The Best Business Credit Card Offers For Your Small Business

Published 3/10/08 (Modified 9/2/13)
By MoneyBlueBook

Updated List of Business Credit and Charge Cards Offers Below!

Like most small business owners, I have my eyes on the prize with expectations based on the potential of future expansion. While my current small home business is still in the early growth stages and has not developed to the size where I needed to incorporate, I decided early on that now was a good time as any to start keeping my personal and business expenses separate by taking advantage of the expense tracking and management benefits afforded by business credit cards.

Whether you are a small business owner who works from your own home, or have your own dedicated virtual office setup, there may eventually come a time when you will need additional cash and credit infusion to pay for business expenses such as inventory, office supplies, or utility fees including wireless services. More than half of all small businesses currently use credit cards to pay for expenses, but less than half of the users utilize business credit cards. While most seem content on relying on their existing consumer cards, there are a number of key reasons why it's better to use business credit cards under your company's banner.

For those running a business as a sole proprietorship like myself, you may have already applied for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), sometimes referred to the Federal Tax ID. If so, you will need to enter it when applying for a business credit card.

Benefits And Advantages Of Using A Business Credit Card

Business credit cards provide a focused selection of business oriented tools to help business cardholders better manage their expense transactions and day to day employee operations. Many of their advantages are not available in ordinary consumer credit cards. Here are some of the important small business benefits that they offer:

1. Special Business Rewards - Business credit cards offer unique discounts and rewards for an array of business expenditures that range from office furniture and equipment, to airline travel, gas fill-ups, car rentals, and utilities such as wireless services. Many businesses also choose to carry multiple business cards - using low to 0 interest APR offers to carry low interest balances, while using reward oriented cards to earn airline miles or cash back of up to 5% on business related purchases.
2. High Credit Limit - Compared to their consumer card counterparts, most business credit cards tend to offer higher initial credit lines, an attractive benefit for growing businesses in need of access to lots of credit. The higher business credit limit is particularly attractive when coupled with 0% APR introductory purchase and 0% balance transfer offer. High credit limits and 0% APR credit card offers help businesses build start up venture capital to better grow and expand their enterprises.
3. Avoidance Of Asset and Expense Commingling - For solo proprietorships, commingling your personal and business expenses is not as big of an issue. But as your business expands, due to liability and taxation concerns, you may ultimately want to convert your business into a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation - operations that mandate the separation of your personal expenses from your business transactions. By using dedicated small business credit cards now sooner than later, you make it easier to complete the transition in the future.
4. Multiple Cards For Employees - One useful benefit of business credit cards is the ability to request multiple linked credit cards for your business employees. By adding employees as cardholders to your account, you enable the consolidation and tracking of your business transactions from one location. Most business credit cards also offer free expense accounting, with transactions broken down by each authorized employee's card access account.
5. Itemization and Expense Tracking - The usage of business credit cards also offers the flexible and scalable ability to fix preset credit limits for each employee. Not only can you place credit usage limits for each employee cardholder working off your account, many card programs allow you to set limits on how much particular employees can spend in specific purchase categories. Business credit cards make it easier for small business owners by providing monthly and year end credit card statement summaries, with all transactions conveniently itemized and categorized. Rather than having to fumble around with a bulky envelope full of receipts, business credit cards make it easier for you to manage your cash flow and daily business transactions.
6. Opportunity To Build Business Credit - A small business credit card also offers your new business the opportunity to link your business tax ID to the account, enabling your business to build its own credit history. Maybe not now, but having a developed credit report and ready access to credit are key ingredients to growing your future business. One day, your business may very well require a capital infusion through credit loans to take it to the next level.

List of Business Credit and Charge Card Offers: