Does your business extend credit or business loans to other businesses? Perhaps you’re an equipment dealer, own a commercial auto dealership, or provide technical services to businesses. If you let them pay you over time, you might encounter late payments, missed payments, or even collections.
Did you know that you can easily report these payments to the credit bureaus? Each of the four major credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis — accept commercial payment data.
You don’t have to be a bank or big company to report to them. You just have to get set up as a data furnisher with the right software and report format.
As a credit reporting software service, Datalinx can help you navigate this process and ensure your data is reported accurately and timely with each of the four major credit bureaus.
Step 1: Sign Data Furnisher Agreement
Each credit bureau must approve your business loan data before it can be loaded in their database, and part of that approval requires you to sign a data furnisher’s agreement. Keep in mind, this process can take a few weeks. However, you only need to sign an agreement with the bureaus you want to report to.
Perhaps you want to start with one credit reporting agency, or sign up for all four at the same time. We’ll help you either way.
At Datalinx, we have nearly 20 years of experience helping customers with this process. We can assist you with gathering all the necessary information to get started right away.
During this process they may ask you questions about the type of data you will be reporting and how you manage that data internally. They may also ask you to allow for an on-site inspection of your place of business.
Again, Datalinx can help you with these conversations. We’ll work with the bureaus to make sure they have everything they need to proceed.
Step 2: Convert To Metro 2 Format
All four bureaus require the Metro 2 format to accept business loan data into their consumer credit database. Our credit reporting software system allows you to use your existing accounting system to generate the core information required for reporting.
This is usually in Excel or Text format. We then take that information and convert it into the Metro 2 Format for monthly reporting to the credit bureaus.
There’s no need for a separate software package with our service, just a simple, easy-to-use template with the required fields for reporting.
Step 3: Test Your Metro 2 File
The last step is to test your newly created file with the credit bureaus. Their testing process usually takes two to four weeks. It covers the integrity of the file, or how well you followed Metro 2 guidelines. It also covers the integrity of the data. This is how well you met federal laws including the FCRA and FCBA.
Our credit reporting software service will validate your file for testing purposes. We’ll also continue to ensure you are reporting accurate and timely information every month after your file has been approved.
How to Report Business Loans to Credit Bureaus
To report your in-house business loan credit data to the credit bureaus, contact Datalinx today.
How To Report Commercial Credit
Learn how to report commercial credit and collections to the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, SBFE, Paynet, etc.)! We will cover the onboarding process, Metro 2 format, and E-Oscar.