If you want to know the ins and the outs of the business credit card world and if you want to put business credit cards to work for your business, you need to know the basics.

1. Don't Do Business Without One

Business credit cards are not a luxury for business owners -- they are a vital necessity. If you want your business to succeed, you're going to need to look into business credit cards sooner or later (and preferably sooner rather than later).

The reasons for having business credit cards are numerous and the fact of the matter is that the sooner you apply for business credit cards, the sooner you begin building your business's credit history.

2. Keep It Simple

One of the best things about business credit cards is the fact that they can significantly simplify your bookkeeping and expense accounting. By keeping all business-related purchases on a single business credit card, you'll be able to track your business spending effortlessly.

3. Bask in the Rewards

When your business gets to the financial point where you can pay your credit card balance off in full each and every month, you may want to look into business credit cards that offer rewards. These credit cards can help you stretch your business's dollars further, by allowing you to redeem points for business supplies, services and even cash back.

Just remember, business credit cards with rewards usually carry a higher interest rate. Because of this, they are only good for those who pay their balances off in full and don't accrue any interest charges.

4. And The Benefits Keep Coming

In addition to rewards, business credit cards often come with other perks and privileges for your business. Many business credit cards offer advantages, such as travel accident insurance, purchase protection and other helpful benefits.

5. Make Life Easy for Yourself and Your Employees

If your business employs individuals other than yourself, business credit cards can be important. If your employees must travel for business reasons or if you need them to run errands, issuing them a business credit card will make life much easier.

Your employees won't have to put cash out up front and you won't have to deal with expense reports and employee reimbursement.

Realize, however, that you are ultimately responsible for paying the bills, so issue employee credit cards with care.

6. Building a Credit History

Not only are business credit cards wonderful tools for your business to use, they are also instrumental in building your business's credit history. The longer you use your busines credit cards, the higher your business will rank in the eyes of lenders.

7. Manage Them Wisely

When you do obtain business credit cards for your business, just remember that you need to manage them wisely and pay them on time just as you would your personal credit cards. Just like with personal credit cards, business credit cards carry heavy penalties for late payments and over-the-limite transactions.

And remember -- while business credit cards may be similar to personal credit cards, you should understand two very distinct differences. It is possible (although not easy) to live without personal credit cards; however, it is even more difficult for your business to thrive without the proper use of business credit cards in the day to day expense management.