Often small business owners mistakenly believe they would not be approved for business credit cards. What you may not know is that the majority of credit cards are awarded to small business owners with no employees! In fact, 75% of all small businesses have no employees, so if this describes your business, you might be pleasantly surprised at the availability of credit card options.



Before you go around applying to every business credit card on the market, however, you'll want to take a little time to find one that will most benefit your own business needs for credit.

-Do you carry a balance from one month to the next or do you plan to pay off all purchases made with a credit card every month?

-Do you tend to shop the same store regularly?

-Do you travel frequently, particularly by airplane- or are you a road warrior, conducting business from your car and traveling from one location to another constantly?

Considering how you currently conduct your business will help you select credit cards that best match your needs. If you rarely have reason to buy airline tickets, it doesn't make sense that you apply for a business credit card with airline miles; and if you are shopping for office supplies in the same store each month- you'll want to look at cards that give you bonuses or cash back on those regular purchases.

For example, let's say you regularly purchase printer ink, paper, pens and staples in order to operate your business. They are necessary expenses and you should consider applying for cards that allow you to earn cash back on those exact purchases! When you get 5% back on office supply purchases you make, it just makes sense to use your card for those purchases and start accumulating your rewards. Discover, American Express, Citibank and GM all offer business credit cards with cash back on office supply purchases, ranging from 1% to 5%; and also some rewards programs offer points that are later redeemable towards merchandise.

Other credit cards for small business owners offer different types of rewards, and could include any

combination of the following, typical rewards:

-Bonus points (redeemable for merchandise, cash back, or airline miles)

-Unlimited free companion tickets for flights

-Access to personal business assistant

-Travel accident insurance coverage

-Cash Back on specific purchases or on all purchases made with your card

-Rewards towards the purchase, lease, or maintenance of a vehicle

In addition to the rewards that are offered from spending with your credit cards, they also offer assistance keeping track of your business expenses.

If you were to use a credit card each month to pay for all of your business expenses, you would have no problem knowing where your money has gone each month!

You can view both your mailed statements as well as your online statements (available with the majority of credit cards) to see details on what was paid for that month, and how much. Instead of writing numerous checks and mailing each one individually; you could write one check at the end of each month to pay off your credit card account. Not only do you save time writing checks, but you'll also have an easier time balancing your checking account. Plus, if you have employees, issuing them a credit card linked to your account means you'll see their expenses on your monthly statement as well- making it easy to keep track of everything in one, convenient place.

Small business credit cards are available to business owners- even if you do not have other employees! They can make your record keeping easier and you can gain numerous benefits just by paying for your regular business expenses with a credit card.