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). 

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.

Read more about credit scores and why they’re important here.
 

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.

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

Read more about improving your credit score here.

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, for example, the lender would look at your score to decide whether your business would be able to keep up the repayments. 

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.

With Capitalise for Business, you can access all your credit score insights starting at £19/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
• the credit information lenders will look at about your business
• how many times third parties have searched for your credit profile
• tips for improving your credit score