Credit Cards For Small Business Value
The real interesting thing about people who are in business is that they always feel that they need a credit card to prove that their business has real value. The reasoning behind that is it is very hard in this day and age to get credit for needed products to maintain your business unless you have a good line of credit. The business card provides your business the credit score you need in order to get a line of credit from all your providers. There are many cases where in small business the owners use their credit to enable them to buy all the supplies that they need in order to operate.
That is one of the main reasons companies like American Express became so popular in the early sixties since they cater to small business owners. You need to be made aware that American Express is not the only company that caters to business owners. Now there are a variety of card companies that offer a credit card just for the owner.
You are now capable of getting credit with all the major companies like Visa, American Express, MasterCard and Discovery as a small business owner. You are also able to get credit from your suppliers by just using a line of credit they offer you directly but with the logo from the major credit card companies. The reason is that many suppliers now use these companies to extend credit and this in turn can help your business grow further.
Pros and Cons of a Small Business Credit Card
One of the major concerns of small businesses is cash flow and credit cards seem to be the ready answer to this problem. Try looking for one and you will be swamped by choices: both Visa and Mastercard offer four credit card choices for small businesses and credit card giant American Express has eight. There are also hundreds of partner banks to choose from.
Small businesses do not really need credit cards to operate smoothly, but these plastics can come in handy. With so many business credit cards to choose from, the decision really depends on one thing: actual need. Here, I examine why small business credit cards are a blessing from creditor heaven and why you probably will not need them.
A credit card should not be your only source of capital, but it can be a sensible means with which to purchase materials, goods and services during periods when cash is a little tight. And I really know a lot of small businesses go through some cash-flow squeeze.
Small business credit cards are also a practical means to make large purchases, provided your credit limit can accommodate the amount. They can also offer an effective financial transaction tracking system. Many credit cards are being offered with software that can record purchases and deals, even those made by your employees.
Another reason why you might want to use a small business credit card is that many creditors offer rewards for usage such as discounts, prizes and cash-back schemes on top of the usual flyer miles.
But your small business credit card will be signed by you and if ever you defaulted on your business credit card payments, the creditors or banks will not be coming after your business, they will be homing in on you. This is usually the case for small businesses just starting out, when the professional and personal finances of the owners are considered the same.
On that note, whatever record you have on your small business credit card will be included in your credit report. If you miss some payments in your business credit card, it might reflect badly on your personal credit history, making your finances look more unstable than it truly is.
For the first few years when your personal and professional finances are not yet treated as separate entities, your business credit card will not be enjoying the same protection for consumers that are provided with a personal credit card. An example, billing errors on your personal credit card may be disputed within a certain period so you cannot be labeled as a delinquent consumer. With your business credit card, that is not the case.
Also, personal credit card companies will assist you during instances when you purchase bad merchandise through credit. Many small business credit card companies will not.
Should you pack a plastic or not? If you are disciplined enough and willing to take on an added responsibility, then maybe small business credit cards are for you. Just be sure to choose and use them wisely because they can and will affect your credit record if you are not careful. Also, you should be able to pay off your balance as quickly as you can. This will score you a lot of points with your personal and professional creditors and it will also help you renegotiate your terms more convincingly later on.
Looking For a Start Up Business Line of Credit?
Key to any startup is maintaining cash flow. Of course, if you are new, getting startup funding for your company can be difficult because..... you and/or your new venture are new and have no track record. Bit of a catch 22 situation there.
However something you may want to think about is unsecured loans are loans that do not require any cash down, home equity, personal assets, or business assets of any kind. Obviously, unsecured lending is a valuable option for startups which have property or assets they want to protect. Should you default on the loan and its unsecured versus secured, your property and/or assets will be protected from any liens.... now while these are attractive, can you really find such an animal?
Without a doubt, an unsecured business line of credit is probably the most valuable financial tool that a small business owner can possess. Essentially, the credit line works like a huge credit card but at times can have added benefits like check writing and lower interest rates as compared to most business credit cards.
An unsecured line of credit loan is extended by banks or other types of lenders. The amount of the credit line offered is based solely on the credit worthiness of the company and does not require a personal guarantee. Even though unsecured business lines of credit have been in existence for many years, it still comes as a surprise to many small business owners that the program exists or that their company can even qualify.
One typical, and smart question that you should ask yourself is why would banks make unsecured line of credit loans? The answer is simple. Banks and other lenders are already making unsecured lines of credit to you as an individual. Why shouldn't they offer a commercial program? So in reality, it is not nearly as big a stretch as most people think.
If you think about it, almost every American carries at least one Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card in their wallet or purse. I know in my wallet, with multiple businesses + personal, I carry 8 credit cards at a time. In this case, then one way to think is that the total of all the credit limits on all the cards is your total line of credit. Now, we don't advocate going out and rapidly blowing that but change a way to change your perspective on things.
The credit cards and the limits on each are issued to you based on your credit worthiness as an individual and are totally unsecured. Therefore, it makes good business sense to offer an unsecured credit line program to corporations. In fact, corporations could be viewed as more stable than an individual and are more likely to use the lines more frequently. When you are a startup, of course this gets a little tricky and requires some unique techniques above and beyond the scope of this article.
But, if you have a startup and are looking for capital credit lines, you should really look down this path. Fortunately, just like your personal credit cards, you only pay on what you use and for a new business, we suggest you play it very conservative. However, when you get your credit line, it gives your business access to capital when you need it.
The Advantages Of Using A Balance Transfer Business Credit Card
A balance transfer business credit card can end up being a godsend for small business owners. Businesses, like individual consumers, can benefit from switching from high interest rate charge cards. The advantages are quite obvious and they include the following:
1) Take advantage of 0% APR introductory offers. I know that at this time Advanta is offering 0% APR balance transfers for 15 months. Most other issuers will fall in the 6-12 month range.
2) The convenience of consolidating debt from existing credit card accounts onto a single account. From a purely administrative point this is a no-brainer. It is much easier to track and pay one bill than it is to deal with several.
3) Accounting becomes much easier to manage. You will want to look for a card that allows you to access your transactions 24/7 365 days a year. Being able to order up a quarterly statement is also a must.
4) Having the ability to use your balance transfer business credit card to pay down existing debt. Take full advantage of the 0% or low interest rate introductory offer to pay down some or all of your existing debt.
These are just a few, but certainly not all, of the business solutions that can be beneficial to businesses of all sizes. Now let's take a look at what you should be looking for when you compare balance transfer offers from the likes of Chase, Citibank, American Express and Discover Card, to name a few.
1) Check to see what the introductory rate is and how long it lasts. This is usually 6-12 months but they are all different.
2) Find out what the rates will be when the introductory period expires. Don't get surprised with high rates. Know what they will be going in.
3) Check to see if there are any balance transfer fees. There usually are fees associated with the transfer.
4) See how much the fees are. As long as the fees are not excessive in most cases it is usually still a sound move to transfer debt.
5) See what your credit limit will be. You are running a business and therefore require a larger credit limit than individuals.
6) Make sure the limit is enough to cover the existing debt. If it doesn't then maybe you may want to look at offers from other credit card issuers.
These are the main points you will want to consider when comparing balance transfer business credit cards. This is not an exhaustive list by any means but it is an excellent place to start. Go to a reputable credit card web site and take your time to read over the terms and conditions set forth on the credit card applications that interest you.
Easy Approval Credit Card Applications With a Bad Credit Score
I can still remember seven years ago when I applied for an American Express card online. It took more than one month for me to get approved. Nowadays it's a lot different. With instant approval, you usually receive notice via email of your acceptance within seconds of completing an online card application. If you have a good to excellent credit record you can even get an easy approval credit card with guaranteed 10,000 limit or an easy instant approval student card, but what happens if have a bad credit score? Are you doomed to pay all your purchases in cash? Certainly not so don't despair.
The first alternative for people with bad credit score is to get a "secure card." There are some major card issuers which requires applicants to make a deposit or what we call "secure cards." If you have a bad paying history, the most logical thing to do is save a little money to be used later on to "pre pay" a card. A secure card is a no credit card because the amount you can charge against the card is determined by the amount of your deposit. If you deposit, for example, $5,000, then you can charge up to $5,000 only. Hence, there is no actual "credit" being extended. Typically, these cards are marketed as no credit credit cards because of the fast, easy instant card approval.
The second alternative is to search for a "bad credit credit plastic" and find an easy approval unsecured credit, but they should try to resolve their bad credit issues and prevent further damage to their credit score.
While there are plenty of bad credit credit plastic choices available, they can do more harm than good if not used wisely. This is one way for a consumer to repair his damaged reputation by making up to date payments on his bad card and eventually upgrading to the real credit card in the future. And also a bad card charges a higher interest rate because of the increased risk to the issuer.
The third option is to apply for a debit card. Debit cards are cards that can be used depending on how much money the user transfers to the specific card. Consequently, the risk of running up credit card debt is nil. There are also no finance charges to contend with, only minimal fees for application, start-up and ATM card.
Credit cards for bad credit score were designed to rebuild credit that had been damaged. For those with no credit or poor credit there are secured credit cards, bad credit credit cards and debit cards but there are also unsecured cards that can be used for this purpose. These cards generally come with low credit lines (around $300) and additional fees. This kind of card will not allow you to on shopping sprees but it will certainly help you restore your damaged credit history. If you're disciplined and pay all your bills on time you can ask for a credit increase after a while with an end goal of upgrading to an easy approval credit card with guaranteed 10,000 limit. Isn't that wonderful? But in the meantime let's concern ourselves with finding easy approval credit card applications with bad credit score.