What is a D&B Report?

A D&B Report, also known as Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report, is a business credit report issued by the business credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet. The Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report measures the creditworthiness of a company.

Why is a Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report important?

Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Reports are used by vendors and creditors to assess the financial stability, as well as reliability, of a business.

D&B Business Credit Reports are used to help determine financing terms or interest rates. If a business does not have a D&B business credit report, it would be difficult to negotiate favorable terms or gain approval.

D&B Reports are available to anyone for purchase, so monitoring your D&B business credit report for accuracy is crucial. Any business negotiating terms, seeking out SBA loans or financing, signing leases, bidding on contracts, investing, and more, should be regularly monitoring their D&B business credit report.

How do I get a D&B report?

Any business can get a D&B report. Use the Dun & Bradstreet DUNS lookup to see if your company is already assigned a DUNS number. If you do not see your company listed, you can apply for a DUNS number.

Who can access a business’s D&B Business Credit Report?

Either the company itself or a creditor is able to generate a D&B Business Credit Report. Once a D&B credit report is generated and a company is assigned a DUNS number, anyone can purchase access to the business’s D&B credit report, including vendors, lenders, partners, or even competitors.

What is available on a Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report?

A Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report has many different parts to it, including company and industry information. Some data is provided by the company, while other data is taken from public record, vendor, creditor, and lender payment history, and collection agencies.

Aside from the 7 D&B scores, also included in a D&B Report is:

• General company information
• History of the business
• Business registration information
• Government activity summary
• Company operational data
• Industry data
• Three years of financial statements
• Public filings, including liens, judgements and UCC filings

What are the scores shown on my Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Report?

There are 7 different scores calculated through Dun & Bradstreet alone, which is by far the largest business credit reporting agency.

PAYDEX score

The Paydex Score is a business credit score that evaluates a company’s payment patterns with vendors, lenders, and creditors. It ranges from 1 to 100 with the higher number reflecting the lowest risk of paying beyond terms. Most businesses have a Paydex Score between 30 and an 80. A high Paydex Score indicates excellent payment history and other factors. We rarely see anything above an 80 Paydex.  80 likely means all payments are on time.  Above 80 would mean payments are made before due dates.  Anything below 80 would indicate varying degrees of slow payments.  There are businesses that are unscored.  This would be due to not having enough tradelines/vendors.  The score can be impacted more by larger dollar amount vendors.

Delinquency Predictor

The Delinquency Predictor Score from Dun & Bradstreet is a tool used to assess a company’s risk of severe financial trouble—such as paying bills more than 90 days late, seeking legal relief from creditors, or shutting down without paying debts—within the next 12 months. It helps businesses evaluate credit risk and make more informed decisions about customers and partners.

Financial Stress

The Financial Stress Score was designed to help decision-makers predict the likelihood that a business will require legal relief from creditors or cease operations without paying all creditors in full over the next 12 months. Financial Stress is made up of 3 risk classifications.  It uses a Score, Risk Class, and a percentile ranking. The score ranges from 1,001- 1,875.  The higher the score the lower the risk. The Risk Class ranges from 1-5. 5 being the highest chance of financial stress.   The Percentile ranges from 1-100. 100 represents companies with the lowest risk financial stress. The Financial Stress tool does a comparison on over 25 million active U.S. businesses including payment, public filing, demographic, and financial information, if available.

Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating (SER Rating)

The Dun & Bradstreet Supplier Evaluation Risk (SER) rating measures the level of risk associated with a particular supplier or business. It is used by vendors, lenders, or partners to determine if a supplier is more or less likely to cease business operations, file for bankruptcy, or become inactive over a 12-month period.  This rating tool is used to assess and manage risk associated with potential and existing suppliers and partners or any businesses applying for financing or credit of any kind. 

The SER is a numerical score that ranges from 1-9, with 1 representing the lowest risk and 9 being the highest risk number.  D&B uses a statistical and predictive approach to evaluate data and assess a supplier’s likelihood of failure with the resources to compare suppliers on a national scale. By studying large numbers of companies and assessing characteristics that are likely to lead to negative outcomes for a business the SER then predicts its rating. Included in the rating are Financial Stability, Operational Performance, Payment Behavior, Industry Market and Conditions, Corporate Linkages, and Public Records.

When using this score, businesses can proactively identify high risk suppliers and act accordingly to protect the level of exposure they have by continuing the same terms. If appropriate they can then diversify supply sources or negotiate better terms.  If it is a new supplier/partner they can reject or offer different terms to cover possible risk.

For industries with strict regulatory requirements such as healthcare, finance, and defense the SER can help meet due diligence and regulatory standards.

Credit Limit Recommendation

Listed as a dollar amount on reports, the intention of the credit limit recommendation is to help creditors/lenders make credit decisions. The amount is based on “historical analysis of credit demand of customers in D&B’s U.S. payments database which have a similar profile to yours.” (D&B)

Dun & Bradstreet Rating (D&B Rating)

D&B Rating has two parts. It includes a rating classification and a composite credit appraisal. These are generated with company information such as size, industry , financials (if available), and payment information. This info is used to create a rating reflecting the company’s creditworthiness. It is a summary of the businesses credit report. This helps lenders and investors make informed decisions. The Composite Credit Appraisal portion of the rating is a number ranging from 1-4. One would represent the most credit worthy. It focuses more on the payment patterns, financial info, years in business, and public records while the Rating Classification focuses more on the size and net worth of the business. A 5A would mean the net worth is 5 million or more and an HH rating would be a net worth under $5000.

D&B Viability Rating

The D&B Viability Rating is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional tool used to assess a company’s likelihood of survival. It combines both predictive and descriptive analytics to evaluate a business’s current and future health. Predictive components estimate the chances of a company going out of business, becoming inactive, or declaring bankruptcy within 12 months. Descriptive components reflect the depth and reliability of available data, including the company’s age and size.

Unlike traditional scores that focus on narrow questions like payment reliability or bankruptcy risk, the Viability Rating addresses broader, strategic questions such as:

• Is this a sustainable and trustworthy business?
• Can I grow with this company?
• Should I begin or continue a business relationship with them?
• How deep and complete is the data supporting my decision?

Overall, the rating enhances risk assessment objectivity and allows for more confident, customized decision-making.

How do I positively impact my D&B Credit Report?

Each credit bureau has their own way of gathering and evaluating data on businesses. However, there are a few things to observe when improving your business’s credit health in a D&B business credit report. Making payments on time is arguably the most important factor for your business credit score, so paying on time or even early is a great way to begin positively impacting your Dun and Bradstreet rating. Building strong relationships with lenders and suppliers is also beneficial, as they are the ones sharing data with the bureaus and can share data to Dun & Bradstreet on your behalf. This positive feedback can improve the business credit score shown in your D&B credit report. Other things to look at include making sure public records are up to date and accurate, actively monitoring changes to your business credit score.

How do I repair my D&B Credit Report?

The best way to repair your D&B credit report is to work with a business credit repair specialist. Repairing your business credit on your own can be time-consuming, and could potentially do more harm than good.