Experian / D&B / Equifax: The Real Difference

Who REALLY can best satisfy my business information needs? Experian, D&B or Equifax?

Well, for the cost-conscious credit executive who's concerned with optimizing performance respective to value gained from commercial credit reporting agencies, the decision of which to choose can be confusing. Trying to find time to properly weight out the differences doesn't make matters any easier.

But in general, either credit report should answer four basic questions:

  • Should I accept or deny the account for an open line of credit?
  • What terms should I offer?... Net 30, Discount, or perhaps ship COD.
  • Should I minimize my risks and exposure through deposits or lower credit lines?
  • Will I need to get a personal guarantee if the company has insufficient credit history?

As simple as it may seem, the perfect answer is often unclear. Practical experience shows that none of the bureaus can provide a complete, accurate picture of the risks involved in doing business with another firm all the time.

It is by no coincidence, however, that all three bureaus have particular strengths… that can actually complement one another !

Experian Strengths

  • Current, objective trade payment information and /trending data
  • Extensive information on small businesses
  • Unique ability to blend business and personal credit data
  • Legal, collection and derogatory data

D&B Strengths

  • Historical, antecedent and background data
  • Operational details
  • Financial statement elements

Equifax Strengths

  • Exclusive data in a sharing agreement with the Small Business Financial Exchange, Inc. (SBFE)
  • Detailed information on business credit cards, loans, leases, and other debt instruments from financial institutions.

Faced with uncertainty in assessing the types of risk involved in every business transaction, it pays to determine precisely what kind of information is most relevant to your credit decision.

Simply put, why should anyone feel locked-in and dependant on a single source of credit information? Experian, D&B and Equifax each focus on their particular strengths. Why shouldn't you? The power of choice is yours. You have the option!

There's no doubt about it... access to the right data... at the right time... at the lowest cost... will assure you and your company the very best performance possible…and that's the bottom line!

Financial Scoring

Experian's new scoring system analyzes businesses on the potential of going bankrupt, or defaulting on obligations. The Financial Stability Risk Score (FSRS) identifies "slow pay" but "will pay" accounts so you can adjust policies accordingly.
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Corporate Linkage

Finally... it's here!
Experian leverages unique data assets and unparalleled search / match capabilities to provide linkage on the largest corporate entities down to the smallest business.
Corporate Linkage Audio Demo
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Corporate Linkage Glossary
Corporate Linkage General FAQ

Credit Limit Recommendation

This useful guide helps establish credit limit potential on customers within your industry. Take a closer look at what drives this calculation.
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Understanding DBT

Days Beyond Terms (DBT) is the most accurate and current indicator of how a business pays - learn about how Experian's system calculates DBT and how you can put this information to use in your business.

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