As a business owner with more to do than time allows, it’s nice to know you can trust your employees to make wise spending decisions on your behalf. That may include spending petty cash on office supplies when necessary, booking a hotel for business travel, or a wide range of other spending activities.
Although giving your employees the ability to spend on behalf of your business offers a level of convenience, it also opens the door to headaches. Employee reimbursement programs can be difficult to maintain, and spending in multiple areas without automated tracking is an accounting nightmare.
That’s one reason many business owners apply for a charge card or credit card specifically designed for small businesses with multiple employees. Learn about what these credit cards are, why they’re beneficial, and the best offers on the market below.
What is a business credit card for employees?
A business credit card for employees is a specific type of small business credit card that allows business owners to designate as many authorized users as they see fit. These accounts give you the ability to track spending across your organization while empowering your employees to make wise business purchases on behalf of your company with their own employee cards.
Some business credit cards for companies with multiple employees have other features that allow you to set unique limits for each cardholder, track spending in real time, and more.
These accounts are valuable for several reasons. Primarily, they help you empower your team by offering them the ability to make their own travel accommodations and purchasing decisions while empowering you to better manage your company’s finances.
The benefits of business credit cards for employees and small businesses
There are several benefits to providing business credit cards for employees. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to give your employees a way to spend company cash without worrying about reimbursement programs. Not only do you alleviate the concern of your employees having to spend more than they’re comfortable with to do their jobs, but you also save significant amounts of time and money by avoiding the administrative process of reimbursements.
How to choose the best business credit card for your employees
There are numerous benefits of business credit cards. Here’s what you should look for when you apply for a new business credit card:
- Available cards: Look for options that offer free access to unlimited employee cards. Some lenders will charge annual or monthly fees for each additional card you need.
- Spending controls: Some credit cards for businesses with multiple employees give you the ability to create employee spending limits based on spending amounts and types of purchases. These spending limits can cut down on business expenses by ensuring that employees stick to your company’s spending policy.
- Real-time tracking: Some credit card offers give you the ability to track spending on employee credit cards in real time. This means you’re in the know when it comes to your business spending at all times. .
- Additional perks: Many business credit cards come with additional perks, like cashback or software discounts. These perks help you get the most bang for your buck as you spend to grow your business.
6 popular business credit cards for businesses with multiple employees
Ramp
Card details
- APR: None
- Annual fee: None
- Welcome bonus: $500
Rewards program: Ramp offers one of the easiest-to-navigate rewards programs on the market. When you use the card, you’ll earn unlimited 1.5% cashback on all purchases. There are no pesky categories to track or caps on your rewards.
Additional account perks
- Unlimited employee cards: You can request an unlimited number of employee cards at no additional cost.
- Virtual cards: You can also set up an unlimited number of virtual credit cards for your business.
- Sales-based underwriting: Sales-based underwriting means the Ramp card may be easier to qualify for than traditional business credit cards.
- No personal guarantee: Ramp doesn’t believe you should have to risk your personal credit or personal financial stability to access credit for your business.
- Employee spending controls: Set limits on the amount of money an employee can spend daily as well as the types of purchases they can make. This is a major benefit when it comes to managing business travel expenses.
- Real-time spend tracking: Know what’s going on at all times.
- Accounting integrations: Integrate your account with popular tools like QuickBooks for seamless accounting.
- Reporting: Create in-depth expense reports with the click of a button for ultimate account management.
Pros
- Ramp’s cashback rewards program offers 1.5% cashback on all purchases.
- The account is easier to qualify for than some traditional business credit cards.
- Reduce your business expenses with complete spending control.
Keep in mind
- As it is a charge card, you must pay your balance in full each month.
- The card is not available to sole proprietors.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Card details
- APR: 25.24%
- Annual fee: $95, waived the first year
- Welcome bonus: 50,000 bonus miles
- Employee cards: Create as many employee cards as you need
Rewards program: The Capital One Spark Miles for Business credit card is a travel rewards card that offers 2 miles for each dollar you spend on an unlimited basis.
Pros
- The card offers a welcome bonus.
- The card comes with a travel perks and rewards program.
Cons
- You’ll have to pay a $95 annual fee.
- The card has a high interest rate.
- You can only redeem miles for travel rewards.
Chase Ink Business PremierSM Credit Card
Card details
- APR: 18.49% to 26.49%, depending on your creditworthiness
- Annual fee: $195
- Welcome bonus: $1,000
- Employee cards: Access employee cards with spending controls at no additional cost.
Rewards program: The Chase Ink Business PremierSM Credit Card offers 2% unlimited cashback on all purchases.
Pros
- The card comes with a welcome bonus.
Cons
- You have to spend $10,000 in three months to qualify for the welcome bonus.
- You’ll pay a high annual fee.
- You’ll pay a high interest rate if you carry a balance.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business
Card details
- APR: 19.99% to 28.99%, depending on your creditworthiness
- Annual fee: $99, waived for the first year
- Welcome bonus: 50,000 bonus points
Rewards program: You’ll earn one mile for every dollar you spend on an unlimited basis. You can redeem the miles you earn for Delta flights and other Delta products and services.
Pros
- The card is helpful for those who fly with Delta often.
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- The rewards program may be difficult for some cardmembers to navigate.
- You’ll have to pay an annual fee to have this card.
- Many applicants find it difficult to be approved for American Express business credit card offers.
U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard®
Card details
- APR: 0% intro APR for 15 months; 18.24% to 27.24% variable standard interest rate, depending on your creditworthiness
- Annual fee: $0
- Welcome bonus: $500
- Employee cards: Request as many employee cards as you need.
Rewards program: The U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard® offers 1% cashback on all purchases. However, as its name suggests, you can triple your cash rewards by spending in specific categories.
Pros
- 0% interest for 15 months can save you money when you transfer balances from high interest rate accounts.
- There’s no annual fee to consider.
Cons
- You’ll pay a high interest rate when the promotional period expires.
- There are limited perks to owning this card.
- The card only comes with limited employee spending controls.
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Card details
- APR: 17.49% to 23.49% variable, depending on your creditworthiness
- Annual fee: $0
- Welcome bonus: $900
- Employee cards: You can request unlimited employee cards at no additional cost. You can set individual limits to give you more control over employee spending.
Rewards program: The Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers 1% cashback on all purchases in all categories.
Pros
- The card comes with a welcome bonus.
- You can request as many employee cards as you need at no additional cost.
Cons
- You have to spend $6,000 within the first 3 months after opening your account to qualify for the welcome bonus.
- The rewards program can be difficult for some cardholders to navigate.
- $25,000 annual limits put a cap on your largest cash-back earning categories.
Streamline and automate expense management
A small business card for employees should do far more than just let employees spend to a specific limit. That’s where Ramp comes in. Ramp spending accounts give you the ability to streamline and automate expense management with the following tools:
- Branded corporate cards: Ramp’s branded corporate cards are powered by Visa and accepted everywhere Visa is accepted. They put your company’s brand in your employee’s hands, empowering them to make purchases and offering you complete control while you earn 1.5% cashback on all purchases.
- Automated receipt matching: The days of matching receipts to expense reports are behind you when you take advantage of Ramp’s platform. Employees submit receipts the moment they spend using their cell phones. Ramp’s technology matches those receipts to your expense reports for seamless accounting.
- Pay bills in seconds: You can pay vendors via card, ACH, or check. When you’re done, let Ramp streamline your accounting process by automatically categorizing expenses and syncing them with your accounting software.
- Close books 8 days faster: Ramp’s automatic categorization and integration with QuickBooks helps businesses close their books 8 days faster on average.
- Real-time expense tracking: Track every expense you have in real-time. You can even analyze spending by department, location, merchant, and more.
Features like those above are why Ramp customers say things like:
“Unlike other credit card companies which push us to spend more, Ramp is trying to help us spend less. It feels like finally there’s alignment.”
Get Ramp today
Stop wasting your time with financial accounts that don’t give you everything you need to efficiently operate your business. Sign up for Ramp today to take advantage of features that help you streamline and automate your accounting process, empower your employees, and earn rewards in the process.
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Richard Moy is an experienced freelance Content Marketing Manager supporting Ramp. Prior to joining Ramp, he served as a content marketer and editor at BetterCloud and Stack Overflow.
FAQs
The answer to this question depends on the type of business credit card you have. Some business credit cards are only designed for use by the owner of the business, while others are designed for all members of the business to use.
If your company has a credit card account that’s designed to support multiple employees, it should be relatively easy to request a business credit card for any employee on your staff.
Employee business credit cards work like any other credit card. Your employees can use them to make purchases when they travel for work, need something for the office, or otherwise have a business expense to cover.
However, each employee card is attached to an overall business account. In most cases, the owner of the business account can limit the amount of money each employee can spend. As employees spend money, the account owner is obligated to repay the money borrowed against their credit accounts.
Every business credit card has different qualification requirements. However, in most cases, business credit cards are only available to business owners who generate positive free cash flow and have good credit scores. Some spending accounts, like Ramp, use commerce sales-based underwriting, making it easier to qualify for a business credit card.
Corporate cards are typically designed for large companies with many employees. You typically need to produce millions in annual revenue to be approved for a corporate credit card. Business credit cards are products for small businesses.
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