Benefits of using business credit cards for startups
Startups can enjoy the many benefits of a business credit card. For one, managing your startup’s expenses will be much easier when you have dedicated cards for it.
Anything from travel and entertainment expenses to digital marketing ad payments can be easily trackable and controlled.
For a startup, business credit card benefits like rewards, cashback, and discounts are extremely useful for saving money, too. Business credit cards are a great tool for any business looking to optimize their expense management.
What are business credit cards?
To put it simply, business credit cards work in a way that keeps businesses in mind. Instead of using them for personal payments, they should be used by employees, management, and owners alike for expenses on behalf of the business.
While they function similarly to personal credit cards in terms of payment usage, business credit cards typically have additional features like higher credit limits, card expense management systems, as well as accounting integrations.
In short, as a business, you’ll be getting many benefits of a business credit card by being able to integrate your cards with existing business processes without much hassle.
Top benefits of having business credit cards for startups
Easy access to credit
Oftentimes growth requires additional funding. Luckily, one of the benefits of having a business credit card is that you’ll be able to utilize your credit limit to make time-sensitive payments that could help contribute to your growth.
There’s some leeway that can allow you to spend without greatly impacting your current cash flow.
Business credit cards for startups offer the ability to get credit easily. While requirements will depend from provider to provider, many card providers don’t require a personal guarantee for your startup to get a business credit card.
Build business credit
Businesses just starting up may find it difficult to get loans from banks. On the other hand, business credit cards are likely to be easier to get than bank loans.
By acquiring these cards for day-to-day business payments, you could be building better business credit.
It’s efficient to make use of your cards for your expenses, as you’ll be getting two benefits of a business credit card in one go. Not only do you now have access to credit to avail, but you’ll also be working toward your credit score.
Suggested read: Tips to improve your business credit score
Flexible repayment options
As there are many business credit card providers, you’ll also have a variety of payment plans and schemes available to you when considering getting business credit cards for startups.
Some providers will allow you to repay your credit bill through monthly minimum payments or pay it in full. Get your startup business credit card benefits while maintaining flexibility over your repayment options.
Do note, however, that monthly minimum payments typically come with an interest rate, so be sure that you look at what your business needs are.
It’s also possible that your credit limit will only be refreshed after your bill has been cleared.
Use cards for departmental budgets
Tracking your expenses against specific budgets is easier when you have business credit cards.
You’ll have access to multiple business credit cards that you can assign to different departments. This way, your marketing expenses won’t be mixed with your tech or operations expenses.
With some card providers, you’ll also get tools that allow you to create different budget pools within your company’s credit limit.
Break up the total credit limit for different departments and budgets to ensure that everything stays within their given budget.
Immediate fund access
Even when you’ve scored some big customers who contribute to a lot of your cash inflow, there’s a huge chance that you may have to wait a few weeks or even months until their payments have been cleared.
In the meantime, you may be unable to make a lot of expenses. This is where business credit cards come in. You don’t want to miss out on time-sensitive growth opportunities as a startup.
Business credit card benefits like immediate fund access will allow you to jump on these opportunities and make expenses immediately without worrying about any delays.
Eliminate reimbursement process
It’s no secret that the reimbursement process is lengthy and tedious. Employees could be waiting weeks or even months to get reimbursed after making out-of-pocket business expenses. Not to mention the extra workload it’d give your finance team.
One of the benefits of a business credit card is that you can simply go without the entire reimbursement process once you’ve made the switch.
Employees can utilize their business credit cards to make any company expenses, while your finance team can ensure that all card payments are being monitored. No extra time or workload is necessary!
Employee spending control
While it may seem like enabling easier payments could lead to more out-of-policy expenses, this isn’t the case at all. In fact, some benefits of having a business credit card include in-built spend controls and real-time visibility. When you equip your employees with business credit cards, controlling their expenses is actually much easier.
Every card you issue will be linked to a card management system. You can set up each card’s spending limits and toggle on and off authorized spend categories. Not only can you track expenses in real-time, but you can also ensure expenses are made within their limits.
Are you looking for best credit card for your business in Australia? Check out our latest guide on best business credit cards in Australia and choose the right one for your business.
Types of business credit cards for startups
There are many types of business credit cards for startups. When looking at the benefits of a business credit card, you want to also make sure that you’re choosing the right type of card for your business.
Rewards cards
With rewards cards, you’ll be able to rack up reward points and save money for future transactions. Since rewards cards are specifically designed with this in mind, you may get a higher point percentage than other credit cards that also have a reward system.
However, the downside is that considering their focus on rewards, they may lack in the spend control aspect.
Travel credit cards
If your employees go on a lot of business trips, then travel credit cards may be the best choice for you. Business travel credit cards will have more travel-oriented rewards and discounts, allowing you to get cheaper airplane tickets or hotel bookings.
You are also likely to earn airline miles at a better rate when using travel credit cards for your business.
Cashback credit cards
As their name suggests, cashback credit cards net you some cashback when you make purchases. While other business credit cards may offer cashback as well, typically cards that are advertised as cashback credit cards will have the best cashback rates.
Some cashback cards will also have a bonus for certain spend categories. Often, cashback cards also come with cheaper annual fee schemes.
Corporate cards
In short, corporate cards are specifically designed for making business purchases. While sometimes they can also mean cards for big corporations and enterprises, a lot of corporate card providers will issue cards to businesses of any size.
They are designed to allow employees to easily make payments such as business dinners or travel bookings while allowing the company to track their expenses.
Interest-free days cards
Some credit card providers in Australia offer what is called ‘interest-free days’. During a certain billing cycle, you can use your credit card on purchases and not be charged an interest rate for its usage.
Keep in mind that you can only have interest-free days if you pay off your balance in full by the due date of your billing cycle.
Low rate cards
Low rate cards are a popular choice to avoid getting charged a high amount in interest as they will have the lowest interest rate, but there is a trade-off. Most low rate cards don’t offer rewards.
They may have international transaction fees. Make sure you keep your business needs in mind when choosing a card.
Simplify expenses and grow your business easily with Volopay cards
Best practices for using business credit cards for startups
1. Choosing the right cards for your startup
There are many business credit card providers for you to choose from, starting from established traditional banks to new financial technology players. Within those providers, you’ll also find several different card options.
The key to knowing which is the right card provider and type for your business is to know what your business needs.
2. Restrict using multiple cards
To not confuse you and your team, it’s best to get your cards from one card provider and issue each employee who needs cards with just one physical card.
Employees carrying multiple cards from multiple providers can make expenses harder to track, therefore minimizing the benefits of having a business credit card.
Make the most of it by streamlining your card payments.
3. Always look for rewards
Most business credit card providers will have a reward system of some kind. You want to be sure that you’re picking a provider that could help you maximize your regards.
Make a note of what your startup’s largest spending is on and look for card providers that give you a lot of rewards or discounts in those spend categories.
4. Use only the required amount
While credit can be helpful, you also need to make sure that you aren’t overusing your credit. Set spending limits and use only the amount you need to make effective business expenses.
It’s important to always ensure that whatever you spend within one billing cycle is what you can repay when your credit bill comes out. Avoid making unnecessary expenses for the sake of using credit.
5. Be watchful of interest rates
Some business credit card fees may be straightforward flat-rate fees, but you’re also bound to come across different interest rates.
Some business credit card providers charge an interest rate based on the amount of credit usage, while others may have rates for installments or international payments.
Make sure that you’re aware of any interest rates and that you factor them.
6. Set up automatic payment
Utilizing business credit cards as opposed to cash allows you to automate a lot of your payment processes.
If you have subscriptions or any other recurring payments, make sure you utilize the automatic payment feature so that you can guarantee you won’t miss a payment.
Schedule and set up automatic payments on your business credit cards to reduce manual workload.
7. Separate business and personal transactions
One of the benefits of having a business credit card is that keeping track of your business expenses becomes much easier.
To maximize this, make sure that you keep all your business expenses on your business credit cards, while any personal transactions should remain on your personal credit cards.
It’s unwise to use your business credit cards for any personal expenses.
8. Monitor credit utilization
You can have your cards linked up to a card management system, allowing you to monitor how much card spends have happened each month.
Make sure you keep a close eye on your dashboard and see how much credit has been used in a particular billing cycle. This way, you can avoid failed payments due to maxed-out cards.
9. Review statements regularly
With tools like card management software and automatic expense tracking, you want to be sure that you’re taking advantage of them.
While you no longer need to do manual data entry work for statements and reports, it’s still necessary to regularly review these statements.
Get an insight into your company’s spending habits and payment trends for better budgeting in the future.
Boost your business with Volopay cards
There are so many benefits of having a business credit card that even as a newly established startup, you should consider looking into making the switch to business credit cards.
Not only will you be building business credit and enabling your employees to easily make business expenses, but you’ll also get real-time tracking and in-built spend controls—no more worrying about overspending!
Volopay offers an all-in-one solution for any startup to enjoy the benefits of a business credit card. With Volopay, you can issue business cards to all your employees and make business expenses easier.
Each Volopay card is linked to our card management software, which you and your finance team can use to track, monitor, and control every penny that goes out of your business.
Every time a card is swiped, the transaction will be reflected on your card dashboard. Get real-time updates and never miss a thing.
You also get to enjoy startup business credit card benefits like a high credit limit to help improve your cash flow. Take advantage of your credit line to grow your business faster. Applying for it is easy and doesn’t require personal guarantees.
In no time, you can get started with Volopay business credit cards for your startup and use all the tools available to you to build better credit, make faster payments, and manage better budgets.
Manage all your business expenses easily with Volopay cards
FAQ's
While it’s unwise to start a business with just a credit card as your main funding source, it is in fact a good idea to use a business credit card even in the early stages of your startup. It’ll save you time and money in the long run, and implementing cards into your processes early on will net you the most benefits.
Yes. Similar to any other kind of credit or loan, business credit cards will affect your company’s credit score. By having good credit utilization and repayment habits, you’ll be building business credit while making business expense management simpler.