Vendor Accounts That Build Your Business Credit—5 Business Vendors That Help Build Your Business Credit

Are you looking for 5 vendor accounts that build your business credit? We’ve got them right here. Get the easiest business credit card! Build your Fundability. It’s how to build credit fast! And it works for both new businesses and established businesses.

When you are first starting to build business credit, your first step should be vendor or trade credit (we also call them Tier 1 business credit vendors). You want to get into good credit habits. So this is everything from not borrowing too much, to on time payments on your debts, to staying on good terms with your sources of credit.

This post answers the question: how do I build up my business credit without using my personal credit? How do I get an established business credit score?

NOTE: This post was updated on March 30, 2023 to reflect newer information!

This blog post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links for some products and make a purchase, Credit Suite receives a commission at no additional cost to you.

Starter Vendors

You will need to start a business credit profile and score with what are called starter vendors. Starter vendors are ones who will give your small business initial credit even if your company has no credit, no score, or no trade lines.

It makes sense to use net 30 accounts to build business credit. Net 30 vendors are far more likely to approve a business, particularly a new one.

Note that many stores like Best Buy will not give you initial starter credit, so don’t even try applying with them.

Here are 5 business credit vendors that build your business credit. You can get a starter business credit card. This is vendor credit, and these are our top 5 business credit cards for new businesses. They are our best corporate credit cards.

What is a Net 30 Vendor?

Net 30 vendors offer customers Net 30 credit terms including business approval. Invoice payments must be received within 30 days of the invoice date. Customer invoices can be recorded by the customer as account receivable if not required immediately. Net 30 vendors accounts are available for net 30 payments for businesses even with no credit history.

They offer no discounts on late payments. These net 30 companies provide credit reports to business credit bureaus. The credit bureaus include D&B (Dun & Bradstreet), Experian Business, Equifax, and Creditsafe.

Vendor Accounts that Build Your Business Credit: 1. Uline

You can find Uline’s website here. This company sells shipping, packing, and industrial supplies. These include janitorial supplies, shipping boxes, and material handling products like hand trucks and dollies. Most importantly, they report to credit bureaus Dun and Bradstreet and Experian.

Therefore, your small business must have a D-U-N-S number before you start trying to get vendor credit with them. For a Uline business account, Uline prefers for a business to have a good credit profile with D&B but this is not required. Your first few orders might need to be pre-paid to initially so that your company can get approved for Net 30 accounts and Uline business credit.

Uline truly is the answer to the question: what is the easiest business credit card to get? It is a terrific way to build a business credit report score. In general, you will need a Fundability Foundation™. This means, among other things, a separate business bank account and separate business phone number.

Details on Uline’s Offerings

We really love Uline because you can get so much variety there. You can buy office supplies, and even school supplies! An account with them will help you build business Fundability.

Vendor Accounts that Build Your Business Credit: 2. Marathon

Check out starter vendor Marathon. Marathon Petroleum Company provides transportation fuels, asphalt, and specialty products throughout the United States. Their comprehensive product line supports commercial, industrial, and retail operations. This card will be on your Dun and Bradstreet Credit Report.

It also reports to credit bureaus Experian and Dun & Bradstreet. Before applying for multiple accounts with WEX Fleet cards, make sure to leave enough time between applying so they don’t red-flag your account for fraud.

Qualifying

To qualify, you need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• A bank account for your business
• Business phone number listed on 411

Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned about a personal credit check, talk to their credit department before applying. You can give a $500 deposit or a personal guarantee, if in business less than a year. Apply for an online account. Terms are Net 15.

They prefer a FICO score of 700 or better, and will do a soft pull on your personal credit.

Get it here.

Vendor Accounts that Build Your Business Credit: 3. Grainger Industrial Supply

You can find Grainger Industrial Supply here. They sell hardware, power tools, pumps and more. You can get janitorial supplies there. They also do fleet maintenance. Grainger reports to business credit bureau D&B and to Equifax. To qualify with your Grainger business credit application, you are going to need the following:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Business bank account for your company

Your business must have been registered with the Secretary of State (SOS) for at least 60 days.

If a business doesn’t have an established credit, they will require additional documents like accounts payable, income statement, balance sheets, etc. Apply online or over the phone.

Details on Grainger

Grainger is a great starter vendor because a credit account with them will help build your business credit file. Small business owners can improve a business credit rating just by buying items like duct tape, office supplies, and N95 masks.

There is no minimum amount necessary to report, but they prefer at least a $50 payment history.

Vendor Accounts that Build Your Business Credit: 4. Supply Works (Now Called Home Depot Pro Institutional/HD Supply)

Home Depot Pro Institutional is a great recession vendor. You can get janitorial supplies there. Visit them here. They offer integrated facility management solutions. Virtual addresses are not accepted. They report to the business credit bureau Experian. These are Net 30 accounts.

Qualifying

To qualify, you need to have:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Written trade credit references
• Bank references

You must have at least one year in business.

Apply with Them

Apply online or over the phone.

Vendor Accounts that Build Your Business Credit: 5. 76

Can you get business credit with bad personal credit score? Check out 76. Visit them here. The brand’s history traces its original company roots all the way back to Santa Paula, California and Lyman Stewart, a co-founder of Union Oil Company of California.

Today 76 is owned by Phillips 66 Company, with more than 1,800 retail fuel sites in the United States. They report to credit bureaus Experian and D&B. Terms are Net 15.

Qualifying

To qualify with 76, you will need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• To have your business entity squared away (corporation, LLC, etc.) and in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State
• At least one year in business

You will need to have a personal credit score of at least 700 in order to qualify.

SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned about a check on your personal credit, talk to their credit department before applying. If not approved based on business credit history or you’ve been in business less than one year, then a $500 deposit is needed or a Personal Guarantee (PG). Use it at any P66, 76, or Conoco fueling location.

Apply with Them

You can apply online or over the phone.

Build Business Credit – Going Beyond and Taking Care of Your Accounts, Business Credit Reports, and Business Credit Scores with the Business Credit Bureaus

Building business credit  also means protecting what you’ve already got. It means regularly reviewing your reports so you know what’s going on with your credit. And it means taking action if there are any mistakes on your reports. Being the squeaky wheel pays off here.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit, including vendor credit cards. Make sure it is being reported to the credit reporting agencies and deal with any inaccuracies ASAP. Get in the habit of taking a look at your reports. So dig into the details, not just the scores.

So we can help you monitor business credit at Experian, Equifax, and D&B for considerably less.

Update Your Business Credit Profile Details

Update the details at Experian, D&B, and Equifax Business if there are mistakes or the information the credit reporting agencies have is incomplete.

What’s all this monitoring for? So it’s to challenge any errors in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be fixed. But the business credit bureaus normally want you to dispute errors on a credit report in a particular way.

Get your PAYDEX report for DNB small business here.

You can get your company’s Experian report here.

And get your Equifax business credit report here.

Disputes

Disputing credit report errors typically means you precisely spell out any charges you dispute. These days, you can challenge mistakes online.

Takeaways for 5 Vendor Accounts or Companies That Build Your Business Credit Report

Always use credit responsibly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay off. So monitor balances and deadlines for payments. Paying off net 30 vendors punctually and in full will do more to create a good business credit score than nearly anything else.

Establishing small business credit pays. Great business credit scores help a company get business loans. Your lender knows the company can pay its financial obligations. Major credit bureaus know the small business is authentic. The company’s Employer Identification Number links to a high score from business credit reporting agencies. Business loan providers won’t feel the need for a personal guarantee.

These cards will improve your Dun and Bradstreet credit report and more. They are a great way to start to build business credit.

And soon you’ll be able to move onto the top ten business credit cards – and beyond!