Managing your company’s finances can be a time consuming and complicated job. With employees claiming expenses and your business having to pay invoices to suppliers every month it can be hard to keep track of all your expenditure.
That’s where charge cards for corporate use come in. They can help you streamline your accounts process and make it easier to manage your business expenses.
What are the main corporate charge cards benefits?
There are lots of advantages to using corporate charge cards. For example, it is easy to monitor the transactions on the card so you can see which of your employees is spending what. You can also keep control over expenses by checking spending on a regular basis.
In addition, the best corporate charge cards can help you to simplify and secure your payments. They can let you automate invoice payments and reporting tasks which will help you reduce the time, cost and mistakes that are common with manual data entry.
In addition, they are ideal for use abroad and often offer a good exchange rate.
Charge cards dollar to sterling to euro rates are often extremely competitive and so you can use corporate cards for travel expenses when overseas.
Remember that there is one key difference between credit and charge cards for corporate use. Charge cards require you to pay your bill in full at the end of every month whereas you can leave a balance on a credit card should you wish.
What to look for when you undertake a business charge cards comparison
If you’re looking for a corporate charge card then you should take the following into account when you compare corporate cards:
- Card type
- Fees and charges
- Any loyalty or rewards scheme
Many of the best corporate charge cards carry the American Express logo although you can also benefit from Visa charge cards. Make sure you sign up for the card that’s most appropriate for your intended use.
You should also consider the fees and charges when you compare corporate cards.
As you don’t pay any interest on these cards you will typically pay an annual fee of between £10 and £300. Shop around for the best value deal and compare corporate card fees so that you minimise unnecessary expenditure. You should also look at other charges associated with using the cards abroad, withdrawing cash and any other fees levied.
Finally, when you undertake a business charge cards comparison you will often find that cards come with an associated loyalty or rewards scheme.
These schemes award points based on your card usage and you can then redeem these points for perks such as flights or vouchers. Many schemes also offer additional benefits such as travel insurance, fraud protection and a concierge service which you may find valuable.
While these corporate charge cards benefits may be attractive, make sure that you don’t sign up for a more expensive card just to take advantage of these perks. This could cost you more in the long run if the fees/charges on the card are higher.
Look for the corporate cards that comes with the lowest costs and then make your choice based on the perks available.
