As a business owner, you may have heard it’s smart to establish and monitor business credit. If you’re already using a service like Credit Karma to monitor your personal credit, the next logical question is whether business credit building is available through Credit Karma.

Here’s how Credit Karma* and its credit builder product works for entrepreneurs. 

Who Is Credit Karma Credit Builder For?

Credit Karma’s Credit Builder is a credit builder account. This type of account allows you to save toward a savings account with payments that are reported to credit bureaus, that can help you build credit. 

According to Credit Karma, members with a TransUnion credit score of 619 or below at the time of application may be invited to apply for Credit Builder. You probably won’t see this offer if your credit score is over 619, however it is mentioned on the public Credit Karma website. 

Here’s how Credit Karma describes its Credit Builder product: 

“When you open Credit Builder, we open a Credit Builder Savings Account and Line of Credit in your name. These banking services are provided by our bank partner, Cross River Bank, Member FDIC.

You decide how much you want to save each paycheck, and that amount is transferred from your Line of Credit to your locked Credit Builder savings account every pay period. This transfer is done automatically when you enroll in our optional AutoSave Program or can be manually initiated by you.

Every statement period (which we  align to your pay periods), you pay off the total amount of savings you have added from your Line of Credit to your locked Credit Builder Savings Account during that period. We report your payments to all three credit bureaus.

Every time you save $500 that amount is available for you to use. Want to access the money to cover expenses? Go for it. Want to keep that $500 safe for a rainy day? Kudos.”

To open your account, you’ll need to make qualifying deposits:

 (1) make a Direct Deposit totaling at least $750 in the 2 calendar months before application or within a calendar month 90 days after application or (2) successfully setting up a regularly scheduled direct deposit through Direct Deposit through Credit Karma Money’s Direct Deposit Switch service.

Note that direct deposits must be “payroll, salary or government benefits,” which may not make this account ideal for entrepreneurs who do not earn a salary, either through formal payroll in their business or through a day job. 

If that’s you, consider other types of credit builder accounts. 

Is Credit Karma Credit Builder a Good Idea?

If you need to establish a positive payment history from a revolving credit account on your personal credit reports, and you have money coming from a job or government benefits that you can use to meet the direct deposit requirement. 

It’s different from many other credit builder accounts in that it offers a line of credit versus an installment account. An installment account is one with fixed payments, similar to an auto loan, mortgage or student loan. A line of credit is a revolving account, and more like a credit card. 

If you need this type of account, and you qualify, and you don’t want to use an alternative type of card to help build your personal credit, this may be a viable option. It charges no fees, which is appealing. 

Credit Karma says on its website that “members with a TransUnion credit score of 619 or below who opened a Credit Builder plan and had it reported on their TransUnion report saw an average credit score increase of 21 points in 4 days of activating the plan.” Again, these results apply to personal credit, not business credit. 

Does My Business Account Have a Credit Score?

Yes your business can have its own credit scores with the major business credit bureaus including Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Equifax. 

Does Credit Karma Allow Businesses to Log In? 

You’ll need to set up a personal account to use Credit Karma. It does not currently offer business credit files or business credit scores. 

Logging into Credit Karma at CreditKarma.com, you’ll see your credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax, calculated using the VantageScore 3.0. In addition to your credit profile, you’ll also see recommendations for credit cards, insurance, and other financial offers. 

How Do You Check Business Credit Scores?

You can purchase business credit reports and business credit scores from the major business credit reporting agencies; however, purchasing credit reports individually can be expensive.  

With Nav Prime you’ll get Detailed Credit Reports. Nav is the only place to provide both personal and business credit data from five reports. 

Get up to two active business tradelines with Nav Prime — one from your monthly Nav Prime payment and one from regular use of your Nav Prime Card.*** These tradelines can build your business credit history.

How To Get Your Business Credit Score From Credit Karma

You cannot currently get business credit scores from Credit Karma. 

Are There Better Business Credit Building Services? 

With Nav Prime, you’ll get a tradeline submitted to the major business credit bureaus that can help you build business credit. The majority of customers that use Nav tradeline reporting at least six months continue to see positive business credit score changes.**

Pro Tip: 

Nav not only makes it easy for small business owners to manage business credit scores, but also to improve them with tradelines.

Are There Specialty Apps Built Specifically for Business Credit Score Checks?

Yes, the Nav Business Financial Health app (available in Google Play and in the App Store) makes it easy to check and monitor your business credit from major bureaus, monitor your cash flow, and more.  

Nav Business Credit Check vs Credit Karma

For business owners, establishing business credit, then monitoring your business credit scores is valuable, as is building good personal credit. Strong business credit can unlock better small business loans, better interest rates, as well as opportunities to grow your business. 

Nav offers credit checks and credit monitoring for both personal and business credit. 

Credit Karma offers free credit reports and personal credit scores. It does not offer business credit reports or scores. 

Nav Prime vs Credit Karma

Nav Prime offers tools for small business owners, while Credit Karma is designed for individuals. 

Nav Prime gives business owners: 

• Detailed Credit Reports: access data lenders actually see
• Tradelines: boost business credit scores from Nav Prime payments.
• Nav Business Checking: New funding options where you do your banking
• Cash Flow Health tool: Monitor and analyze your cash flow across your business accounts, and get real-time alerts

Nav also recommends the best business credit cards based on personal creditworthiness, as well as personal and business data. 

Credit Karma also recommends personal and business credit cards based on personal credit history and other personal finance information. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Credit Karma have a business log in?

You’ll sign up as an individual for Credit Karma, using your personal name, address, Social Security number, and other details. There is no log in specifically for small businesses.

Does logging into Credit Karma or Nav affect your credit scores?

No, checking your credit scores through Credit Karma or Nav creates a “soft inquiry” which does not affect your credit scores. 

*Information about Intuit Credit Karma was gathered independently by Nav. 

**Based upon the aggregate percentage of Nav customers with positive score changes, nearly 70% of customers continue to see positive business credit score changes across business credit bureaus by keeping their Nav tradeline at least a year.

***Nav Technologies, Inc. is a financial technology company and not a bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. The Nav Visa® Business Debit Card and the Nav Prime Charge Card are issued by Thread Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa cards are accepted. See Cardholder Terms for additional details. FDIC insurance is available for funds on deposit through Thread Bank, Member FDIC. All other features of the Nav Prime membership are not associated with Thread Bank.