Please list the account numbers for your trade references.
A reference needs a supplier's name and a contact person. Account numbers given to a stranger can be used against that account.
Finance & AccountingForms
Credit application for business accounts: what to ask and what to leave out
A credit application asks a business customer for what you need to decide whether to open a credit account and on what terms. It should identify the business, the accounts payable contact, the credit limit and invoice terms requested, and the trade references you can contact. It should leave out tax identifiers and bank numbers, and the decision belongs to your credit policy rather than to the form.
What people search
Credit application: 5,400 average monthly searches.Google Ads Keyword Planner · 2026-10-09 · United States
Field blueprint
Business details a credit team needs
| Field | Type | Required | Why you ask it |
|---|---|---|---|
The business | Section header | Starts the section that identifies the company asking for credit. | |
Legal business name | Short text | Required | The name on the business's registration. Your credit file and any reference checks must use the same name. |
Trade or doing-business-as name | Short text | Optional | Helps your team match orders that were placed under a shorter or different name. |
Business address | Long text | Required | Where statements and credit notices go, and where your team can confirm the business exists. |
Business typeCorporationLLCPartnershipSole proprietorshipOther or not sure | Single choice | Required | Helps your team decide which tax form and which guarantee rules apply. Your counsel should confirm those rules. |
Years in business | Number | Required | A rough track record. Your credit policy decides how much weight it gets. |
Tax form statusTax form sent through our secure processNot yet providedNot applicable | Single choice | Required | Shows whether the business's tax form is already on file. The number on that form does not go into this one. |
Accounts payable contact name | Short text | Required | Who handles invoices and questions about the account statement. |
Accounts payable contact email | Required | Where invoices, statements and the credit decision are sent. | |
Requested credit limitEnter whole US dollars. | Number | Required | The most the business asks to owe at one time, in US dollars. Your team sets the approved limit separately. |
Requested invoice termsNet 15Net 30Net 45Other, to be agreed in writing | Dropdown | Required | Records the terms asked for, so the decision and the account setup start from the same point. |
Expected monthly purchases | Number | Optional | Helps the credit team size the account. It is an estimate, not a commitment. |
Trade reference company | Short text | Required | Another supplier that extends credit to this business. Give the company name only, never account numbers. |
Trade reference contact | Short text | Required | The person at that supplier who can speak to the account history. |
Trade reference phone | Phone | Optional | Lets your team call the reference. Look the number up yourself rather than relying on the one written on the application. |
Owner who would guarantee the accountOnly if your credit policy requires a personal guarantee. Never enter a Social Security number here. | Short text | Optional | Names the owner who would stand behind the account if your policy requires a personal guarantee. Counsel should set that wording. |
Credit authorizationI agree to the credit authorization wording shown aboveI do not agree | Single choice | Required | Records consent to the checks described in the authorization wording. Have your counsel write and review that wording before you use the form. |
A filled example
Example: a builder opening a trade account
Example only, not a real submission
- Legal business name
- Maple Street Builders LLC (fictional)
- Business type
- LLC
- Years in business
- 9 (example)
- Accounts payable contact name
- Jordan Lee (example)
- Requested credit limit
- $15,000 (example)
- Requested invoice terms
- Net 30 (example)
- Trade reference company
- Lumber Supply Co. (fictional)
- Trade reference contact
- Credit department account manager (example)
- Credit authorization
- I agree to the credit authorization wording shown above
Questions to leave out
Details this form should not collect
What is your personal credit score?
Personal credit is individual information with its own rules. Ask your counsel before requesting it for a business account, and keep it out of this form.
Do you agree to our late fees and interest charges?
Fees and charges belong in written account terms that counsel has reviewed. A checkbox on an application is not a complete agreement to them.
Try it
Try the form
After a response arrives
From application to credit decision
Do not expect a same-day answer
Applications wait in storage until the hourly production run. After that, only the form's creator is notified, so the applicant should not be promised a same-day decision.
Check references on numbers you look up
Call each trade reference on a number you find yourself, not the one on the application. Record what the reference says and when you spoke.
Decide under your credit policy
The form does not score or approve credit. Your credit team applies its own policy and records the approved limit and terms in your accounts system.
File the authorization with the application
Keep the authorization response and the reference notes with the application. The file should contain no Social Security numbers and no bank account numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What is a credit application?
It is a business's request for an account to buy now and pay later under agreed terms. The company extending the credit uses the answers to set the limit and the terms. The form is the intake, and the decision follows your credit policy.
Is this a credit card application?
No. A consumer credit card is issued by a card company under its own terms and checks. This page is for a business that extends trade or account credit to a customer. A business owner applying to a card company should use that company's own application.
Can I use this form to check a person's credit?
Talk to your counsel first. Personal credit information has its own rules, which differ from business credit, and the answer depends on how you would use it. Keep personal credit questions out of this form unless counsel approves them.
Do I need a credit application template?
A template helps keep the questions consistent, but keep only the fields your credit policy uses. Have your counsel review the authorization wording before you share the form. Keep sensitive numbers out of it, because it is shared by link.
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