payment performance, provided creditor report data to Experian Legal notices
Startup plan £19.95/mo	View your full business credit score Understand all the risk factors impacting it See your 12 month payment performance reported by banks, lenders and suppliers View your CAIS and CATO data reported by banks and lenders showing individual accounts and balances Receive alerts when your risk profile changes Access to exclusive online resources Monitor up to 3 companies in real-time via the Credit Risk Manager, with alerts whenever their credit profile changes Rolling monthly, cancellable at any time
Pro plan £24.95/mo	Everything in Startup, plus: Monitor up to 10 companies in real-time, with alerts whenever their credit profile changes
Enterprise plan £59.95/mo	Everything in Pro, plus: Monitor up to 100 companies in real-time, with alerts whenever their credit profile changes

Monthly plan	Price	£/ additional check
Credit Bundle 10	£3.50	£0.35
Credit Bundle 25	£7.50	£0.30
Credit Bundle 50	£14.00	£0.28
Credit Bundle 100	£25.00	£0.25

Tier	Price	What you get
Standard	An optional £495 one off	Have your credit profile professionally reviewed by Experian experts, using more up to date information. In 96% of cases we see an improvement.
Pro subscribers	An optional £375 one off (you save £120)	If you're already subscribed to a paid plan, the same review is automatically discounted.

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