Your credit report is an electronic database of your credit transactions. Those transactions include agreeing to allow creditors to view your credit file, which shows as an inquiry, as well as the opening and closing of credit accounts. Your credit report also shows the payment history of those accounts.

Your credit report can also be used by a creditor or collection agency which may have a defaulted balance listed in your name

More importantly, a credit report is a record of how you use credit and how much of it you have available. If you’re late in making a monthly payment, that too shows up on your credit report.

Whether a lender is evaluating your loan request or a card company is considering whether to give you a credit card, you can count on an evaluation of your credit report to influence its decision.