Small business credit cards
A lot of people associate credit cards with just personal credit
card which an individual posses and uses for shopping etc.
However, there is another category of credit cards and that is
called small business credit cards. As suggested by the name
itself, the small business credit cards are meant for small
businesses or people running small businesses.
So how does the small business credit card differ from the other
credit cards in general?
The very obvious difference is that small business credit cards
have the credit account in the name of the small business and
not any individual, though the benefits indirectly accrue to the
business owner. The other difference is with the terms and
conditions that come with the small business credit cards.
Finally, there are some subtle benefits with small business
credit cards which would not be applicable to personal credit
cards. Let's check all these things one by one.
We know that the credit cards provide a lot of convenience and
security for an individual and a lot of other benefits too. Most
of the benefits related to personal credit cards apply here too.
What is interesting here is the indirect benefits that ensue
from using a small business credit card.
The indirect benefits associated with small business credit
cards are so great that it makes them almost indispensable. The
most important benefit is that you can easily segregate your
business and personal expenses. So if you have been wasting a
lot of time keeping track of your business bills and trying to
keep them separate from personal bills, small business credit
cards could help. You just need to ensure that you always make
all your business payments using your small business credit
card. When the credit card bill comes at the month end, you will
have itemized account of all the business expenses as a single
document. Thus small business cards reduce (and in some cases
completely remove) the need for bookkeeping for a small
business. The credit card company does that for you for free,
although indirectly.
Another important benefit comes from rolling credit. If you have
to pay for your purchases upfront and still invoice your clients
later (a situation faced very often with small businesses), you
can roll the credit, you are providing your client with, to your
credit card. Moreover, since these purchases are mostly urgent,
arranging for money immediately can sometimes be a problem. In
such cases, the small business credit card is the one which can
bail you out. Well, if you are thinking that your personal
credit card could do the same for you, you are a bit off the
track on two fronts. Firstly, you want to keep your business
expenses separate from your personal expenses and secondly, the
APR on business cards is generally lower as compared to personal
credit cards. A lot of the small business credit cards don't
require you to pay an annual fee even.
So if you run a small business but haven't got a small business
credit card yet, it's about time that you considered this
wonderful option.