Finding the right business credit card for your company can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The perks, deals, and incentives that are designed to help your business run cost-effectively can sometimes serve to make the decision process more confusing, but there are logical steps that can help you make an informed decision that will benefit your business.
In order to find the business credit card that best suits your needs, the most sensible solution is to look at the cards available on the market and compare them. Business credit card comparison sites can help you to see which financial institutions offer the best deals for you and also identify and discard those that will not benefit your business’s financial planning.
The factor that instantly attracts customers is the APR offers. An introductory offer of 0% APR is now commonplace and provides greater flexibility for business within that time period. However, it is also worth checking out what the APR rises to once the introductory period is over. Balance this figure against what you think your company can reasonably afford to repay each month and your company’s projected turnover and you could already be whittling a few business credit cards off the list. You may find yourself choosing to go with a company that does not have a 0% APR offer but does have consistently low rates. This could work out cheaper and more beneficial in the long-term.
Once you have found a card with repayment rates that suit you and you feel that the company can comfortably make those repayments each month, you can then start to look at the ‘fun stuff’. Most business credit cards come with associated deals and perks, which can range from cashback on certain product purchases to free air-miles. Looking carefully at your company’s expenditure can show you where repeat payments are made and you can then hunt around to find the deals that may save your business money. For example, if your employees travel a lot, you might find petrol discounts or hotel discounts useful. Some computer companies and delivery services offer discounts to selected business credit cardholders. Only by examining the products on offer can you begin to decide which will be of the most benefit to your business.
Business credit cards generally come with a degree of consumer protection, which is particularly advantageous if your business makes purchases via the Internet. However, you may wish to seek out additional security measures to cover other eventualities, such as supplementary cards for employees. Some business credit cards offer further insurance against circumstances such as employee misuse. In the case of supplementary cards, there are also facilities available to set a limit on employee spending.
A great resource for business credit card comparison is the comparison website. There are many of these available online and they condense the data available on each business credit card, displaying it in a format where it can be easily summarised and compared. Many of these sites also contain a link to the application page of your chosen card, which can also be used for further research. While comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket.com hold a great deal of information on business credit cards, they do not hold ALL the information and it is often worthwhile visiting the individual web pages of the business credit cards on your final shortlist. This way you can reinforce your decision by comparing the finer points of the business credit cards that you feel may be of most benefit to your company. A business credit card can be a dynamic tool with which to manage your business’s cash flow and accounts. Taking a little time when choosing a business credit card can ensure that you make the right decision at the right time.