If you're a small business owner, a business credit card can be of great benefit to you. Regardless of your company's nature or ownership practices, you can separate your personal and business expenses by using a business credit card.
The method that everyone follows is to take out a special credit card in the name of the business. However, if this isn't possible or you're not interested, an alternative is to have a personal credit card that's only used for business.
A credit card for small businesses offers the same benefits as a personal card. There are also some special business credit card benefits. Let's take a look at the benefits of business credit cards:
Facility
Carrying a business credit card in your wallet is much easier than carrying a large amount of cash or check when buying something for the business. A credit card is especially useful for online transactions. With the rising popularity of digital currency, credit cards may be the only way to pay for certain goods and services.
Protection
On most cards, you'll be able to dispute the non-refundable charges on the account and avoid payment until the dispute is resolved. Many credit cards offer some form of protection if the goods you buy are lost, stolen, or undelivered.
Reduced cash flow problems
Many new business owners start working on a small budget. Even if you're temporarily short of funds, a business credit card can help you make important purchases. This will equalise your money flow.
It's easier than taking a loan.
Often, the process of getting a business credit card is faster and easier than getting a small business loan. It is very difficult to get a loan if you do not have a lot of collateral. The collateral is required for a traditional loan or business line of credit, but it is not required to get a credit card.
Tracking costs
It is available on many cards, with expenses separated by categories such as hotels, food, office supplies, etc. This will make accounting and tax filing easier. This can also be useful in the event that you are subject to a tax audit.
Helps to separate personal expenses.
To keep the figures accurate, you need to keep your personal expenses completely separate from business expenses. Having a separate credit card just for the business keeps the accounting clean and protects your personal assets without mixing them up with the assets of the business.
Helps to build company credit.
Building a good payment history can help establish and improve your company's credit score. Just as improving your personal credit score enables you to borrow more money at a lower interest rate and has a positive impact on insurance rates and your ability to rent property, the same applies to your business credit. Once the company itself has established a good credit history, personal guarantees will no longer be required.
Benefits
Business credit cards often have better benefits than personal cards, including lower interest rates, higher credit limits, longer periods before interest increases, and discounts on early payment.
Offers
A business credit card may offer more perks than your personal card, such as more points for cash-back or frequent-flyer programs, airline baggage fee discounts, airline lounge memberships, and hotel and car rental discounts. If you don't do much business travel, a general cash-back reward card may be best.
Cards for employees
Once you have a business credit card account, you may be able to get additional cards for your employees. Doing so makes it easier for the employee to conduct company business as well as helps you keep track of the employee's spending. You may be able to set a spending limit for each employee and thereby prevent an employee from exceeding their budget.
In some cases, you may only get a secured credit card at first, which guarantees a bank deposit or some other type of collateral with a smaller credit limit. Once your company has established a good payment record, you can switch to a non-recurring card and increase the credit limit.
Be sure to research carefully to determine which cards are best for your business. Also, try to get a card from a large national or local bank. This will help your company take advantage of other financial services that may be offered by such a large institution.