Which corporate credit card should small businesses use for their operations?
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PUBLISHED ONMarch 20, 2022 12:30 PMBySIMONE KOW
Are you a small business owner? If you are, we know that you have lots on your plate. From strategic decision-making to managing employees, there are many responsibilities that you hold. If you struggle to control and manage your business expenditure, you can simplify things with a corporate credit card.
What is there to know about corporate credit cards? Corporate credit cards are cards that business owners issue to their employees to pay for any business-related expenditure. These cards serve as a great way to track regular business expenses. Corporate credit cards operate in the same way as personal credit cards.
Why should businesses use corporate credit cards?
1. You can get perks and rewards for your business account
Personal credit cards usually come with lots of perks. Well, it is no different for corporate credit cards. Corporate credit cards offer cash rebates, discounts on air travel, dining discounts and more. For example, perks such as dining discounts come in handy when you have to meet clients regularly. Even though some work is needed to maintain a corporate credit card, the benefits of a corporate credit card outweigh the costs.
2. You will save time and improve operational efficiency
Do you find it a hassle to reimburse your employees for any business claims? Reimbursement is a tedious process that takes up time and effort as you have to reconcile transactions manually. A corporate credit card allows employees to charge authorised business expenses directly.
For the employer, corporate credit cards help to facilitate expense management. Moreover, employees benefit as they need not fork out their own money beforehand. They also do not need to seek reimbursement afterwards.
3. You can increase the transparency and visibility of your business accounts
With corporate credit cards, employers can track business expenses without paper receipts. This added form of security prevents employees from manipulating receipts. Sometimes, employees provide fake receipts for reimbursement or overstate the amount to get more money back. With the monthly statements provided by the card issuer, employers can get accurate details of every transaction.
Hence, employees will not be able to engage in dishonest activities. Moreover, if the employer needs to access information pertaining to a transaction, they can easily retrieve information from the system. All in all, corporate credit cards help increase financial transparency and visibility.
Common business expenditure incurred by companies
1. Business travel expenditure
Business travel is part and parcel of operations in today's world. If business travel is frequent, corporate credit cards are ideal. Corporate credit cards have rewards schemes such as frequent flyer programs and hotel loyalty rewards.
In addition, many corporate credit cards offer exclusive benefits such as access to airport lounges, comprehensive travel insurance and travel emergency services. Furthermore, some card issuers also waive foreign fee transactions, which helps your business save on additional charges.
Are you looking for ways to keep your business expenses organised? You can consider utilising a business expense tracker app. Using a business expense tracker app allows you to see how your company is doing in real-time and categorise your expenses. A few apps you can consider are BizXpenseTracker (BXT), Concur Mobile and Everlance. These apps will help to streamline your expense tracking.
2. Ad spend on social media platforms
Did you know that global ad spend expenditure is projected to reach US$177 billion (S$240 billion) in 2022? In today's world, social media connects businesses to consumers. Hence, companies need to leverage social media to drive sales. One way is through online advertisements.
If multiple ads are run throughout the week, it can be a hassle for social media managers to make claims at the end of the month if they paid for these advertisements using their own credit card. However, using a corporate credit card allows social media managers to charge adspend directly to the card. Not only does it make life easier for these managers, but it also makes it easier for the employer to track ad spend costs.
3. Day-to-day operational expenditure
Most businesses rent office space to conduct their business operations. There are different costs associated with renting an office space. If your lease agreement does not include utilities, you will have to bear the cost of utility expenses — such as water and electricity bills.
Moreover, telecommunication is required for a business to function. Hence, you will also incur phone and internet costs. These costs associated with running a company helps ensure that your business functions smoothly.
4. Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription expenses
Also known as "on-demand software", Software as a Service (SaaS) is a way for businesses to access applications over the internet through cloud-based apps. With a corporate credit card, you can earn cashback on SaaS spend.
For example, the Aspire corporate card gives you one per cent cashback on SaaS spend. These cashback savings will allow you to channel your funds towards other avenues like expanding your business and enhancing day-to-day operations.
What are other SaaS software programs? If you need email marketing software, you have MailChimp. Need design tools? You have Canva. Require a business accounting tool? You can use QuickBooks. Such "on-demand software" is easy to use and convenient for businesses.
Corporate credit cards in Singapore
1. American Express Singapore Airlines business card: Best for business travellers
- Up to 8.5 KrisFlyer pts per $1 on SIA and SilkAir flights
- Promotions: $300 statement credit upon $5,000 spend in first three months. Valid until March 31, 2022.
- First year fee waiver worth $299. Valid until March 31, 2022.
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American Express Singapore Airlines business card is an exceptional option. Every $1 spent on SIA and SilkAir flights earns 8.5 HighFlyer points (worth 8.1 per cent cashback), while all other spend earns 1.8 HighFlyer points (worth 1.7 per cent cashback). Points go into your business's SIA account and can be redeemed for tickets on SIA and SilkAir, Scoot vouchers and more.
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You can pay for such tickets with a mix of cash and earned points, which means you won't have to save up for a points-only purchase. Still, HF points don't expire for three years anyway, allowing businesses to accrue rewards during off-seasons and redeem them for future trips. Currently, one HF point is equivalent to one KrisFlyer point.
For businesses that conduct a great deal of overseas travel, is an exceptional option. Every $1 spent on SIA and SilkAir flights earns 8.5 HighFlyer points (worth 8.1 per cent cashback), while all other spend earns 1.8 HighFlyer points (worth 1.7 per cent cashback). Points go into your business's SIA account and can be redeemed for tickets on SIA and SilkAir, Scoot vouchers and more.
You can pay for such tickets with a mix of cash and earned points, which means you won't have to save up for a points-only purchase. Still, HF points don't expire for three years anyway, allowing businesses to accrue rewards during off-seasons and redeem them for future trips. Currently, one HF point is equivalent to one KrisFlyer point.
Amex SIA business card's luxury travel perks also add significant value as well as convenience and comfort to your business trips. Each cardholder enjoys two free lounge visits per year for themselves and a guest, plus free travel insurance, complimentary night's stay with Accor Plus across Asia-Pacific, and Hertz rental car privileges.
With $15k+ spend on SIA brands within the first year, a registered corporate traveller can also be upgraded to KrisFlyer Elite Gold status. Finally, account holders can immediately benefit from the card's new first-year fee waiver and updated sign-on bonuses, which include hotel staycation opportunities in light of the current pandemic.
Finally, Amex SIA business card helps out SMEs year-round with its extended payment terms, offering up to 51 interest-free days from the transaction date (21 days from the statement date) and a zero per cent interest instalment plan via Amex Pay Small.
This allows businesses with irregular cash flow to continue operating without added costs. Overall, Amex SIA business card is one of the best options on the market for companies that conduct a substantial amount of business overseas.
2. DBS Visa Platinum business card: Best for business cashback
- Boosted cashback for first month
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DBS Visa Platinum business card too. DBS Visa Platinum business card offers one of the higher cashback rates amongst SME cards, at 0.40 per cent. This rate is further boosted by welcome promotions, which frequently offer up to five per cent cashback within the first month.
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This credit card is great for small businesses who want to maximise cash earnings on everyday expenses without having to pay a higher fee for extra travel perks and privileges. In fact, the $192.6 fee is $100+ less than SME alternatives with higher rates.
If you have a DBS corporate account, you should consider applying for a DBS Visa Platinum business card too. DBS Visa Platinum business card offers one of the higher cashback rates amongst SME cards, at 0.40 per cent. This rate is further boosted by welcome promotions, which frequently offer up to five per cent cashback within the 1st month.
This credit card is great for small businesses who want to maximise cash earnings on everyday expenses without having to pay a higher fee for extra travel perks and privileges. In fact, the $192.6 fee is $100+ less than SME alternatives with higher rates.
In addition to high rates, cardholders also enjoy free travel accident insurance of up to $1 million. Other benefits include up to US$1.65 million coverage per company for employee misuse, rewards for payment of select recurring bills, and customisable credit limits for individual cardholders.
Ultimately, DBS Visa Platinum business card is a great choice for businesses prioritising high cashback without the corresponding high annual fee. Get it on top of your DBS corporate account!
3. Aspire debit card: Best for cashback on ad spend and SaaS
- Standout: One per cent rebate on e-marketing and software subscriptions, plus tech perks
- Promotion: Three per cent cashback for the first $2,000 spent per month on inventory purchase, marketing and SaaS
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Aspire corporate card might be best suited for you. Aspire corporate card is a great debit alternative for tech-savvy start-ups with big marketing budgets. Account-holders earn up to a competitive one per cent cashback on online marketing and online software subscriptions with select merchants.
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These merchants include Facebook, Google, LinkedIn advertising and Microsoft Ads for online marketing and Google Suite for Businesses, Quickbooks, Shopify, Zoom and many more for SaaS services.
You’ve probably heard of popular corporate account credit cards such as OCBC, DBS and UOB. However, if you are looking for a debit card option, might be best suited for you. Aspire corporate card is a great debit alternative for tech-savvy start-ups with big marketing budgets.
Account-holders earn up to a competitive one per cent cashback on online marketing and online software subscriptions with select merchants. These merchants include Facebook, Google, LinkedIn advertising and Microsoft Ads for online marketing and Google Suite for Businesses, Quickbooks, Shopify, Zoom and many more for SaaS services.
Aspire corporate card is highly competitive in a few additional ways. Its foreign transaction fee is just 0.50 per cent, which is markedly lower than what's charged by similar cards (some of which have fees of up to 3.25 per cent). The account holder also has access to a variety of deals and discounts with Aspire partners like Slack, Indeed and many more–again perfect for web-based start-ups.
Finally, there are no card fees, which is somewhat rare amongst SME options. Overall, Aspire corporate card offers modern start-ups with big marketing budgets an affordable way to earn and save on web services.
4. UOB Platinum business card: Best for operational needs such as utilities
- Extensive discounts on utilities, logistics and other essential business services
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UOB Platinum business card, which offers one of the most comprehensive sets of business privileges on the market. The card comes with several distinct benefits programmes. The first, UOB Commercial Privileges, provides exclusive offers on all types of spend, from utilities and tech services to logistics. UOB Smart$ Rebates, another programme, offers up to 10 per cent rebate with select insurance, petrol and other types of merchants.
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Finally, with MasterCard Easy Savings programme, cardholders' spend on select business services (including Microsoft, Apple, Logitech and more) earns a five per cent rebate, which is automatically credited to the account. When combined with the card's flat 0.30 per cent rebate on all spend, it's easy to maximise savings with UOB Platinum business card.
Businesses looking for corporate perks and discounts with key vendors should definitely consider, which offers one of the most comprehensive sets of business privileges on the market. The card comes with several distinct benefits programmes.
The first, UOB Commercial Privileges, provides exclusive offers on all types of spend, from utilities and tech services to logistics. UOB Smart$ Rebates, another programme, offers up to 10 per cent rebate with select insurance, petrol and other types of merchants.
Finally, with MasterCard Easy Savings programme, cardholders' spend on select business services (including Microsoft, Apple, Logitech and more) earns a five per cent rebate, which is automatically credited to the account. When combined with the card's flat 0.30 per cent rebate on all spend, it's easy to maximise savings with UOB Platinum business card.
Beyond supplier discounts, cardholders also enjoy free travel accident insurance. While there is a $180 annual fee, it's rather moderate compared to the general market and is also waived the first year. If your business has a UOB business account, the UOB Platinum business card is a great add-on for your day-to-day operating expenses.
Manage business accounts with a corporate credit card today
Ultimately, a corporate credit card would help to streamline your day-to-day operations. However, it is important that you set up a company expense policy for your employees to follow. These rules and guidelines will ensure that employees do not misuse the card.
Card limits and responsibilities should also be explicitly laid out — such as only charging business expenses to the card and keeping to the budget set by the finance team. With the benefits that a corporate credit card can bring to your organisation, you should apply for one today.
READ ALSO: Best credit cards for paying insurance premiums in Singapore 2022
This article was first published in ValueChampion.