What Your Mama Never Told You About Business Credit Cards
by Bidhi mathur

You may have watched your mama use a credit card many times at the grocery store, at the mall, or paying for gas at the local convenient store. But, did she ever explain to you the difference between a personal credit card and a business credit card or anything at all about a business credit card?

To begin with, you can use your business credit for any business purchase that accepts credit cards just like a personal credit card. So, they are the same in the way that you can purchase items. But, a business credit card is issued based on the company’s credit rating instead of your own personal credit rating. Business credit cards also have different spending controls such as restricting the usage for different types of trade categories or even cash withdraws from an ATM machine.

A business credit card also comes with management information and reporting services to help you run your business effectively and also know where the money is being spent.

Many business credit cards also have some other great features that personal credit cards holders do not get the benefit of which includes insurance and discounts that are relevant to your business.

There are also more benefits when using a business credit card that a personal credit card does not give to their bearers. They not only benefit the company itself, but also the card holder. These benefits include, a business credit card is safer to carry than cash, are cheaper than making bank transfers or sending checks, allows the company to control the spending of each cardholder, and can also consolidate payments. When you think of these benefits, you will realize that a business credit card can save your company money and give your employees that need the money to function better in their roles as partners, sales persons or just spokes persons for your company.

For management, a business credit card will give you more information so you can analyze the way your company spends money, help with budgeting, help identify savings opportunities, and even negotiate better rates with your suppliers, while helping you enforce your business outgoing funds and your preferred supplier policies.

There are many ways in which a business credit card holder can use their credit card. For traveling, a business credit card can be used at hotels, restaurants, car rental agencies, train stations, airlines, travel agency charges, foreign currency and travelers checks. For driving, a business credit card can be used for fuel, servicing, repairs, congestion charges and fines. For telephony a business credit card can be used for mobile phones, and business telephone bills and calling cards. Around the office a business credit card can be used to purchase stationary and office supplies, including office or business equipment. Retail business purchases can also be made with a business credit including not only local retail stores, but also mail order, telephone and internet purchases. You can even receive cash withdraws through your bank or ATM machine if authorized by the company.