Building your business requires capital, and even if you’ve been running a successful business for a few years, financing can play a major role in covering your company’s working capital needs. 

If you’ve been working on building business credit through tier 1 business credit vendors, net 30 accounts, and business credit cards, you may now have the opportunity to open credit accounts with tier 2 business credit vendors. 

Tier 2 business credit vendors provide what’s called advanced trade credit, where you can typically get a higher credit limit and sometimes even longer repayment terms than with traditional net-30 vendors. 

Depending on your business model and needs, it may make sense to open an account with more than one to get the supplies and inventory you need while continuing to build your business credit report.

Vendors That Help Build Tier 2 Business Credit

There are many merchants that offer tier 2 business credit, but it can get overwhelming trying to narrow down the list for your business needs. 

To help, here’s a list of four tier 2 business credit vendors that can provide for a variety of business needs, as well as another way to build your business credit history over the long term.

Home Depot

A Home Depot Commercial Account offers payment terms of up to 60 days with no interest. You’ll typically need to pay your monthly bill in full, but you can itemize it by invoice so you can ensure that you get the full 60 days on each transaction.

You’ll receive a card attached to the credit line, similar to a store-only business credit card. Your credit line will be based on your qualifications, and you’ll find out the size of your line when you receive the card. 

When you apply, you’ll need to provide a personal guarantee, which means that if your business can’t repay the balance, you agree to pay it with your personal funds. However, you can skip the personal guarantee if your business meets the following criteria:

• $2 million or more in annual sales
• At least two years old
• 10 or more employees
• Not a partnership or sole proprietorship

Staples

Business owners can get net-30 payment terms with this big box office supply store. Make sure your Staples account is set up as a business, and choose the Invoice My Account option when you check out. 

Staples doesn’t provide much information about the process of getting approved. But the retailer doesn’t charge interest, fees, or late charges, and you’ll receive invoices emailed to you on a weekly basis. 

If your business needs a steady stream of office supplies, Staples can be a solid choice. 

Note that this option is separate from the Staples Business More Account business credit card, which allows you to carry a balance and pay it off over time. You’ll also get 5% back in rewards on every Staples purchase you make with the card. 

ExxonMobil

If your business runs a small fleet of vehicles, applying for an ExxonMobil BusinessPro account can help you save while building business credit.

The account offers a rebate of up to 6 cents per gallon, depending on how many gallons of fuel you purchase during each billing cycle at Exxon or Mobil fuel stations:

• 1 cent per gallon if you purchase fewer than 500 gallons
• 3 cents per gallon if you purchase between 500 and 3,999 gallons
• 4 cents per gallon if you purchase between 4,000 and 6,999 gallons
• 5 cents per gallon if you purchase between 7,000 and 9,999 gallons
• 6 cents per gallon if you purchase 10,000 or more gallons

The account comes with a card that you can use at any Exxon or Mobil station or at 95% of gas stations around the country. That said, you don’t earn rebates at other stations. 

One thing to keep in mind with this account is that it charges a $40 setup fee when you first open the account, and you’ll also pay a $2 monthly fee. 

CreditStrong Business

If you’re looking for a long-term business credit account in addition to vendor accounts, the CreditStrong business credit builder account should be on your radar.

With this type of account, CreditStrong deposits the proceeds from a term loan into a business savings account and locks the funds while you make payments on a 25-month term. 

Those payments get reported to the commercial credit bureaus Equifax, PayNet and the SBFE — and soon, Experian and Dun & Bradstreet. 

Once the loan is paid in full, you’ll receive the loan funds, which you can use to invest in your business. 

The credit builder account is available to small businesses that are at least three months old. There is no hard pull when applying, so opening a CreditStrong Business account won’t hurt your score.

CreditStrong offers a choice between zero-interest and interest-based plans to fit your company’s current and expected future financial position and preferences. 

The Bottom Line

Tier 2 business credit can be a powerful tool for your business if you know how to apply for it and use it responsibly. 
Managing your company’s cash flow can be challenging, and tier 2 business credit can often give companies the flexibility to manage through the ups-and-downs of your operations without disrupting access to inventory & supplies you need to keep everything running smoothly.

Once you’ve got tier 1 business credit figured out, keep tier 2 vendors at the top of your mind in order to continue building a solid financial foundation for your business.

CreditStrong for Business is the only 0% interest business credit builder in the nation

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