🧠 Why This Matters
Many business owners confuse personal credit scores (like FICO and VantageScore) with business credit scores (like D&B Paydex or Experian Intelliscore). Understanding these systems is crucial for funding strategy, approvals, and credit-building.
🔍 1. FICO Score (Personal Credit)
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Range | 300–850 |
| Used By | Banks, SBA, credit cards, equipment lenders |
| Model | FICO 8, FICO 9, FICO 10, FICO 10T |
| Key Factors | Payment history (35%), Utilization (30%), Length (15%), Mix (10%), Inquiries (10%) |
| Personal Guarantee | Required for most business credit cards, term loans, SBA |
✅ Best For: Personal credit cards, SBA, startup funding, PG-based business products
📊 2. VantageScore (Personal Credit Alternative)
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Range | 300–850 |
| Used By | Credit monitoring tools (Credit Karma, Nav), some online lenders |
| Model | VantageScore 3.0, 4.0 |
| Differences | Penalizes collections more harshly, newer scoring logic |
| Soft Pull Friendly | Often used by prequalification tools without impact to score |
⚠️ May vary significantly from FICO — not always lender-used
🏢 3. Business Credit Scores
| Bureau | Score Range | Key Product | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dun & Bradstreet | 0–100 | Paydex Score | 80+ = good payment history; based on tradeline payments |
| Experian Business | 0–100 | Intelliscore Plus | Includes credit inquiries, payment trends |
| Equifax Business | 101–816 | Business Credit Risk Score | Harder to access, mostly used by vendors & lenders |
| FICO SBSS | 0–300 | SBA Loans | Combines business + personal credit data |
| Nav Business Boost | No raw score | Vendor reporting via Nav | Helps build reports with no PG |
🔐 Key Differences
| Feature | FICO/Vantage (Personal) | Business Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Affects personal borrowing | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Used for no-PG vendor accounts | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Auto-built over time? | ✅ Yes (w/ SSN) | ❌ No (must be manually built) |
| Can dispute errors? | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (but harder with D&B/Equifax) |
| Shows public records? | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes (judgments, liens) |
| Appears on funding applications | ✅ Often | ✅ Sometimes (depends on lender) |
🧾 Pro Tips for Clients
🔍 Monitor personal credit via Credit Karma, MyFICO, or Experian Direct
🧱 Build business credit with 3+ Net 30 vendors that report to D&B, Experian, Equifax
🧠 Know that PG-based lenders check FICO first — clean it up before applying
📈 SBA lenders use FICO SBSS, which combines both — keep both strong
📬 Get a D-U-N-S® Number free at dnb.com
