Business Credit Cards Guide

Summary: The article tries to provide an introduction to business credit card and some simple tips for selecting a good credit card for your business.

Business credit cards are a helping hand for those entrepreneurs who are running their own businesses. A business credit card not only acts as a line of credit but can also help to provide you enough control in managing your company s finances and cash. When business credit cards were first introduced it was mainly aimed towards corporate executives. However, this trend has changed and nowadays even small business owners can acquire business credit cards fairly easily. Business credit cards have become a versatile tool which allows business owners to utilize effectively over time as their business needs change. A majority of the business credit cards come with a wide range of features including cash advances, cash rewards, airline miles, one-call emergency service, and insurance coverage. The features included in a business credit card vary from one card provider to the other, but most of the credit card companies offer an attractive introductory rate for the first few months from the date of opening your account. After that initial period the customer will be required to pay a higher ongoing APR and the card also might require an annual membership fee. One of the major advantages of a business credit card is that it provides a significant increase in financial control. The cards allow you to simplify and manage your business expenses well, eliminating the need to use a personal credit card for business expenses. Another most important feature of a business credit card is that small business owners can make use of these little pieces of plastic to provide financing or emergency "bridge loans" for their business when stuck in cash flow shortages. And even thought it is not explicitly stated in the business card features, business owners have made use of business credit cards for start-up funding as well. Nowadays, there are myriad small and medium sized companies which make use of business credit cards as an efficient financing tool. There is a wide variety of credit card issuers that offer business credit cards with various schemes and features. Because of the many opportunities available, it is highly recommended to thoroughly contrast and compare business credit cards to select the ideal card best suited to your specific business needs. Tips for Choosing a Business Credit Card Before you apply for a credit limit on a business credit, make an estimate of your monthly business expenses and your history of repayment. Make sure that you apply for a credit limit that you know is within the bounds of your expense limitations, but equally important, will also take into account the growing needs of your business. If you have several employees working under you, you need to determine how many cards your business may need and which employees will require cards for business expenses. Obviously, before you issue cards to any employees make absolutely sure that they are trustworthy. Also, make sure that during this process that you determine your business requirements for ancillary services. That is, if you or your employee has to travel regularly for business needs, then it is a good idea to find out those business credit card issuers who offer free air miles, travel insurance, and hotel discounts. Be careful about the introductory interest rates offered by business credit card issuers. Most of these offers are designed to entice new customers and after an initial period of six months to one year, the interest rates will increase substantially. So when comparing business credit cards, one of the most important things to check is the regular interest rate versus the introductory APR and which card compares favorably in that regard. So if you are planning to start a new business venture, try to utilize the entire suite of benefits that a business credit card offers that can fund, track and reward your business activities.