Many small-business owners, when their business starts evolving from a happy or dream into a real, facts on the ground enterprise, realize that they have to begin working on their businesses credit scores.
Businesses, unlike individuals, do not have FICO scores. What they do have, are scores and ratings such as the Dun & Bradstreet number, the Paydex score, the Experian business credit score, and several different other metrics, which companies and lenders considering doing business with your firm, look at before doing business with you.
A DUNS number is a nine digit number that identifies your organization.
A DUNS number is different than your E.I.N., your employer identification number, in that in many large businesses, there may be a large number of different businesses, each one a separate Corporation, or partnership with a different tax identification number, that the same time, those businesses are all part of one business conglomerate.
This necessitated the need for DUNS numbers, which allow businesses that are technically a strand of separate businesses to be linked together as one.
Some of the information that you will need in order to obtain your Duns number is:
1) The name of the organization or company
2) The address of the company
3) The name of the company or firm owner
4), the legal structure of the entity. (For example, a Corporation, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, limited liability company, etc.)
5) The year the organization started. (If this is a Corporation for example, this would be the year the entity was formed.)
6) The primary line of business, and
7) The total number of full and part-time employees of the company.
Whether or not your company is located inside the United States, or anywhere else in the world, your business can, and should, obtain a DUNS number. This will allow you business to be recognized as a business, and allow you business to obtain loans, lines of credit, government grants, leases, and will also get your company onto mailing lists of companies that will try to solicit your business and help your business grow to the next stage.
