Corporate cards are a convenient payment instrument used to pay for hospitality, business travel purchases and all necessary business expenses for a company. Previously, such cards were issued exclusively by banks. Still, with the advent of the multifunctional Business Wallester platform, any company can launch its card product without the involvement of banking institutions.
Corporate card: what is it?
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A corporate card is a payment card tied not to the holder’s account but to the company’s account for which he works. Many cards can be linked to one account, and certain limits and access levels are set for each. For some employees, cards linked to separate accounts may be opened. There are physical and virtual corporate cards, which can also have a credit limit or overdraft. In the second case, the cards allow you to use approved funds and borrowed funds.
What can I pay for?
Corporate cards can be used to pay for different types of expenses:
- Hospitality. They can be used to pay for dinner with partners, official receptions, cultural programs for clients;
- Business travel. Cards can be used to pay for hotel reservations, airplane and train tickets, and car rentals. They are accepted in any country, and conversion is usually automatic;
- Domestic. Corporate cards can be used to purchase office stationery, equipment, machinery, fuel, and maintenance of the corporate car fleet.
Corporate cards cannot be used to pay salaries, nor can they be used to pay for contracts. Otherwise, it is a convenient working tool that simplifies the interaction between employees and the finance department.
Advantages of using corporate cards
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Expenses made with a corporate card in the interests of the business and within the scope of its activities can be used to reduce the tax base. These cards have other advantages as well:
- increase the transparency of settlements within the company;
- simplify reporting;
- simplify the process of recording corporate expenses;
- reduce the company’s labor costs;
- simplify the process of controlling corporate expenses.
Corporate cards make it much easier to account for the expenses of employees who travel abroad. They do not need to exchange cash for foreign currency and back. When paying for hotel rooms, transportation and other expenses in another country with the card, conversion is done at the most favorable exchange rate.
Bank or alternative solutions
A corporate card program can be opened in a bank, or a special multifunctional platform can be used. In the first case, it is necessary to collect a rather large package of documents and wait for a positive decision from the banking institution. In the future, all questions regarding the corporate program management will also have to be addressed to the bank. It is much easier and faster to set up an independent issue of cards through a special platform. Such a corporate program has many advantages:
- You can issue cards of any type and purpose. These can be virtual and physical cards, debit and credit cards;
- The card-issuing platform will help organize the cost accounting system properly. Information on all cards and all expenses is displayed online. For each card, you can set limits not only for the entire card but also for individual categories of expenses;
- Budget control is simplified. The absence of delays in the submission of information on expenses allows you to assess the company’s capital quickly and, if necessary, to reallocate it;
Financial statements are prepared in a couple of clicks. The platform can be easily integrated with existing financial department software. It includes a rich analytical toolkit that helps in quick reporting.
Card issuance platforms have a lot of customization to adapt to any area of business easily. If you wish, you can use White Label solutions, which allow you to issue corporate cards with an exclusive design. Such cards will not only simplify the use of corporate finances but also increase brand recognition in general.
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