Business > Small BusinessBusiness Credit Cards - Smart Choice For Your Small Business? Posted by nick_niesen in Business on October 29th Cody Whitehair Shirt , 2010
In an age of on-line payments and multinational business ventures, many small business owners are finding business credit cards to be a smart choice for simplifying payments, organizing expenses, and expanding the capability and autonomy of employees both locally and abroad. Before diving right in and applying for a small business credit card, however Leonard Floyd Shirt , every responsible business owner should ask himself or herself: is a small business credit card the right choice for my business?
There are several factors that can help determine this, but one of the simplest is how long the company has been in existence. Until a company has been around for at least two years, many banks and credit card companies may be reluctant to draw enough conclusions about the company's financial responsibility to approve a large line of credit. In cases such as these, whether a business credit card is approved or not will depend on the personal financial and credit history of whatever individual--from business partner to simple employee--actually puts in the application for the card. This may not be a problem in the case of a rock-solid personal finance history, but if there's any doubt Eddie Jackson Shirt , acquiring a good business credit card may be a trickier proposition.
Another thing to watch out for in the case of a startup small business is the question of personal financial liability. Since Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad in 1886, corporations have had the legal status of individuals, except insofar as business credit cards for startup companies are concerned. The first years of any business are the hardest, and in the case of company bankruptcy, any outstanding financial obligations based on a business credit card will be the original applicant's responsibility to meet. In the case of a large financial obligation Tarik Cohen Shirt , this can be a disaster for personal finance. Of course this is no argument against small business credit cards in all cases--far from it. However, any company interested in setting up a small business credit card would be wise to double-check its business plan and make sure that, in the rare event that the worst occurs, a "Plan B" for paying off the credit balance is firmly in place.