How to Clean Up Your Credit Report Before You Start a Business

Starting a business may require taking out a business loan or applying for a business credit card. Approval for either option requires a good credit history, and improving your personal credit reports help ensure that you're able to acquire financing needed to start your business. Before meeting with banks, take steps to clean up your credit report.

Instructions

1

Ask creditors to remove late payments. Making a payment 30 days late may prompt your creditors or lenders to report the lateness to the bureaus. Contact your creditors to explain the reason for getting behind. They may excuse a one-time lateness and remove the negative item from your report.

2

Pay down account balances. Credit card companies frequently update credit reports with your present account balance. Pay off debts or pay down accounts so that your credit report will reveal few debts. Banks consider how much you already owe before approving you for financing.

3

Pay old debts and ask creditors to update your report. Get in contact with old creditors who have written or charged-off debts and contact collection agencies who bought your old debts. Establish a plan to satisfy these balances, and then request removal of the charge-off or collection account to help clean up your report.

4

Dispute wrong information on your credit report. Visit Annual Credit Report at least once a year and immediately dispute inaccuracies on your credit report. Disputing a claim requires an investigation by the bureaus or your creditors, and the removal of reporting errors.