Many business owners today are encouraged to apply for a business credit card as one way to finance their business. Experts recommend the use business credit cards as a way to build a separate credit history for your company.
Business credit cards are known for providing business owners an easier way of tracking their expenses, monitoring their employees’ spending, building business credit and enhancing the company’s reputation. But apart from these benefits, there are also drawbacks to using business credit cards that you should know about. What are these disadvantages?
Your Personal Credit History Is at Stake!
It is true that applying for a business credit card is so easy and convenient. You can submit your application online and get approved instantly, especially if you have excellent credit. Nevertheless, you should be aware that when you sign up your business credit card contract, included in it is the personal liability agreement.
Since your personal credit history would be used to approve your credit card application, you are also personally held responsible for all debts that may be acquired in your business credit card account. This means in case of credit problems or if your company fails to keep up with credit card payments, you would be accountable to take over the repayments of all charges.
The personal liability clause implies that all transactions made in your business account can directly affect your personal credit history. This statement is still applicable even if you’ve already applied for a corporate credit. Usually, a business owner wait at least two years before lenders begin to recognize their corporate credit history as separate from their personal credit history. Thus, a single late payment with your business credit card account or your business loan can significantly pull down your own credit score.
With this in mind, you need to be particularly aware of how you use your business credit card and how well you keep up with your repayments. Keep in mind that how you handle your account will also reflect on your personal credit report.
Mismanagement of Your Business Credit
Having a business credit card account gives you the option to distribute extension credit cards or supplementary credit cards to your employees. However, this flexibility comes with the risk of employees abusing or misusing your account for their personal benefits.
Therefore, if you do decide to distribute supplementary cards to your staff, you should only choose a few of your most trusted employees. Add to this, make it a habit to check your monthly billing statements and pay attention to each of the purchases incurred by employees who own a supplementary card. This way, if unnecessary expenses were incurred, you can take appropriate action immediately.
Remember that having a business credit card gives you the chance to either make or break your business credit. If you handle your business credit wisely, you can be assured that you’ll be building a solid and excellent credit history for your company. On the contrary, failing to manage your business credit efficiently can lead to trouble and complications.
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