Although consumers should be wary about their credit card usage, having a business credit card is almost always advantageous. There are a variety of reasons why you should make sure that you are using a credit card for your business rather than your personal card or cash:
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Keep track of your purchases. If you make your purchases in cash, you will find that you are going to have a hard time remembering what your expenses were. It is crucial that you keep accurate records of all your business purchases and it is much easier to do that when you have electronic accounts that are easy to look up.
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Separate your finances. It is important that you make sure that you keep your personal and business expenses separate from each other. Any business owner will tell you that there is nothing more painful than having to go through a credit card statement and try to identify your business expenses when you are filing your taxes or creating an income statement.
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Build credit. Many people take out credit cards solely to build credit in their name. As a business, you can do the same thing. Your business won't be able to build credit if you are using your personal card, so taking out a separate card can be a great idea.
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Improves cash flow. When you have a business credit card, you can pay one lump sum at the end of the month. That makes it much more efficient to manage your finances and avoid paying as you go.
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Get the benefit of rewards. Business credit cards offer rewards to their users just like consumer cards. Discounts and frequent flyer miles aren't perks anymore. They are sound business savings.
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Effectively manage employee spending. One of the drawbacks of 'petty cash' funds is that money can inexplicably go missing. This isn't necessarily because employees aren't trustworthy, but it is certainly harder to manage and keep track of funds when you have cash floating all over the place. When you use a business credit card it is easy to keep track of where money is spent so that you don't have to ask any hard questions later.
Taking out a business credit card can be one of the smartest things you've ever done. There is no point to spending hours tracking down all your purchases when you can just look at them on your monthly statement. You can also take advantage of great opportunities to save money and get great rewards. Just make sure you use your business credit card wisely, or else you'll be stuck paying unnecessary interest at the end of each month.
Have any other advantages to using a business credit card? Tell us in the comments section below!
