Experian Vs. D&B Reporting Methods
The contrast between Experian and D&B make Experian a better value for your credit evaluation process.
- Experian sources and collects all information through a network of Accounts Receivable contributors and third party data vendors or providers. Experian does not collect any self-reported information directly from debtor businesses. Hence, a business cannot influence its own credit rating. All information reported by Experian has been collected and processed to ensure its objectivity and validity.
- Experian provides detailed payment information from suppliers by industry type for each contributed trade line. This granular view is rolled up to a Trade Payment Totals section that differentiates New, Continuous and Additional trade lines. D&B provides aggregated payment data by industry segments only.
- Experian collects Accounts Receivable data from its network of customers' accounts payable and then builds a profile for each "Pay From" operating location. Experian integrates this information through Branch and Headquarter locations, in addition to Corporate linkage on Parents and Subsidiaries.
- Experian reports Trade Payment Information by utilizing balance forward accounting practices. Information is gathered electronically from a network of Experian Data Contributors who transfer their month-end accounts receivable file on a recurring periodic basis. Each trade line that appears on an Experian report is the result of the contributor's effort to assure that one or multiple invoices throughout a billing period on each named account is totaled and consolidated into a single account "trade line". D&B often derives their tradelines from "trade experiences" which often represent open item invoices, and consequently not totaled or consolidated into a representative picture of the accounts month end payment performance. D&B's ability to dilute payment performance by stretching "trade lines" into "trade experiences" gives the perception that there is more activity than may be the case.
- Experian provides the Business Category (industry type) for each reported trade line in order to identify the type of business that reported the information.
Though D&B provides a summarized business category section, they only link each category to an aggregated dollar amount of all trade experiences by industry segment, so you can't determine how a business is paying each supplier with an industry. Experian also provides the specific "Date Of Last Sale" for trade lines as opposed to D&B's "Last Sale Within" monthly ranges such as 3-6 Months or 6-12 Months. - Experian Business Information Services (BIS) leverages all information assets of its industry leading credit databases seamlessly. This includes Experian’s Business Owner Link technology that connects businesses and their respective owners through a report called Business Owner Profile (BOP). The BOP is based on personal credit information of the business and the business owner, and contains a risk score that measures the likelihood the business may fail within the next 12 months. D&B has no ability to provide this type of information on small businesses.
- Experian provides a chronological summarization of all UCC filings on a given business entity when more than ten UCC's are present on a business. This summary section provides a quick assessment and macro-view of a company's financing patterns and trends. D&B does not provide a summarization or analysis on UCC's.
- Experian provides bank information consisting of Bank Name, full addresses, telephone number, account types, date opened and account status as compared with D&B's narrative description, often with little or no identification of the bank or its location.
- Experian displays company background information which includes the State and Date of Incorporation, State Charter Number, Filing status, Profit or Non-profit, Date of most recent filing, Business Agent name and address. Experian does not provide this information unless it's verified from Secretary of State offices. D&B provides only Date and State of Incorporation, and Type (Profit, Non-Profit, or Cooperative) often sourced directly from the business entity rather than Secretary of State offices.
- Experian provides detailed Collection Agency information on business debtors including the name and phone number of the agency reporting. Skip trace assistance and the ability to verify debtors’ payment status are just two of the reasons this information is highly valued. Experians' industry leading advantage in gathering commercial collections data, particularly on small businesses has proven to be one of the strongest predictors of credit risk. D&B does not provide the depth of information that Experian provides on this type of data.
- Payment performance on government contracts, and other government - backed loan data is also unique to Experian.
- Experian provides a history of Inquiry data over the most recent 9 months from the date a report is pulled. Every inquiry into the Experian database displays the Business Category of the company that inquired on the business entity. Multiple inquiries may reveal whether your customer is looking for alternative suppliers, new bank relationships, or delinquent with collection agencies. D&B provides no Inquiry information