Staples Net 30 Review
Staples is one of today’s top retailers for office supplies and equipment, shipping supplies, electronics, and more.
If you’re looking to make Staples purchases while at the same time building business credit, you’ll likely be interested in their net 30 account.
Our Staples Net 30 Review
Overall, this is a great account for improving your business credit history, and Staples has an extensive product catalog with continual deals and discounts.
The only downside is that a business must have at least 20 employees to be eligible for net 30 payment terms.
Key Selling Points:
- Staples Reports to Dun & Bradstreet
- They Sell Over 20,000 Brand Name Products
- Staples Offers Frequent Deals and Discounts
One of the first things most business owners want to know before signing up for net 30 payment terms is which business credit bureaus a vendor reports to.
For Staples, it’s Dun & Bradstreet.
While it’s ideal for a vendor to report to other credit bureaus like Experian Business and Equifax Business, D&B is often the preferred business credit bureau of the three.
That’s because many lenders look at PAYDEX scores when determining eligibility for a business credit card, a business loan, or other payment financing.
If you prefer to do business with a vendor that reports to D&B, Staples should be a good fit.
Similarly to building personal credit, maintaining a positive payment history with a business account should raise your business credit score, which can make your company more appealing when applying for future payment financing.
Plus, it should help you negotiate more favorable credit terms, like low interest on a credit card and higher credit limits.
When it comes to inventory, the consumer Staples sector has a truly impressive catalog.
As of late 2023, they offered over 20,000 brand-name products, which means you can find nearly anything you need to supply your business conveniently from a single retailer.
While there are plenty of other business account vendors available like Office Depot and Summa Office Supplies, it’s hard to argue with the sheer inventory volume that Staples offers.
Here are just a few product categories they carry:
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Office supplies
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Office equipment
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Shipping supplies
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Electronics
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Computers
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Furniture
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Cleaning supplies
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Safety supplies
It should also be noted that not all large retailers offer net 30 programs with trade credit. Office Depot and Home Depot, for example, don’t currently offer them.
We also like how simple Staples makes it to find what you’re looking for. Their website is highly intuitive and allows you to quickly narrow your search down with zero hassle.
So if you’re looking for a one-stop shop office products vendor with a massive catalog and net 30 payment terms, this is a good choice.
The final main selling point of this net 30 account is the savings and rewards.
According to Staples, “Customers save 10% every day vs. a major competitor,” and “next-day delivery is available to 98% of the US.”
They almost always have deals and discounts on a variety of office supplies and other products, which can easily be found on their website.
And while other competitors, like Office Depot, offer deals as well, we feel Staples is more robust. They even have specific sections of their site dedicated to My Deals and Clearance items.
The money saved can be beneficial to business owners and can really add up over time. So if you want a vendor that’s generous with savings, you’ll definitely want to consider a Staples business account.
Staples Net 30 Account Requirements
To get net 30 terms, you’ll need to have a Staples Business Advantage account.
Staples states this is intended for businesses with at least 20 employees. Therefore, if you’re a small business owner with only a handful of employees, this won’t be the right vendor for you.
If this is the case, here’s some related content featuring other net 30 vendors we’ve covered:
Other vendors in non-related industries include Creative Analytics Net 30, The CEO Creative Net 30, Business T Shirt Club, and Wise Business Plan.
Besides meeting the 20-employee criteria, to be eligible you’ll also need to have been in business for at least one year and have an EIN and a DUNS number.
Staples doesn’t directly specify the other information requested during an application, but it likely includes key financials like net income, capital gains, business fund info, and mutual fund shares.
In terms of the minimum purchase amount, Staples doesn’t state what that is either. However, most vendors have a minimum payment amount of around $50. As for the credit limit, it’s currently $1,000, which is more than what many other vendors offer.
You can learn more about getting a Staples Business Advantage account and sign up here.
Tips for Building Business Credit with Your Staples Account
Every business credit score operates differently. One of the most famous business credit scores is the D&B PAYDEX Score. It keeps track of your vendor accounts and their payment history.
The PAYDEX Score actually awards you for paying your account early. In fact, you can’t get a perfect PAYDEX Score without doing so!
So our advice is to pay your accounts early and often. The timeliness of your payments is a much bigger factor of your business credit scores than it is of your personal credit scores. In fact, sometimes as much as 60% of your business credit score is calculated by timeliness.
So make sure to pay early!
The good news is that many vendors want to reward their customers for good payment activity. If you establish a track record of paying early, they’ll often allow you to purchase bigger amounts on terms or bigger lines of credit.
How to Use Your Net 30 Accounts
Once you have a net 30 account to pay for your office supplies, where do you go from there?
If you’re just starting out in your business credit journey, you won’t be able to qualify for a Staples account. That’s why we listed the other office supply vendor accounts that are easier to qualify for.
To build your business credit, you need around ten business credit “experiences” to build good business credit scores and reports. From there, you can start applying for business credit cards and other financial tradelines that are more tier 2 or tier 3 level.
Tier 2 and 3 opportunities include fuel cards, certain auto financing companies, and big company accounts, such as New Egg, Apple, John Deer, United Airlines, and even certain banks. You have to stair-step your business’s credit.
Each step unlocks better financing opportunities with bigger funding amounts, lower rates and more flexible terms.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to access more funding for your business, it’s to do so with less risk. You want to be able to qualify for financing that doesn’t require your personal credit to qualify, doesn’t report payments to your personal credit reports, and doesn’t require a personal guarantee on your assets.
That’s the power of business credit.
Building business credit can be difficult because it takes quite a bit of work, and you’ll have to incur costs that you otherwise wouldn’t. Trade credit is an essential part of financing your business’s operations because it’s the easiest way to get started.
Many vendors and suppliers that you do business with may not be reporting your payments to the credit bureaus. Most don’t, because they don’t want to incur the cost and the hassle. In the section below, we’ll explain how eCredable can help you build your business credit with those same vendors by reporting those payments for you.
Quickly Grow Your Business Credit Score with eCredable
Net 30 accounts serve a dual purpose, as they offer flexible payment terms with financing and allow you to build business credit.
And while having flexible payment terms and extra cash flow is certainly appealing, it’s the business credit report boost that most small business owners are after.
One way to build business credit quickly without being limited to a net 30 account is by using a tool like eCredable. With eCredable, you can have business bills like electricity, water, internet, and gas reported to business credit bureaus.
Once you sign up, eCredable will automatically attempt to report up to the last two years of your business bills for an instant bump to your business credit. In fact, most small business owners can raise their business credit score by as much as 40% within three months.
By doing so, you should be positioned for more attractive financing opportunities like a business credit card with favorable terms and low-interest payment business loans.
Learn more about eCredable and see how it can take your business credit to the next level.