If you’re a small business owner, you have two credit scores. There’s your personal credit score,  and then there is your business credit score. A business credit score is a reflection of the creditworthiness of your business.

It’s possible to have a good personal credit score and a bad business credit score, or vice versa. In order to find out your business credit score, you will need to pay a credit bureau to produce a business credit report.

A credit report is a profile of your business’s trustworthiness as it pertains to lenders, with the highlight being your business credit score (often, but not always, a number between 1-100). When a credit bureau produces a credit report on your business, they consider an array of factors, including your business’s payment history, credit utilization ratio, length of credit history, and company information, as well as risk factors in your industry.

The upshot is the better your business credit score, the more likely you will be able to secure financial opportunities for your business, such as acquiring a business loan or securing a line of credit, on favorable terms.

If you’re ready to get your business credit score, one credit bureau you might consider is Equifax. Along with Dun & Bradstreet and Experian, Equifax is one of the most popular credit agencies. One important thing to note is, unlike personal credit scores, there is no single industry standard for business credit scores. Each credit bureau can use different algorithms to determine your business’s credit score.

Therefore, before you give Equifax money to produce your business credit report, you should understand how they do their analysis and score businesses. Here is everything you need to know about Equifax business credit reports.

An Equifax business credit report contains a variety of information about a business, including:

Company information includes your business name, phone numbers, addresses, and alternate business names (DBAs). You will also find a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, and owner and guarantor names. Other things you might find include sales information, number of employees, and a corporate family tree, which may include other related businesses.

Business loans or lines of credit from banks or credit unions are part of your credit data. Equipment leases, business credit cards, and other credit accounts are also included.

It is worth mentioning that Equifax is a Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE) certified vendor, which means it can obtain information from the SBFE and sell that information in reports. The SBFE is a non-profit trade association that aggregates payment data from small businesses across the United States.

Public record information in your Equifax business credit report includes your business registration information, as well as liens, judgments, Uniform Commercial Code filings (UCC filings), and bankruptcies reported against your business.

Your payment history shows how many days it takes you to pay back suppliers. The amount of time you take to pay back your debts is also compared to averages in your industry to determine your expediency.

Your financial information reflects bank balances, returned checks, assets, real estate properties, and inventory and sales.

This is a unique identification number Equifax assigns to all businesses.

Equifax will take all of the aforementioned information and evaluate it in the following ways:

When looking at your payment history, Equifax will consider any outstanding balances you have with vendors or creditors, such as days past due, and your business’s worst delinquencies over the past two years. This also includes non-financial transactions. A good score is contingent on your business paying back all its debts in a timely fashion.

When Equifax looks at your business’s credit history, they will consider how long your oldest financial account has been open. The longer your account has been open, the better, as this reflects a longer credit history.

Other factors include credit inquiries and credit utilization. Having a lot of credit inquiries throughout your business’s history could be a red flag. As far as credit utilization, Equifax looks for no more than 30% to 40% at any given time ($40,000 in use on a $100,000 line of credit).

If there is negative information about your business on the public record, this will have an adverse effect on your credit score. This includes judgments against your business, credit liens, and bankruptcies. If your business has experienced any of these things, Equifax will also factor in recency to determine how severe of an impact these events will have.

Firmographics are the demographics of your business, such as company size, age, and industry. Equifax will compare your business’s firmographics to those of your competitors, and also to larger trends in your industry. When it comes to firmographics, older and larger businesses tend to score higher.

These evaluations produce a set of scores. While most credit bureaus will provide you with a single credit score between 1–100, an Equifax business credit report provides you with three different scores: Payment Index, Business Credit Risk Score, and Business Failure Score.

Your payment index score is your typical credit score. This is a number between 1–100 with 1 being the worst score and 100 being the best score. The number is based on your business’s payment history. If you pay your bills on time, your score will be between 90 and 100. If you have even one bill that is between 1 and 30 days past due, your score could drop to between 80 and 89.

Having bills 31 to 69 days past due will drop your score between 60 and 79. A score between 40 and 59 reflects bills that are 61 to 90 days past due, and a score between 20 and 39 is for bills that are 91 to 120 days past due. If you have bills later than that, you can expect a score between 1 and 19.

Equifax business credit risk scores range from 101 to 992, with a higher score correlating to lower risk. This score aims to help lenders answer the following questions: Will I be paid? When will I be paid? Is my customer facing financial difficulty? How much credit should I extend?

In general, a score over 556 is considered good while a score of 0 indicates bankruptcy.

Your Equifax business failure risk score is a number between 1,000 and 1,610, with a lower score indicating a higher risk of your business ceasing operations within the next 12 months. This score is determined using commercial demographic data, credit and payment information, and company legal records.

To get an Equifax business credit report, simply visit their website and purchase a single report for $99.95. You can also purchase a pack of five credit reports for $399.95. Equifax also offers credit monitoring services for $16.95 per month.

It’s worth noting that Equifax is the most expensive of the three major credit bureaus. Dun & Bradstreet charges $61.99 for a business credit report and Experian charges $39.95.

Part of the reason you want an Equifax business credit report is the same reason you would want any business credit report: to gain a better understanding of your business’s financial health and appeal to potential lenders and investors.

But an Equifax business credit report has the added benefit of providing credit risk and business failure risk scores, which you don’t get with the other credit bureaus. These scores may not be particularly helpful to a small business but can provide valuable insight to lenders. In addition, these scores can come in handy if you are considering buying out a competitor in your industry or merging with another business.

When you get your business credit report, it is important you review it carefully for errors. Even the smallest mistake can have a huge impact on your overall score.

The first thing to do if you spot an error is to ensure you aren’t responsible for it. Providing consistent information to the credit bureau (i.e. having your name spelled the same way throughout) can help ensure you don’t cause any mistakes on your credit report. If you see that your report doesn’t reflect all your credit accounts, you may need to reach out to your creditors and ask them to supply your information to the credit bureau, as some are not required to do so.

For all mistakes, you will want to contact Equifax directly via the customer support hotline or online dispute center. You will also want to contact the organization that supplied the information to Equifax. Both are obligated to provide correct information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Equifax aims to resolve all disputed claims within 30 days of the dispute being initiated. When you initiate a dispute, Equifax will prompt you to submit a Research Request form via the Member Center of your account. Upon receiving the completed Research Request form, Equifax will forward a request for verification to the reporting entity. After completion of the verification process, Equifax will notify you in writing of the results.

Additionally, only information contained in the Public Records and Credit Data sections of the report may be changed as a result of a dispute. For other sections, your business may provide a statement of explanation and further documentation to be reviewed.

When you initiate a dispute, be sure to clearly identify the disputed item on your report, provide facts and information that prove an error was made, and request deletion or correction. Equifax also notes that if you find an error on their report, you may want to try getting your credit report from a different bureau to see if the issue persists elsewhere.

Equifax offers one of the best credit reporting options on the market for small businesses. If the score isn’t quite what you’d hoped it would be, read our guide on how to improve your business credit score. If Equifax gives you a strong score, it opens your business up to a myriad of financial opportunities. Furthermore, if you have a strong business credit score, you probably have a good idea of what you need to do to make the most of those opportunities and continue growing your business.

Square costs fall into one of three categories: per-use fees for payment processing, a monthly subscription cost for software and the price of any Square hardware you buy.

The basic Square point-of-sale app is free to use. You’ll only pay the standard transaction fee of 2.6% plus 10 cents for each in-person card payment. If you want to move beyond basic software features, or if you want hardware to make it easier to accept payments, additional costs apply.

Square is a point-of-sale system that includes payment processing services. Its wide range of tools makes it a good option for a variety of small business types, including specific versions for restaurants and retail.

In addition to point of sale, the company has grown its product suite to include an e-commerce website builder, appointment scheduling software, customer loyalty programs and more. While a few can work as stand-alone products, like payment links, most are best suited when paired with Square’s POS system.

Square charges a flat fee that varies depending on whether the card was used in person, online or if the merchant entered the card manually without the customer present.

All of Square’s flat fees consist of two parts: a percentage and a set amount. So the total percentage of each sale you can plan to pay in processing fees depends on your average ticket size.

Some premium Square software subscription levels come with cheaper flat rates. And Square does provide custom rates to some businesses — generally those doing more than $250,000 in business with Square per year with an average sale of more than $15.

You’re charged an in-person fee whenever a customer uses your card reader to swipe, dip or tap their card. These types of transactions have the lowest fees:

• 2.6% plus 10 cents for card payments in most locations.

• 2.5% plus 10 cents for card payments if you subscribe to Square’s premium plan for retail stores, called Retail Plus ($60 per month).

Customers can enter and submit their card information online in a variety of ways, including on a website built with Square, an invoice or a payment link. You’ll pay:

• 2.9% plus 30 cents.

• 2.6% plus 30 cents if you use the Square Premium website ($72 per month).

Card-not-present transactions take place when the merchant enters a customer’s card information — perhaps taking an order over the phone. This type of transaction includes “card on file” transactions, which is when a customer keeps their card information on file with the merchant and authorizes its use in advance. With these types of transactions, you’ll pay:

• 3.5% plus 15 cents.

All subscriptions are month-to-month, and users can cancel at any time without penalty.

Create and host a website with Square. Syncs with all POS systems.

You can project what it will cost to use Square by considering each type of cost:

• Hardware. This is a one-time cost you’ll pay upfront (Square does offer financing options). Make sure to factor in the cost of a mobile device if you plan to use one along with any accessories you’ll need.

• Software subscription. Depending on your business needs, you might be able to save money by using Square’s free software option. But as you grow or your needs change, you might want the features found in a premium version of Square POS or add-on services, like a customer loyalty program. It might be helpful to budget for both a low-end and a high-end setup.

• Payment processing. Your sales volume will have the biggest impact on what you pay for payment processing. Because this fee is linked to sales, it will also fluctuate from month to month. However, another factor to consider is where you’ll accept card payments. If you accept payments in person and online, compare how your costs change depending on where payments take place.

Whether you’re planning for college or thinking about retraining, consider setting your sights on jobs that will be most in demand in the future. Not the sci-fi “hotel concierge on Mars” future, but the next-decade future.

The best jobs for the future are ones that are expected to grow and pay well between now and 2030. The most in-demand jobs on this list come from data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook — a guide that includes information on work, training and education, earnings and future job prospects for hundreds of different occupations.

This list includes jobs with an annual projected growth rate that’s much faster than average and a high projected number of new positions (50,000 or more).

We included jobs with median pay that starts at $34,000 a year — ones that provide, at minimum, a subsistence wage for an individual. The availability of training programs and employment — as well as wages — will largely depend on where you live, along with your education level and other demographic factors.

Here’s what jobs will be in demand in the future:

For all jobs that require more than a high school diploma to enter, you’ll likely need some level of postsecondary education. The type of education you’ll need will depend entirely on the field you plan to enter and may range anywhere from a certificate to a Ph.D. These programs vary in cost.

A Coverdell education savings account is a tax-advantaged trust or custodial account used to save for educational expenses. Contributions to Coverdell accounts can total up to $2,000 a year and are tax deferred, meaning any growth in the account would not be subject to income or capital gains taxes when the beneficiary pulls money out, provided that it goes toward qualified educational expenses. And while saving for college is why many people use a Coverdell ESA, the account can also be used toward eligible K-12 expenses.

There are several rules and stipulations regarding who can open a Coverdell ESA and how much you’re able to contribute.

To open a Coverdell education savings account, you must meet certain criteria.  The IRS’ stipulations include:

• The designated beneficiary for the Coverdell must be under 18 years old. There can be exceptions to this rule if the beneficiary has special needs.

• The account has to be defined as a Coverdell ESA on the day it is opened.

• The documents used to open and establish the account have to be in writing.

You can have more than one Coverdell account for a beneficiary, but the total contribution to all accounts cannot exceed $2,000 per year. Similar to the rules concerning individual retirement accounts, you can make your annual contribution to an ESA up until the tax filing deadline for that year.

There are income limits on who can open a Coverdell account, and they depend on your modified adjusted growth income and filing status. If you file your taxes jointly and your MAGI is under $190,000 per year ($95,000 for single filers), you’re eligible to contribute the full amount. Those with a higher MAGI will see the amount they can contribute reduced. And if your MAGI is above $220,000 per year ($110,000 for single filers), you aren’t eligible to contribute to a Coverdell ESA.

Generally speaking, the beneficiary of a Coverdell ESA will be able to draw money from the account tax-free, as long as the money is put toward qualified educational expenses. The range of what qualifies is fairly broad: Funds can be used for tuition, books and supplies, tutoring, and in some cases transportation or room and board.

Nonqualified distributions are taxable to the beneficiary, along with a 10% penalty, so it’s important to understand whether an expense will be considered qualified before taking a distribution. If you’re unsure about whether a distribution meets the criteria, you may want to consult with a tax advisor to avoid making a costly error.

Any remaining funds in a Coverdell ESA must be distributed when the beneficiary of the account turns 30 (again, there are exceptions if the beneficiary has special needs). If the distribution at age 30 doesn’t qualify as an educational expense, the taxes and 10% penalty would apply to the beneficiary of the account. However, you are allowed once a year to change the beneficiary of a Coverdell account to another family member.

If you don’t qualify to contribute to a Coverdell ESA, there are other ways to save toward education, including 529 plans. ESAs and 529 plans are similar in that contributions are considered tax-deferred. However, there are a few key differences between the two.

In order to open a Coverdell ESA, the beneficiary of the account must be under 18 at the time, and the funds must be distributed once the beneficiary turns 30.

Unlike ESAs, 529 plans don’t have age restrictions. The beneficiary of a 529 plan can be any age when the account is established, and there is no limit on when the funds can be used.

If you earn above a certain level of income, you may be ineligible to open or contribute to a Coverdell ESA. Higher earners looking for tax-deferred savings toward education might consider opening a 529 plan instead, as they don’t have an income restriction on contributions.

While Coverdell ESAs begin phasing down contribution limits for single filers with a modified adjusted gross income above $95,000 (or $190,000 for joint filers) and are unavailable to those with a MAGI above $110,000 (or $220,000), a 529 plan has no limit on annual contributions.

That said, with a 529, if you contribute more than $15,000 in one year per beneficiary ($30,000 for joint filers), you may be subject to gift taxes. With 529 plans, you are allowed to front-load contributions for up to five years without triggering a gift tax, meaning you could contribute $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers) at one time, but any additional contributions toward the same beneficiary over the next five years would be subject to gift taxes.

There is no limit on withdrawals from 529 plans used for qualified college expenses. However, you are limited to $10,000 per year of withdrawals for qualifying K-12 expenses. Coverdell ESAs do not have any limits or restrictions for educational expenses at elementary or secondary schools.

In 2019, the SECURE Act expanded the regulations on 529 plans so that you can now also take out up to $10,000 per year to repay student loans.

Generally, 529 plans have a limited selection of funds to invest in. If you open a 529 through a broker, you may also pay management fees, which can hinder your returns over time. Each state has its own 529 plan rules and regulations, so you might consult with a local financial advisor to make sure you understand what’s available in your state.

Coverdell ESAs often have more investments to choose from. Whereas a state’s 529 may offer a limited selection of funds, Coverdell ESAs can allow for self-directed investments into stocks, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.

Depending on your financial situation, opening a Coverdell ESA might be a great fit for you and your family. If you’re looking for tax-deferred savings toward education with more flexibility regarding your investment choices, then a Coverdell might make sense for you.