The whole point of having a strong SEO campaign is so that you can direct more traffic to your site and create an extremely powerful online business. However, while eventually you’ll be making money from your customers, initially you’re going to have to put in some money to help cover operation expenses and help you with your online business pursuits. That said, you’ll most likely need a business credit card to help you manage your finances—after all, cash can get tricky to manage and you might not have all of the money to purchase new online layouts or hire new SEO writers up front. But not all business credit cards are the same. To learn how you should go about picking the best one for you and your online business, continue reading below.
Compare and Contrast
The first thing you need to do is look at all of your options. Some banks may give you offers through the mail, but the easiest way to see a comprehensive list of all there is to offer is to do a simple search online—all of the major companies and small independent banks in your area should appear. This is when you should be sure to read the fine print before you commit to any business credit card. Areas to double check include:
- Line of Credit—you need to make sure it’s a proper amount to cover your predicted online business expenses.
- Annual Fees—how much will it be each year to use your card?
- Interest Rates—while it’s great you’re building credit you need to make sure you can afford to pay the interest.
- Penalties—If there is an instance where you can’t pay on time, you need to know what the consequences will be for late payments, etc.
Check Reward System
While getting a card with a good line of credit and a small interest rate is great, you also want to make sure the business credit you’re thinking about getting offers rewards or some other type of incentive for using it. Collecting reward points might be the reason you get to go on that much needed vacation, or the reason you can give your hard working employees a holiday bonus. Make sure that the rewards plan is enticing enough.
Use Review Sites
Last but not least, because scouring sites online for the best business credit card can be over whelming, the easiest way to narrow your choices is too look at consumer review sites. It’s better to get an honest opinion about a particular business credit card from other small business owners like yourself rather than reading a PR press release about how great a particular business credit card it is that he or she is representing.
While you think you may not need a business credit card because you have a personal credit, it’s important that you get a business credit card to separate personal and business expenses—it will make taxes and audits so much easier.
Eliza Morgan is a full time freelance writer and blogger. She specializes in writing about business credit cards and other business related topics. If you have any questions email her at [email protected].