Many small business owners likely think that their business credit scores and their personal credit scores don’t have an effect on each other. That’s never been entirely true – and recent developments mean that business and personal credit scores are going to start impacting each other even more directly.
According to a report from the Credit Union Times, credit unions and other lenders will have access to a new Small Business Administration-sourced credit score starting next month. This score will combine an entrepreneur’s personal and business credit scores, essentially making them one unified credit rating if/when you apply for an SBA loan.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the SBA, said that her office has been trying to create a scoring model that erased the lines between a business’ score and an individual’s for more than 10 years now. She said these new scores will eliminate the need for time-consuming analysis of business’ cash flow.
There’s another change coming to the small business loan process: the SBA will be launching SBA One, according to the report, a website that will allow for automated uploads of documents, forms and even allows for electronic signatures, said Conteras-Sweet. This will help to speed up the processing times normally associated with applying for small business loans, and will help individuals to receive a judgment on their applications faster.
To learn more about your business credit profile, click here and here.