Small Business Credit Cards: Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Need Them — Surfing on the web this week, I was thinking a lot about small business credit cards and I found an interesting article that talked about reasons why entrepreneurs need small business credit cards. It was very informative and made me realize how small business credit cards help many businesses. I’ve pasted this article below for you to check out yourself. Just make sure when you’re done, you come back up and check out this link.
Why Entrepreneurs Need Small Business Credit Cards
By Chris P
Small business credit cards are a special type of credit cards that are meant for use by small business (as opposed to the normal credit cards or personal credit cards which are meant for the use of an individual). Some people wonder why they should go for a small business credit card when they already have one or more personal credit cards.
This is a very valid question indeed. By logic, if something like small business credit cards exists in market as a separate entity altogether, there must be a special need for it. It must have some features which are useful to small businesses in particular. Though there are a lot of similarities between personal and small business credit cards (of course there would be similarities since both of them are credit cards after all), there are a few differences too. These differences are mainly in terms of the flexible credit limit, lower APR offers and attractive terms and conditions which are better for small business credit cards.
Besides all the benefits which are quoted for credit cards and the additional attractive offers, there is another important reason for going for a small business credit card. The reason is business expense accounting. A lot of small businesses face this is as a major challenge. One needs to keep track of each and every business expense and log the information somewhere for the purpose of business expense accounting. Business expense accounting is needed not only for tax purpose but also for financial strategy evaluation and budget tracking. Generally speaking, two main problems quoted for small business expense accounting are business expense segregation and expense classification.
By using your small business credit card for all your small business outgo, you can very easily separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. This will thus solve your business expense separation problem. What you receive on your small business credit card bill is your business expense directly. Moreover, this report is something which your tax consultant will love too.
The second problem is also solved automatically. Most small business credit cards also group together the business expenses under proper heads. Some credit cards even provide credit card statement as data feeds which can be directly fed into accounting software. Just imagine how much hassle you are saved from with this business accounting feature. Wonderful, isn’t it?
The other great thing about small business credit cards is the help they offer in terms of managing the expense peaks. Though such variations are part of almost every business, they are even more critical for small businesses. So when that need for immediate purchase arises, you wouldn’t need to worry if you had the backing of a small business credit card. Also, generally small business have to pay first and receive later i.e. make payments for purchases before receiving payments for services/goods, so small business credit card also acts as an intermediary who fills in the time gap at little or no additional cost.
The credit card membership benefits are at its best when it comes to small business credit cards. There are discounted ticket offers, car rental offers, gift offers and many other good offers for small business credit card holders. Just check all such benefits that might be available on your small business credit card and ensure that you use them whenever and wherever required.
The small business credit cards are ranked higher by the credit card suppliers too. So everything associated with a small business credit card, including the customer service, is better than the personal credit cards.
Thus, small business credit cards aren’t something that a small business owner can afford to miss especially with what all it offers.
You can find more about small business cards at http://www.smallbusinesscards.org
Certainly, small business credit cards not only help you pay for business related expenses, but they also provide myriad benefits to credit card holders including expense management, detailed statements, frequent flyer miles, cash back, and reward points! Thus, small business credit cards are an asset for any small business owner!
The benefits you’ve outlined for business credit cards are certainly true, but business owners should also consider the fact that small business credit cards are not protected under the CARD Act the way that general consumer credit cards are. Small business credit cards are not protected from sudden interest rate increases, which make them unpredictable when using them to carry a large balance. Therefore, I would recommend that business owners use a general consumer credit card for purposes for which they need to carry a large balance (such as funding) and use business credit cards for purposes that they know they can pay back in full right away.
Credit cards and small loans can steal your happiness.
Don’t try it in life please.