If you are self-employed or the owner of a business, you should seriously consider getting a business credit card and use it exclusively for your business-related purchases. Picking the right card can save you time and money – let’s see why.
Taxes:
Your business expenses are tax-deductible. The easiest way to keep track of these expenses is to charge them to your business credit card whenever feasible. Furthermore, you can deduct interest charges and/or annual fees on your card, as long as you use it exclusively for business. Those fees aren’t deductible on a personal credit card, even if you charge some business expenses on it. At tax time, you can look at your business credit card transactions for the tax year for a quick summary of your deductions, which will save you time (and money if you use a tax preparer). By the way, the IRS frowns on intermixing personal and business spending, and you might attract unwanted attention if you mix your spending on the same card. It might also help to show the IRS your business is a business, not a hobby.
Credit history:
Using a business credit card for your LLC or corporation will create a credit history for the business. That’s very important, especially if you pay your bills on time. Having a good credit history should result in a good credit score for your business and easier access to business loans.
Bonus points:
Most self-respecting credit cards, whether personal or business, reward you with bonus points or cash back on your purchases. The problem with personal cards is that they might not reward you for the kind of expenses your business incurs. For example, a personal card might reward grocery store purchases but not social media advertising. It’s smart to get a business credit card that offers rewards on purchases like search engine advertising, internet services, business travel, shipping costs and so forth. Some of these purchases might not earn you any rewards on your personal card. You might be able to pool your points from your business and personal credit cards if they come from the same issuer.
Bookkeeping:
If you make all your purchases on a personal credit card, you’ll have to waste time every month separating the business purchases from the non-business ones. Yes, you can still deduct business expenses charged on a personal card, but why do the extra work and risk overlooking several expenses? You can export your business card transactions directly into accounting programs like QuickBooks and save a lot of time. Business credit card statements are often more detailed, and this comes in handy if you have employees who get their own copies of your business credit card, which most issuers will provide you for free. By setting up your business card, you can quickly give one to each new hire. Don’t forget, you collect all the rewards on your employees’ purchases when they use your business card.
A business credit card is a no-brainer for sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies. There are a few cautions to be aware of when choosing a corporate business credit card:
Fees:
Many personal and small-business credit cards have no annual fees. However, many corporate cards have fees, some of them on the high side. Also, many of these credit cards charge a higher interest rate compared to personal cards.
Grumbling:
Your suppliers and vendors might grumble if you pay them with a corporate credit card, because the transaction fees they have to pay on these cards are much higher.
Abuse:
If you have employees sharing a corporate card, be on the lookout for any personal purchases they make with it. First, they are stealing from you if they do this. Secondly, even if you don’t catch it, the IRS might, especially if you deducted personal expenses as business ones.