Business Credit Cards
Credit cards are obviously an invaluable thing to have in a pinch. If you are not convinced just ask someone who has been in the unfortunate position of being stuck on the road in the middle of the night with car trouble, or the person who finds himself in the emergency room after a car accident. It does not even have to be such a serious situation; it could be something as seemingly trivial as running out of cash in a crowded grocery line or finding a tremendously good deal in a shopping mall. In all these situations and so much more, credit cards can indeed save the day.
One other use of credit cards, which many people are probably not aware of, is as a tool for business. One of the biggest advantages to this usage is that it allows you to keep your business related financial transactions separate from your personal ones. Obviously, this is tremendously useful for medium to large-scale businesses, but even smaller startup operations can greatly benefit from this approach.
Before you decide on any particular business credit card, you should figure out exactly how much money you will need for your company every month. This will help you pinpoint the credit limit that you should aim for.
You should also check out as many different business credit cards as possible so that you can compare features. Different card companies will have varying interest rates, customer service procedures, branch access, protection, and miscellaneous fees. This would also be a good time to determine how many business credit cards you really need. Depending on the size of your operations, you may actually need more than one or two. Make a list of a few of your employees who need credit cards in their line of work, and if you feel that they are responsible enough to handle it, those are the people you need to give credit cards to. It may be a small matter but you may want to go with a credit card company that offers perks as part of the contract. These can be anything from airline miles to hotel, restaurant and even department store discounts. This will give you an idea of how the particular company values its customers.
Finally, you will probably want to go with a credit card company that has made a name for itself. More often than not, these will likely be the major companies such as Visa, American Express, and MasterCard. Companies such as these have been in the business for a long time and have a generally excellent track record of good service and reliability. They will also usually provide you with access to your account record through their official web site, where you can check your balance and transactions.
When applying for a business credit card, you will typically have to wait up to 10 business days before you find out if your application has been accepted or not. If after 15 days you have not received any update regarding your application, you can either call them or send an email.
So you see, the effectiveness of a credit card is really largely a matter of personal responsibility and accountability.
