Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
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.
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2011 · 83 posts · 35 votes
12y
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!
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2011 · 83 posts · 35 votes
12y
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!
Real Estate Agent · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 208 posts · 70 votes
12y
Ford Motor Credit will do no pg business auto loans/leases, but you need a strong DNB profile, with high trade limits reporting. The key is to find a good fleet manager at a dealership in your area.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
12y
For anyone interested in this post, I was able to successfully finance my car in my LLC name using my EIN. As expected, I had to personally guarantee the loan but it's now in my business name and reporting to my business credit. The same bank that set me up with the loan set me up with a business credit card, as well.
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 3 votes
11y
Recently joined BP. This is about a year to date of your posting Michael and it is still relevant. I was researching on Google regarding Business financing with my EIN and your BP post showed in the top 10. I found out exactly what I needed to know. Thanks for the posting and later posting your results. I hope things are still moving forward for you.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
11y
Hi Mary, I'm glad that you found this post useful! Things are going well. I developed a relationship with the same banker who set me up with my LLC auto loan and just last month he helped set me up with an unsecured credit line in my LLC. Bank after bank will will turn you down (I approached many when trying to first get my LLC auto loan hosing) and then you find one who really wants to work with you :)
Sacramento, CA · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 0 votes
9y
I would love to know what bank and how I can get help. Thanks for sharing as I appreciate all the info in regards to financing with my EIN # and Get business bank accounts established.
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
8y
Hi Nam and Simon, I used US Bank for my LLC financing for the auto loan (it was a secured business loan - the vehicle was the collateral for the loan) and the unsecured credit line. Also, I was able to get a credit card in my LLC name through American Express with a PG.
Investor · Seattle · Member since 2024 · 3 posts · 0 votes
2y
I'm an avid real estate investor and 4X business owner. As I'm reading through this string, there's a lot of misinformation here. Not that anyone is purposefully posting misinformation, but it's a lack of education of what business credit actually is. A good example of business credit would be an SBA loan or an Amex biz card, both of which may have higher limits, but still require personal guarantees. This is much different than CORPORATE credit, which is purely EIN based credit with no personal guarantees. The challenge for most businesses is getting to the point where they can use corporate credit as their primary way to capitalize their business or investments. This take time and your demonstrated ability to pay on time, not so much the amount of volume you do. A corporate creditor wants to see that your business is growing and that you are paying your bills. Period. This leads to larger credit lines and eventually PG's going away.