2a. Fundamentals The perception lenders, vendors, and creditors have of a business is critical to the business’s ability to build strong business credit. Before applying for business credit, a business must ensure it meets or exceeds all lender credibility standards. In total there are over 20 credibility standards that are necessary for a business to have a strong, credible foundation. When building business credit, everything matters. Approval is sometimes based on the exact number of employees claimed on the application. In other cases, a business might be denied if they don’t claim the right amount of vehicle gas usage in a month. Certain types of phone numbers should not be used. While it is essential to ensure your number is listed in places the business credit reporting agencies and creditors will look, if a business doesn’t have the right type of phone number or if it isn’t listed in the right places, the business will be denied credit. The type of corporation you list, the years your company has been in business and the type of ownership all factor into getting a business APPROVED for higher credit limits. Most importantly, knowing and understanding which of the thousands of creditors to apply to and in which order to apply are essentials in the business credit approval process. The first step in building business credit is all about establishing credibility for the company. The business owner should think about the approval process from a lender’s perspective to improve chances of approval. Lenders are in business to lend to companies they consider to be a “safe risk.” They will be doing several underwriting checks to see if the business is “safe” enough for them to consider extending credit. Part of establishing the business as a safe risk is following lenders’ standards for approval. Complying helps the business establish credibility and is an important foundation for business credit building success.