Business Credit Financing: EIN or DUNS number

[Michael Evans]

Hi everyone,

Do banks use your EIN, DUNS number, or both for business financing? Also, can you use one or the other? I have an American Express Business credit card for my LLC which was setup with my EIN and backed with my SSN. However, I would like to finance a business auto loan in my LLC name in order to help further build up my business credit. My end goal is to establish enough business credit to get approved for some business lines of credit.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mike

[Daniel DiGiacomo]

Mike, you'll typically always use your EIN to open business accounts and lines of credit. The DUNS number is in addition to EIN. DUNS keeps a database of credit history on corporations. You can set up a DUNS number anytime and, say for instance, if you AMEX BUSINESS card does not show up on your DUNS report, you can contact DUNS and request that they research the account and include it in your report. It seems most banks now are requiring a PG (which means using your EIN and SSN) for most lines). Best of luck to you!