Everything You Need to Know About the Ideal CIBIL Score for Business Loan

When individuals apply for a Home Loan, the first thing that a lender does is check their CIBIL score to gauge their repayment capacity. The CIBIL score is a three-digit number ranging between 300 and 900 that denotes an individual's creditworthiness and repayment capacity.  

An individual's CIBIL score is calculated based on several factors, such as the individual's current income and debt ratio, past repayment behaviour, the responsibility with which they use credit, etc. So, what is the ideal score one should maintain to be able to borrow a Home Loan or any other loan on good terms and conditions? Potential borrowers must maintain a credit score of 750 and above to be eligible for any type of loan.   

While most borrowers know about the required credit scores for individual loans, not many know that the CIBIL score is one of the key factors that decide whether a lender will sanction or approve a business loan for a company. In this article, we tell you all about CIBIL scores for business loans. 

What is a Company Credit Score?

Like individuals have a credit score, companies also have a credit score called the company CIBIL score. The company CIBIL score indicates a company's creditworthiness and is calculated based on various parameters, such as a company's financial health, payment history, existing debt, etc. Lenders obtain this score from the company's credit report, which contains a lot of other information as well.  

A company's credit report gives background details about a company, such as the name of the parent company, year of establishment, existing subsidiaries, etc. The company credit report also mentions the company's CIBIL score. Depending on the credit agency you have chosen to go with, your company's CIBIL score will vary between 300 and 900. Borrowers must know that if their lender obtains their company's credit report from TransUnion, the credit rating will vary between 1 and 10, with 1 being the highest credit rating a company can get. However, if a lender chooses to go with CRIF India or CIBIL, the company credit rating will vary between 300 and 900, with 900 being the highest score a company can get.  

Also Read: Everything You Should Know About Your CIBIL Score 

Now that we know what a company's CIBIL score is, let us look at why is this score important while sanctioning business loans and why lenders check this score before taking a call on any business loan application.  

How is CIBIL Score Important for a Business Loan?

Before we can answer this question, let us look at what factors affect a company's credit score. Developing an understanding of these factors will also allow us to understand why is CIBIL score important for business loans.  

The company CIBIL score or the company credit report (CCR) is indicative of a company's financial health and repayment capacity. Lenders assess a company's financial health based on its current income, current sales, existing debt, etc. The CCR allows a lender to understand whether the company will be able to repay the loan that it wishes to avail of and therefore if lending money to the company would be a risky affair or not.  

When it comes to businesses, a company's assets, such as land, factory stores, machinery, vehicles, etc., play a key role in deciding if a company should be sanctioned credit. Having a high number of assets increases one's chances of obtaining credit on favourable terms and conditions. The company CIBIL score also tells lenders about the assets that a company has.  

The CCR also discloses various financial ratios of a company, such as gross profit margin, return on sales, liquidity, leverage inventory, etc. These financial ratios also help lenders assess a company's financial health and ability to repay the loan.  

A company's CIBIL ratio also depicts its payment history. If you are running a business, it is normal that you would take loans. When you apply for another business loan, your lender will not so much concern themselves with how many loans you had taken in the past than how many loans have you already repaid and how many are still pending. The CIBIL score for business loans is crucial as it tells a lender if a company has cleared loans on time and therefore, can be trusted for repayments or not. 

Read Also: Tips to Help You Improve Your CIBIL Score 

Lastly, a company's credit report also shows how old or new the company is. Old companies have had the chance to build their repayment history and credit score and therefore, are considered more reliable. Therefore, lenders sanction loans to old companies more easily than they do to new companies. 

In conclusion, the company CIBIL score is important as it tells a lender everything they need to know about a company before sanctioning them a loan. The next question now is how to maintain an ideal score for a business loan. Read on to know the answer.  

What is the Ideal Score for a Business Loan?

If you are applying for a business loan, make sure your CIBIL score is up to the mark or your application will get rejected, which in turn, will affect your credit score and chances of availing of a loan in future.

To be able to avail of a business loan, companies must have a credit score of 750 or above. If the company's credit score is between 600 and 750, your company may get approved for a business loan but this loan will be extended on unfavourable terms and conditions. If your company credit score is under 600, your business loan application will most probably get rejected. 

How to Maintain an Ideal Score for Business Loans?

Whether you are looking to expand your company or increase your assets, chances are you will need a loan to do these things and any lender will sanction you a loan only after assuring themselves of your repayment capacity. One of the ways lenders do this is by looking at your company's credit score. The company credit score gives a lender some idea about a company's financial health, current income as well as current debt situation, creditworthiness, etc. The company CIBIL score is one of the key factors that helps lenders decide on business loan applications.  Businesses must maintain a good company credit rating if they wish to get approved for a business loan and get sanctioned on favourable terms and conditions. So, how can a business or company maintain a good credit rating? Here are a few things that can help.  

1. Always Pay All Bills on Time

When individuals miss EMI payments, their credit rating takes a hit. Similarly, a company's credit rating also goes down when the company misses its EMI deadlines. Missing too many EMI payments leads to a low credit score, which in turn, reduces a company's chances of availing of credit in future. Thus, to maintain a good credit rating, companies must always pay dues on time. 

2. Keep Your Credit Utilization Ratio Low

Yet another easy way to maintain a high credit rating is to keep your credit utilization ratio on the lower side. In general, borrowers and companies are advised to keep their credit utilization ratio under 50%. Know that as soon as your credit utilization ratio reaches 75% or above, your account will be red-flagged by lenders. 

3. Take Loans Only if Absolutely Necessary

Companies have a lot of expenses and sometimes, company owners rely on loans to take care of these expenses. This is not a good habit -- one should take a loan only when necessary. Businesses should aim for profitability and use their profit margins to run the company.  

4. Take a Small Loan and Pay it Off Quickly

If you need a big business loan and your credit score isn't good enough to support the loan amount, you can benefit from taking a small loan and paying it off quickly. Doing this will improve your credit rating and allow you to avail of the business loan you need and that too on favourable terms and conditions.  

5. Do Not Close Old Loan Accounts

Once businesses are done paying a loan, they sometimes close old loan accounts. This is not a good idea. When a business closes a loan account, they delete its entire credit repayment history. Thus, in the absence of old accounts, a business has no credit history and therefore, no credit score or report to show. Therefore, businesses must never get rid of old accounts and company credit cards. 

6. Get Mistakes Rectified Quickly

Sometimes, a company's credit score goes down because of errors made by other companies and institutions while reporting financial statements. Therefore, companies must check their credit report from time to time for errors. If you see any errors, immediately report those to a credit agency. Know that rectification takes some time to reflect on a credit report. Therefore, be prepared to wait for some time before making a business loan application.  

Read Also: Know How Mortgage Loan Affect Your Cibil Score 

In this article, we have tried to answer all questions related to CIBIL scores for business loans. Hope this article has been able to clarify your doubts on the topic. 

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