In plain English
Terms are a privilege, not a right. When a supplier grants them they are extending credit out of their own working capital and accepting the risk of a loss.
The way to a bigger limit is not to ask for one. It is to make a supplier comfortable taking more risk on your business: clean statements, predictable volume, payments that land early, and a phone call before there is ever a problem.
Example
A supplier opens your account at a $10,000 limit on Net 30, and reviews it after six months of payment history.
Why it matters
Your credit line is someone else's confidence in your business expressed in dollars.
COMMON MISTAKEStretching terms across several suppliers at once to fund a load. Credit departments talk to each other.