Rock Your Business’s Bank Credit Score
Before going any further, do you know the difference between bank credit and business credit? Business credit is the full and complete amount of money that your small business can get from all manner of creditors. Your bank credit score, though, is a touch different.
Bank credit, on the other hand, is the full amount of borrowing capacity which a small business can get from the banking system only. Hence your bank credit score, of course, is the measurement of this capacity to borrow.
But don’t ask how to check bank credit score – you can’t!
Your Business’s Bank Credit Score, Explained
A small business can get more business credit rapidly, so long as it has at least one bank reference and an average daily account balance of at least $10,000 for the most recent three month time period. This set up will yield a bank rating of a Low-5. So this means it is an Adjusted Debt Balance of from $5,000 to $30,000.
A lower rating, like a High-4, or balance of $7,000 to $9,999 will not automatically reject the small business’s loan application. However, it will slow down the approval process.
Your Business’s Bank Credit Score, Defined
A bank credit rating is the average minimum balance as maintained in a business bank account over a three month long period. Hence a $10,000 balance will rate as a Low-5, a $5,000 balance will rate as a Mid-4, and a $999 balance will rate as a High-3, etc.
Goals for Your Business’s Bank Credit Score
A small business’s chief goal should always be to maintain a minimum Low-5 bank rating for at least three months. Hence that means an average $10,000 balance.
This is because, without at least a Low-5 rating, the majority of banks will operate under the assumption that the business has little to no ability to repay a loan or a business line of credit.
One thing to keep in mind – you will never actually see this number. The bank will just keep this number in its back pocket.
The Bank Credit Score Rating Ranges
The numbers work out to the following ranges:
- High-5 – account balance of $70,000-99,999
- Mid-5 – account balance of $40,000-69,999
- Low-5 – balance of $10,000-39,000
- High-4 – 7,000-9,999
- Mid-4 – $4,000-6,999
- Low-4 – $1,000-3,999
But do not forget, your small business needs to be at the Low-5 level bank score or better.
Rocking Your Business’s Bank Credit Score
It should be clear that the thrust behind bank credit scores is to show proof that your small business can pay back its financial obligations in an expeditious manner. Therefore, yes, you will need to maintain a minimum balance for at least three months. Every cycle is based on the balance rating during the previous three month period.
Congruency
It is also vital that the business owner ensures that their business bank accounts are reported exactly the same way all of their business records are, and with the exact same physical address and phone number. And it cannot be a post office box!
It is imperative that each and every credit agency and trade credit vendor, every record keeper also lists the business name and address the exact same way. No lender is going to stop to consider all of the ways that a business might be listed, when they look into the business’s creditworthiness. Therefore, if they are unable to find what they need easily, they will just deny the application.
Note: these are record keepers of financial records, income tax, web addresses and e-mail addresses, directory assistance, etc.
Congruency also matters in the event you use a fictitious name or DBA, AKA a ‘doing business as’ status.
Responsible Account Management
Plus the business must manage its bank account responsibly. This means that the small business should avoid writing non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks at all costs, because that decimates bank ratings. Non-sufficient-funds checks are something which no business can afford to let happen. It is even a good idea for the business to add overdraft protection to their bank account as soon as possible, in order to avoid NSFs.
Positive Cash Flow
Your business must show a positive cash flow. The cash coming in and leaving a company’s bank account should reflect a positive free cash flow. A positive free cash flow is the amount of revenue left over after a company has paid all of its expenses. When an account shows a positive cash flow it indicates that the business is generating more revenue than is used to run the company. That means the bank will feel that the business can pay its bills.
Consistent Deposits
Finally, understand that banks are highly motivated to lend to a business with consistent deposits. A business owner must also make regular deposits in order to maintain a positive bank rating. The business owner must make a lot of consistent deposits. And they need to be more than the withdrawals they are making, in order to have and maintain a good bank rating. If they can do that, then they will have a good bank credit score.
Takeaways for How to Rock Your Business’s Bank Credit Score
Start with consistent deposits, even if you cannot make terribly high ones. Just, start to become dependable in how you add money to your business’s bank account. Whether you deposit every week or every other week, etc. is your own choice. So opt for whatever you are most likely to be able to do.
This can also help you with both positive cash flow and responsible account management. Hence you get a lot of bang for your buck here – quite literally.
The other fairly simple task you can undertake is to make sure your business address and other particulars are perfectly congruent across the board. This means, for example, that if you wrote Ltd. on your D&B D-U-N-S number application, but Limited when you applied for a business bank account, you will need to take measures to get these two areas in sync.
Generally, the easiest way to do this is by going through everything and simply copying and pasting your information.
