- The best corporate card is one that gives you the robust controls and expert support you need at every stage of growth.
- Adopt an effective card program early on to put in place smart, scalable financial operations that help you save time and money.
- Look beyond cash back rewards to a corporate card provider that has unique expertise with startups.
Why the wrong card can stunt your growth
In the early days of startup life, founders often make quick decisions without understanding the long-term impact. Getting a business credit card is a classic example. Too often, founders complete an application online, wait for the plastic to arrive and then they’re off and spending. Fast forward a couple years, and they now have 50 people using corporate cards for business expenses – yet they still have no policies or controls in place to manage spending. And, oh, by the way, all those charges are still being backed by the founder’s personal credit. It’s usually not until the company gets a CFO or controller that someone realizes how much cost and risk is at stake.
While some cards may seem better than others, the best corporate card is one that is the right fit for your business. It should help you meet needs today, give you robust tools to manage growth, and be able to scale credit and capabilities as your company evolves.
For a fast-growing startup, setting up a corporate card program may not seem that important. But improving cash management is a top priority – and that’s what the right card can help you do.
Sticking with the wrong card can mean more time-consuming work and complexity for your finance team and employees, plus extra risk for the founder. That’s no way to support a successful innovation journey. A more strategic approach is to start early on with a business card built for corporate growth.
Plan early to get the best corporate card
How do you get into the right card program as early as possible? When you apply for a business credit card, here are a few steps to take to help ensure you won’t need to transition card programs later.
Establish business credit – without personal liability
Many corporate card issuers will require the applicant (e.g., a founder) to be personally responsible for all the charges, if the company can’t pay them. A less risky and more scalable approach is to have a card with no personal liability. It means the card’s credit limit will be based on the company’s finances and may be adjusted according to your growth.
Choose a corporate card program that scales with you
As you’re gearing up the business, a company card can help you cover expenses and extend cash flow, without having to use your personal cards. However, as your company grows, you’ll have more people who need company cards to purchase equipment, supplies, business travel and so on. You’ll need the ability to control limits for all that spending to manage cash flow, and ensure all expenses are reported and documented for accounting and audits.
If you start early on with a corporate card program that includes robust controls for spend management, reconciliation and reporting, you’re already on your way to smart, scalable financial operations. When you’re a company that needs to stay focused on growth, this is a huge win.
In particular, automated workflows can ensure your employees submit expenses and receipts via mobile app instead of burning valuable time manually compiling expense reports. And for your finance team, instead of requiring days of complicated manual work to close the monthly books, they can streamline reconciliation and automatically sync data to the accounting ledger.
Focus on value beyond rewards
Sure, rewards are important and the cash back value can create a helpful revenue stream as you manage growth. But most every card offers that. What’s really different and may benefit you even more in the long run is access to unique expertise to help you optimize your card program.
For instance, at SVB, our commercial card advisors really understand the needs and challenges of startups. To help clients get the most value from their card program, we help with anything from creating spend policies and setting up automated rules for compliant card use, to identifying cost-saving strategies and how to use data for better budgeting and forecasting.
As you grow, scaling up your capabilities will be much easier if you already have the provider that offers the best corporate card to support your evolving business needs.
SVB commercial card programs are designed for innovation economy companies, and tailored to support your success at every stage of growth.