Your personal credit score can determine whether or not you get into a specific home, qualify for a personal loan or even get the opportunity to participate in certain business ventures. However, it’s not the only type of score you need to worry about as a business owner. In fact, your business has a score of its own and if it’s low, you could end up finding it tough to get the financing you need to grow your company. Here are a few things you can do to boost your credit score year after year.

Talk to Your Vendors

If you rely on vendors to supply your company with products or equipment, use this to your advantage. See if they’ll be willing to give you credit on your purchases and use that credit every month. Just make sure you’re able to pay them what you owe by the predetermined due date each month. The more consistently you do this, the higher your score will get.

Pay Bills on Time

Every business has bills they have to pay every month. When you pay them on time, your service providers won’t have an issue with your company. However, if you end up paying late each month, they could report you to collections which will hurt your score. Get in the habit of paying your bills on time every month. If you have a business credit card or line of credit, pay off what you owe in full whenever possible. This will help you keep your score as high as possible while also making it easier to monitor your budget.

Ditch Your Old Debts

The longer you let debt sit, the more interest you’ll pay on the debt itself. Instead of letting it sit or paying the minimums every month, do what you can to pay off your outstanding debt as quickly as possible. The more debt you have, the more adversely it impacts your score. By paying it off, you’ll end up increasing your score month after month. Just make sure you do what it takes to keep debt from piling up. If you find yourself struggling to make ends meet, see if you can find other ways to improve your profits and stop accumulating debt. Often, a bit of creativity and ingenuity is all it takes to keep you from having to let bills go unpaid.

If you’re looking to improve your business credit score, keep these tips in mind. Once you implement them, you’ll see your score improve each month.