“I pay my bills on time, so I don’t need to monitor my credit.” That comment came from a business professional I was talking with a few years ago, and it floored me. 

“You have even more reason to monitor your credit,” I replied. “Your good credit will be very valuable if someone gets ahold of it.” 

I was speaking from both my professional and personal experience since I have dealt with identity theft in the past. 

Although I also pay my bills on time, it was only because I was monitoring my personal and business credit that I learned almost immediately when someone tried to open credit accounts in my name, as well as in the name of my business. 

Much like the person who doesn’t think they need to get a health check up because they feel fine, failing to monitor your business credit or your personal credit can mean problems can go undetected. And little issues may become big issues if they aren’t taken care of quickly.

What is business credit monitoring?

Business credit monitoring tracks changes to your company's credit reports and scores across major commercial credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). These services alert you to new inquiries, account changes, and potential fraud while providing regular credit report and credit score updates.

5 reasons to monitor your business credit

Here are key reasons why business credit monitoring can be essential for protecting and growing your small business.

1. Help protect against fraud and ID theft

The National Cybersecurity Society has flagged business identity theft as a serious problem that's likely to get worse.

Credit monitoring helped me catch my personal and business identity theft early when inquiries from companies I'd never applied to appeared on my reports. Without monitoring, criminals might have opened multiple accounts before I noticed — causing far more damage to both my personal and business credit.

2. Find and fix costly errors

Business credit reports may contain errors including wrong addresses, outdated business registration details, or public record information (such as UCC filings or tax liens) attributed to the wrong company.

These errors can tank your credit scores and block financing approvals. Regular monitoring lets you spot mistakes quickly and dispute them before they cause more problems.

3. Know when your scores change

Your business credit scores fluctuate as new information gets reported each month. Monitoring shows you exactly what's driving changes — whether it's a new tradeline, a late payment, or an improved payment history.

This insight helps you understand which actions improve your scores and which ones hurt them. Many business owners discover their scores are lower than expected not because of late payments, but due to a lack of accounts reporting to credit bureaus.

4. See who checked your credit

When companies check your credit report or scores, an inquiry is typically created. Monitoring alerts you to the fact that lenders, suppliers, or potential partners are evaluating your business in some way.

Unexpected inquiries can also signal potential fraud. 

5. Get better financing and terms

Lenders may check business credit to help set interest rates, credit limits, and loan terms. Insurance companies may check it to help determine premiums. Suppliers may review it to decide whether to offer your business payment terms such as net-30.

Strong business credit scores may save your business money with lower rates, or help you secure better trade credit terms. Credit monitoring helps you understand how lenders may view your business.

How business credit monitoring works

Business credit monitoring provides regular updates to your credit data, typically monthly. 

Depending on the service, you'll receive:

• Business credit reports from one or multiple bureaus
• Credit score updates with trend tracking
• Real-time alerts for new inquiries or account changes
• Analysis of factors affecting your scores
• Public record updates including liens, judgments, and UCC filings
• The ability to track credit on other businesses

When choosing a credit monitoring solution, consider whether it covers the three major business credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Dun & Bradstreet. Each bureau may have different information since not all companies report your payment information to all three.

Best business credit monitoring services

Here's how the top business credit monitoring services compare:

Nav's comprehensive approach

Nav offers a comprehensive business credit monitoring solution. With Nav Prime, you get detailed credit reports and scores from multiple bureaus in one dashboard — something that could cost up to $250 if purchased separately from credit bureaus.

Unique benefits include:

• Up to two tradelines reporting monthly to help build business credit
• Personal credit monitoring alongside business credit
• Cash flow tracking integrated with credit health
• Personalized financing recommendations

Free monitoring options

Opportunities for free business credit reports are much more limited than with consumer credit. 

Nav offers free credit summary credit reports from major business credit bureaus to help businesses to track their credit standing. If you want your detailed reports, you can sign up for Nav Prime.

D&B Credit Insights Free offers risk range indicators for four scores & ratings, basic company information, summary information of legal events and business operations, and additional benefits.

How to choose a business credit monitoring service

Consider these factors when selecting a monitoring service:

Coverage across multiple bureaus

Lenders and suppliers may report to just one or two business credit bureaus, not all three. Monitoring multiple bureaus gives you a complete picture of your business credit profile. A tradeline might appear on your Experian report but not your Equifax report, for example, affecting different scores.

Personal credit inclusion

Many small business financing options require personal credit checks, especially for newer or smaller companies. It can be helpful to monitor both business and personal credit if you're likely to personally guarantee business loans.

Alerts

Real-time alerts can help you catch fraud and errors quickly. Look for services that notify you immediately about important changes to your credit profile such as new inquiries, account changes, or score fluctuations.

Mobile app

Some business owners run a lot of their business from their phones. If that’s you, choose services with robust mobile apps that let you check scores, review alerts, and respond to issues on the go.

Budget considerations

When it comes to business credit, free services can be helpful for basic monitoring, but comprehensive coverage typically requires paid plans. Compare the cost of individual bureau reports against bundled monitoring services to find the best value.

Business credit monitoring isn't just nice to have. If your budget is tight, consider starting with a free service, but consider comprehensive monitoring to take full advantage of the opportunities that building good business credit can offer.

Frequently asked questions

⁺Information about credit monitoring products from Bank of America, Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian has been gathered independently by Nav.