Features to look for when selecting business credit card in Singapore
Business credit cards separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. Using them for your day-to-day operations makes it easier for you and your accounts payable team to track your debts and expenses.
Not only that, but you can take advantage of the perks available to you through a company business card. With the right features, you can benefit your business through the use of business credit cards and empower your team.
Which are the must-have features in business credit card?
Depending on who your card provider is, your business cards will have variations of different features. Here are some of the most important features in business credit that you will require.
1. Real-time visibility on spending
Ideally, you want to link expense management software to your business credit card. Singapore has multiple expense management platform providers that come with corporate cards for you and your employees to use.
All your cards can be visible from the platform, often with employees assigned to each card. This makes tracking individual spending easier and gives you a full view of how your cards are being used.
Your employees can also report the transactions that they make in real-time. Having expense management software attached to your company business card allows you to have visibility on your spending as they happen.
2. Access to unlimited virtual cards
In the modern age where online purchases are a growing trend, virtual cards are becoming increasingly popular.
Virtual cards are a good option for paying and managing your online expenses. SaaS subscriptions or digital marketing expenses like paid ads, for example, can be paid with virtual cards.
Often virtual cards are chosen over physical cards as they can offer you better protection from fraud. You can choose whether you only want to generate them for one-time purchases or for monthly recurring subscription payments.
3. Safe and secure transactions
You want to ensure that all the business transactions that happen on your business credit cards are safe and secure.
The best company business card providers have features to enhance the security of your business cards.
You should look for business cards that allow you to set limits to individual cards, lock merchants as you see fit, offer two-factor authentication and freeze cards when needed.
With these features, you can eliminate the possibility of overspending and ensure that your employees are spending only on company affairs. Your cards can’t be misused when you provide the right parameters for using them.
4. Spending limits and budget controls
Assigning budgets to your business credit cards can help you control your business spending. Pick a business credit card provider that allows you to set one-time or monthly limits on your business credit card.
Singapore is home to many business credit card providers that offer you flexibility when it comes to setting spending limits.
You can also set a lower limit on your employees’ cards, requiring them to make a request for any additional funds.
This way, you can be sure that bigger expenses have your approval. Easily manage your expenses with budget controls.
5. Reasonable annual fees
Business credit cards come with annual card fees. When choosing a credit card provider for your business, you want to pick one with minimal or even waived annual fees.
The difference between minimal and expensive annual fees for your corporate cards can be quite significant.
If you have a growing business that wants to maximize every dollar that you make, you want to be sure that you’re not overspending on annual card fees.
The good news is that a lot of Singaporean expense management software offers plans that include cards bundled with them for a reasonable fee.
6. Employee business credit cards for travel
One of the big benefits of having business credit cards is that your employees can do business travel without having to worry about the reimbursement process.
It’s less of a hassle for you, your finance team, and your traveling employees. Instead of out-of-pocket employee expenses, your employees can simply utilize their corporate cards, both locally and internationally.
Choose a company business card that can be used abroad with ease. You also want a business credit card provider that will net you perks like reward points, airline miles, free checked bags, and many more.
Check out our article on best travel credit card in Singapore for businesses to know more about the travel credit card options available in Singapore.
7. Ease of access to SMEs
There are many SMEs growing in Singapore. However, some business credit card in Singapore providers have higher entry barriers.
Some might require you to be a big, established business before you can apply for corporate cards. If you’re a small business owner you want to utilize business credit cards to grow your business.
Look for a corporate credit card provider that allows you to have access to the tool as a growing business while you continue building your credit score.
With an easily accessible business credit card, you can streamline your cash flow and have an easier time allocating your funds.
8. All-in-one expense management tool
Tracking your card expenses and reconciling them during month-end bookkeeping processes can be tough.
Controlling all your card expenses also can prove to be challenging, especially if you have both physical and virtual cards assigned to many employees. This is where expense management software accessibility will come in handy.
Having business credit cards that are linked to an expense management platform gives you access to not only real-time visibility but also a dashboard that helps you visualize your expenses and allows you to have an easy overview.
With expense management software, you can track your spending and access your expenses at all times. It makes reconciling your card expenses much easier.
9. Availability of physical cards
While virtual cards are useful for online purchases and subscription management, your employees will likely have to make expenses for other purposes too.
You want a company business card provider that issues multiple physical cards for you. You don’t have to limit physical cards to only the management level of your business.
Equip your employees with physical cards and make business expenses easier to manage.
Your employees no longer have to make personal expenses and wait to be reimbursed for entertaining customers, traveling for business, or get on a Grab for meetings outside of the office.
Manage your day-to-day operation expenses better this way.
10. Integration to accounting software
If you can link your business credit cards to expense management software, you don’t want to stop there. You want to be able to integrate your corporate cards with your accounting software to streamline your processes even further.
A lot of expense management software offers integration with your accounting software of choice, meaning linking your company business card with expense management software is doubly beneficial.
Sync your card expenses with your books and make reconciliation easier. Get accounting integration that allows you to automate the expense categorization of your cards.
Volopay’s corporate cards for your business
Empower your employees and grow your business with Volopay’s corporate cards. As one of the corporate card in Singapore providers,
Volopay allows employees to make business expenses without having to use their personal funds and wait for reimbursement. Business travel is made easier with Volopay’s corporate cards.
You can easily track your business expenses on Volopay’s expense management platform and link your cards for real-time visibility on all your card spending.
Set limits, manage cards, and control your budgets better while empowering your employees and making day-to-day operations easier to do. Volopay’s company business card is accessible to SMEs and enterprises alike.
FAQ's
Yes. You can apply for credit cards specifically for your business. This helps you separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. With a business credit card, you can ensure that all your business transactions are done on your corporate card and not bleeding into personal transactions and vice versa.
Most business cards will require you to have good credit. Although some providers might allow you to create a business credit card with a bad credit score, the likelihood is small. When you don’t have a good credit score, however, you can look for business credit card providers that allow a pre-fund module to get yourself started with your business credit cards.
It might be difficult to a business credit card when your business is new and you don’t have any revenue yet. However, it is possible as some providers allow you to submit your individual credit score as a sole proprietorship. The problem with this is that it holds you fully liable for your business expenses. Your other option is to pre-fund your corporate cards, which some providers can offer.
Yes. The idea behind a business credit card is to separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. You don’t want to be making your business spending from your personal bank account. Tie your business credit cards with your business bank account instead.