The corporate credit card is one of the most efficient tools that can be used to facilitate the financial control of your business.

The lack of financial control and planning is among the main causes of bankruptcy among startups and new businesses in Brazil.

Therefore, the entrepreneur who seeks growth and wants to consolidate his business in the market needs, above all, to keep his accounts up to date and monitor expenses.

One of the tools that can be used to achieve this goal is the corporate credit card.

With it, startups and new businesses can monitor and control work-related expenses more easily and efficiently.

However, for this tool to really produce positive results, you need to use it correctly.

Want to find out how? So, follow the next topics.

Financial control: the Achilles heel of Brazilian entrepreneurs

Before talking about the importance of the corporate card, we need to remember some important data about the mortality of companies in Brazil.

According to  Sebrae, the lack of prior planning, problems in business management and the inappropriate behavior of the entrepreneur in the face of business are the main causes of bankruptcy for Brazilian companies.

But do you know what these three causes have in common?

All of them are influenced by problems in the control and financial planning of the business. This explains why almost 50% of Brazilian companies close their doors before completing 5 years of life.

And when it comes to startup, the problem is not much different. Although this business model is on the rise, those who invest in this type of company also face challenges.

According to  another study  carried out by Sebrae, about 50% of Brazilian startups close before completing 4 years of life.

These numbers are reinforced by another survey conducted by PwC Brasil. The study showed that the lack of financial planning is considered the second leading cause of startup failure in the country.

This information only confirms what many people already know. It is not enough to have an excellent idea, good products or services and even an excellent investment if your company does not have financial control.

After all, the lack of money and indebtedness compromise the budget and still alienate potential investors.

However, with the right tools and adequate financial control, it is possible to get out of these statistics and consolidate your business in the market. For this, you will need the help of a corporate card.

How can a corporate credit card help your business?

The corporate credit card works in the same way as a common credit card, the ones you use in your daily life.

For example: purchases of promotional materials, funding for dinners with clients, payment of corporate travel expenses, among other objectives.

In this way, the company is able to centralize corporate spending on a single invoice or related invoices.

In addition, she has greater control over expenses, as she can track purchases and expenses paid with her credit card.

This makes it easier to identify problems with overspending faster and warn the cardholder about these inappropriate expenses.

In practice, this allows the company to have greater financial control over its expenses and improve its strategies for using resources.

With this, it is easier to define where to invest money and what to do to save, without giving up the results.

Because of these advantages, the trend is that the use of corporate credit cards will continue to grow and that this tool will become indispensable for the financial control of companies, including startups.

The biggest advantage of the corporate credit card

With prepaid corporate cards, it is much easier to manage company expenses, in addition, there is no need for a credit analysis. Therefore, you won’t need all that bureaucracy of traditional banks or the risk of having your card application denied. 

5 tips to control your startup’s corporate credit card spending

Now that you know the benefits of using the corporate card, it’s time to understand how this tool can be used to benefit your business. Vexpenses has prepared 5 tips for you to start your spending control planning! 

For that, check out the tips below!

1- Centralize all work expenses in one place

Instead of reimbursing each employee with the payment of work-related expenses, the company itself does this by paying the credit card bill.

This facilitates the work of the financial sector and the monitoring of expenses.

Therefore, allow your employees to use the corporate card to pay for food, accommodation, airline tickets, transfers, kilometers traveled, among other costs related to the work of these professionals.

2- Monitor employee spending

Don’t wait for the monthly bill to arrive to keep track of the expenses of those who use the corporate credit card.

Ideally, keep track of purchases with the card as it is used. To do this, activate the receipt of notification whenever any purchase is made with this card.

The alert can be sent to the e-mail of the administrative and/or financial sector of the company. This is a simple and practical way to monitor transactions, avoid unexpected expenses and protect yourself from fraud and scams.

After all, monitoring allows the identification and solution of these problems in advance.

3- Analyze the expenses

It is not enough to monitor, you have to analyze the expenses. In this way, the company can verify which expenses are recurring to improve its financial planning.

If the marketing department needs to make monthly purchases of materials for offline advertising, for example, then that expense should be included in the business’s budget planning.

4- Build your corporate card usage policy

If you want your employees to use the corporate card the way the startup wants, then you need to create a usage policy with objective and easy-to-understand rules.

It is possible to set spending limits and determine which expenses can be paid with the card, for example.

In addition, it is important to define penalties for employees who disobey these rules.

Thus, this usage policy encourages compliance with the rules and also serves as reference material in case the employee has any questions about the use of the card.

5- Use technology to facilitate spending control

Combine corporate card use with expense management tools that increase data security and information processing.

These tools can be used in the form of applications, store data in the cloud, streamline the flow of information and even approve the payment of expenses.

With this, it becomes much easier to manage financial expenses and define strategies to save.

Following these tips, using the corporate card will facilitate the financial management of your startup or new business and help you scale your business.

Caroline Peres