In some ways, a business has many of the same attributes as an individual person. Businesses earn income, file tax returns, debtors are paid, credit is used for the business, and many businesses have histories.Still some business owners overlook the importance of a healthy profile and score or don’t know anything about business credit all-together. Because of this many business owners start believing the myths surrounding instead of the real facts.One of the myths is that the credit isn’t real credit with real merchants, or creditors. The reason for this myth is that although most major merchants offer business credit, most do not promote that they offer it.There is no reason for a company to advertise they have credit where the applicant has no personal liability. Home Depot offers a commercial account. But in almost all cases, the applicant is willing to provide their social security number when applying and is willing to take on the personal guaranty for the debt.So it doesn’t make sense for Home Depot to then offer the applicant a card with no personal liability if the applicant is willing to sign and give their guaranty and accept the liability.Still, Home Depot does offer business credit with no personal guaranty even though they don’t advertise it.Many merchants are the same, they offer business credit but don’t promote that they offer it. Business credit with no personal credit check or guaranty is available through Lowes, Home Depot, Office Max, Staples, BP, Shell, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Radio Shack, and thousands of other major merchants.Most merchants do offer business credit, even though the myth says they don’t.
Another myth about business credit is that credit limits are low and rates are very high. This myth couldn’t be further from the truth.Credit limits on business credit accounts are notably much higher than consumer cards. A business owner can secure credit cards with $10,000 limits even after having a score for only a few months. This is impossible to accomplish with personal credit.And with 5-10 accounts reporting on the report a business owner can qualify for multitudes of business credit cards with limits of $10,000 or higher. A business owner can build massive amounts, much faster than consumer credit.And the interest rates and incentives are similar, if not better on corporate credit than consumer.There has been much news recently about the record incentives that corporate credit cards are offering business owners currently. These incentives are so good that corporate credit commonly has higher limits and better terms than most consumer accounts.Another myth is that if a company pays all its bills on time, its credit history is strong and in good standing. Unfortunately, while paying bills on time is important, your timely payments only help your credit rating when your business works with creditors who report the payments to reporting agencies.