What is a corporate card, and how do I use it?

Many company employees often incur financial expenses to fulfil their job responsibilities. They may go on a business trip, rent a car or organise a business meeting in a restaurant. All of these activities are performed in the interests of the business and, therefore, are paid from the corporate account. For an employee to access corporate finances, it used to be necessary to go to the cash desk of the organisation and take a certain amount under the report. It is very inconvenient and leads to unnecessary waste of working time.

Issuing corporate expense cards to such employees is much easier and more convenient. This article will discuss what this is and what the advantages of using such payment means for the employee and the company.

Cash on account, chequebook or card: differences

Cash under the report is issued when an employee needs to pay for work expenses that can not be recalculated for several reasons. These can include the purchase of office supplies, refuelling of the working car, travel expenses, etc.

An organisation must have a cashier and a specially equipped cash register to give employees money. The company must also bear the cost of collecting funds. The employee must write a corresponding application to receive money. Based on this application, the accountant will issue an expense order and request the necessary amount at the company’s cash desk.

When the employee spends the amount allocated to him, he must account for it. For this purpose, it is necessary to write an advance report for the accounting department and attach receipts, tickets, and checks that confirm the expenses. This method of expense control is not very reliable, as the employee may report to the accounting department after some time, lose the check at all, or not take it after payment.

A small company can use a chequebook linked to its corporate account if it does not have a cash register. The difficulty is that the employee must always go to the bank to cash this check. It is much more convenient to give employees expense cards linked to the corporate account. Limits can be set on them depending on the cardholder’s needs and level of access. An unlimited number of cards can be linked to one corporate account.

What can I pay for with a corporate card?

Spending cards can be used to purchase goods and services at retail outlets or online marketplaces. They can be topped up, and cash can be withdrawn from an ATM. However, they can only be used for business purposes. To submit an advance report, receipts must be kept after each purchase using the card. If the payment was made online, a bank statement is enough.

The following types of expenses can be paid with a corporate card:

  • Related to the company’s core business. It includes payment for various services, goods and mutual settlements with suppliers;
  • Travel and representation expenses. It includes the organisation of working visits to a restaurant, hotel reservations, rent of vehicles, trains or plane tickets, and per diem for employees;
  • Related to business activities. This category of expenses includes the purchase of stationery, office equipment and software, payment for various training materials and courses, repair work, cleaning, garbage removal, etc.;
  • Transportation costs. This may be the maintenance of a fleet of vehicles and the cost of refuelling them.

Corporate cards cannot be used to purchase personal goods or to receive wages or social assistance.

How to get a corporate card?

Traditionally, companies open a corporate account in a bank, and the same bank executes a card program. It is only sometimes convenient because in order to carry out any actions with cards in the future, you will also need to go to the bank. And this is an unnecessary waste of time. It is much more convenient and effective in terms of time management to launch your card program through the Business Wallester platform. It is a multifunctional platform through which you can issue cards for any purpose and carry out effective corporate spending control.

The advantage of Wallester is the availability of a mobile application in which you can upload photos of checks and receipts. This greatly simplifies reporting and does not require the user to keep unnecessary documents. Information about online purchases will be immediately displayed online on the platform.

With the Wallester Business platform, there is no need to go to the bank to manage cards. The following functions are available on it:

  • issuing cards of any type and purpose;
  • control of expenses, setting limits on all cards;
  • blocking and unblocking of cards in case of loss or theft;
  • card replacement in case of expiration;
  • card tokenisation with connection to any digital wallets.

The platform displays detailed information about all company expenses. All transactions are monitored in real-time, which allows you to quickly and accurately create reports and budget plans. Wallester easily integrates with any systems and databases that the company already uses.

For businesses, Wallester Business is a convenient, comprehensive solution for controlling company spending. For personnel, Wallester corporate cards are a comfortable and useful payment tool that saves working time and gives freedom in decision-making to achieve the company’s goals.

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