Learn
The manual for building
real business credit.
No fluff, no upsells hidden in every paragraph. Everything you need to go from zero to a published Paydex + first business credit card.
How to build business credit fast: the 90-day plan
The compressed sequence to a published Paydex 78-82 in 90 days. Day-by-day checklist included.
Foundations
Business credit vs personal credit: the differences that matter
Two separate systems with different bureaus, scores, and rules. Where they overlap and how to keep them apart.
SBFE explained: the business credit bureau lenders actually check
The bureau most guides skip. SBFE data drives SBA and bank underwriting more than Paydex — this is who reports to it, how it reaches lenders through Equifax, and the practical sequence for building SBFE-visible history.
Lender-ready business credit reporting: what SBA and bank underwriters actually check
SBA, bank, and alternative lenders each demand a different documentation depth. This is the standard package for each tier, what underwriters actually check, and how to prepare a file that flows through underwriting instead of stalling in it.
EIN & DUNS
How to get an EIN in 2026: the complete step-by-step guide
Free from the IRS, 10 minutes online. Walk through all 18 questions on Form SS-4 without triggering a rejection.
How to get a DUNS number for free in 2026
Free from D&B, ~30 days. What can go wrong (~40% of requests fail on avoidable errors) and what to do after.
What is a DUNS number and do you need one?
The 9-digit ID issued by D&B. What it is, how it differs from EIN and UEI, and when you actually need one.
EIN and Beneficial Ownership (BOI) reporting: what changed for 2026
The Corporate Transparency Act's BOI reporting is the compliance filing most new entity owners miss right after getting an EIN. This is who needs to file, how it relates to your EIN, and Sterling's approach.
Paydex & scores
Paydex score explained: what it is and how to build it
The 0-100 scale, what actually moves the number, and the 90-day path to your first published score.
How to read your Paydex score: the interpretation framework for 2026
The Paydex score is not a black box. This is Sterling's framework for reading every movement — what causes jumps, why on-time payments sometimes drop your score, and the five score bands lenders actually use.
Net-30 vendors
The 15 best Net-30 vendors that report to Dun & Bradstreet (2026)
The 15 Net-30 vendors that actively report to business bureaus, organized by tier and the optimal order to apply.
Net-30 vendors × credit bureaus: which vendor reports where
Not every Net-30 vendor reports to every bureau. This is Sterling's tracked matrix — 15 vendors × 3 bureaus — with the reasoning behind why the coverage differs and how to sequence accounts to build dual-bureau history.
New articles added weekly. Sterling turns everything on this site into a personalized step-by-step roadmap — 14 days free to try it.