How to build business credit for a new company

Step 1: separate company and personal finances

Run the company's money through its own bank account, kept distinct from your personal finances. This is the foundation of a company credit file and of clean bookkeeping. It also preserves the limited liability that keeps company debts off your back.

Step 2: open trade accounts that report

Set up trade credit with suppliers who report to the reference agencies, and pay every invoice on time. Ask which suppliers report — not all do — and prioritise those. Each settled account adds a positive line to your growing file.

Step 3: use a small facility well

A modest business card or small working-capital line, used within sensible limits and repaid on time, proves you can manage credit. Managed cleanly for a few months, it does more for a thin file than almost anything else.

Step 4: keep filings current

File accounts and confirmation statements on time and keep Companies House details accurate. Organisation reads as reliability. See building credit from scratch and improving your score.

Build early, borrow later

Start now so the file is ready when a real funding need arrives.

Credicorp lends to your company, not to you personally, and takes no personal guarantee. See indicative terms on business loans, or apply online in minutes.