4 Ways a Business Credit Card Can Help You Save Money

1. Track company expenses

Financial advisors tell consumers looking to save money that they should start by tracking their current spending habits, down to the last candy bar or cup of coffee. The same advice is good for businesses too.

Knowing exactly how much your company spends on supplies, advertising, building and equipment maintenance, software, and other expenses lets you see potential problems before they turn into a budget crisis or a cash-flow crunch.1

Many business credit cards allow you to easily review your account information and transaction details, make online payments, and receive email alerts and eStatements. You'll know at a glance which spend categories are consistently going over-budget and where you need to look for discounts, lower-priced vendors, or other ways to save money. This information can also help you determine if you need to shift your spending priorities when you build your next budget.

2. Control employee spending

Did you know you can provide cards to multiple employees on a single business credit card account? Issuing credit cards to designated staffers eliminates the time-consuming steps of approving and doling out petty cash or checks to cover their business-related expenses.

To reduce the risk of someone overspending or using their card to go on a personal shopping spree, you can set spending limits for each card and add controls over where they can use them. Each business credit card issuer has four-digit merchant category codes that identify the merchant's primary line of business.2 You can add these codes to individual employee credit cards to limit where each person can — and can't — make purchases with their business credit card.

Credit cards are especially convenient for managing expenses of employees who travel often. They don't have to spend money out of pocket and then wait to be repaid. Plus you don't have to worry about them fudging expense reports, and you don't have paperwork to process after they return from a trip.

3. Save money with rewards

In addition to helping you track your business spending and avoid overspending, using a credit card can bring other financial bonuses. With many business credit cards, you earn points for purchases of things like airline tickets, hotel rooms, and gasoline. When you've accumulated enough points, you can redeem them to pay for additional travel, merchandise, or gift cards.

When you need money to send staffers to a conference, recognize a top employee, or thank a special client with a gift, your business card's reward dollars can help you cover the cost and avoid taking extra funds out of your budget.

4. Speed up the purchasing process

Business credit cards can also help improve the efficiency of your business operations. Some banks offer specialized business credit cards with features that make the procurement process less time consuming and make it easier to respond to last-minute needs. Let's say an employee in the field needs a broken-down vehicle repaired, or someone traveling to a conference needs extra funds to take prospective clients to dinner. Instead of having to wait for a purchase order to be processed or a supervisor to give the go-ahead, they can use a credit card for which these types of unplanned purchases have already been approved.

With credit card features that help you manage the spending you need to grow your business, you'll have more time to devote to planning and driving that growth.

Learn more about business credit card solutions from Synovus that make it easier to manage your company's spending.