Should You Get a Small Business Credit Card in 2023?

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Every business owner should have one.

Key points

• A small business credit card allows you to keep business expenses and personal expenses separate.
• Using one could also improve your business credit score.
• Most business credit cards offer money-saving perks, such as rewards and purchase protections.

When you start a business, your finances become more complicated. It’s no longer just about your personal finance, but also your business’s financial considerations, including its expenses and how you’ll pay for them.

Many banks offer small business credit cards that are designed specifically for business owners. Whether you’ve had a business for years or you’re just getting started, this type of credit card can be extremely valuable. If you don’t have one yet, or you’re not satisfied with the business card you have, then it’s well worth applying for a new one in 2023.

Why get a small business credit card

Although there are many ways you can benefit from a business credit card, let’s start with the most important. A small business credit card separates your business expenses and your personal expenses.

Now, you could use your regular credit cards to pay for business costs. There’s no law against it, but then you’re going to have all your expenses mixed together. That creates more work for you when it’s tax time and you need to find the business expenses you’re writing off. It could also take longer to review how much your business has been spending in a certain time period, like a specific quarter.

With a business credit card, you won’t have these problems. If you only use it for business spending, then all those expenses will be in one place. You won’t need to dig through personal expenses to find them. Most of the best business credit cards also provide useful accounting tools that can help you stay on top of your business’s finances. For example, you could get expense reports for a month, quarter, or year.

Another reason it’s smart to have a business card is to build your business credit score. By using a business card regularly and paying on time, you can build your business credit, just like building your personal credit score. If your business needs a loan or line of credit in the future, a good business credit score could make all the difference.

More benefits of business credit cards

Business credit cards can offer quite a few features that help business owners save money. Here’s a look at the most valuable perks some business cards have to offer:

• Credit card rewards, most often either cash back or travel points, that you earn on purchases
• Sign-up bonuses, which are introductory offers that new cardholders can earn
• 0% intro APR on purchases, allowing you to pay off purchases over time interest-free
• Purchase protection covering eligible items against damage or theft
• Spending credits that help cover the cost of specific types of purchases
• Free employee cards you can manage with spending controls

Exact benefits depend on the card, so if you’re looking for something specific, try narrowing it down to a specific type of business card first. For example, if your business requires you to travel all the time, then business credit cards for travel are a natural fit. If you’re interested in getting some money back on your spending, check out cash back business credit cards.

If you already have a business credit card

For those who already have business credit cards, getting a new one in 2023 isn’t a must. However, it’s still a good idea to review current business card offers and see if there are any that could help your business.

Maybe you have some big expenses to finance in 2023, so you decide to look at cards with a 0% intro APR. Or, you could find a card that earns more rewards in categories where your business has high spending. Even if your business doesn’t need a new credit card, there are plenty of huge cash back bonus offers out there for new cardholders. If you get a new card and fulfill the bonus requirements, this is the closest thing to easy money.