Each year, in the USA alone, more than 600,000 small businesses are started, and with the current financial crisis and higher level of unemployment that figure will certainly increase, as more and more people leave the corporate world to start their own business.
Credit cards play an important role in the success of any small business:

• Credit cards help to maintain separate accounts for personal finances and business finances. Keeping a credit card only for business purposes will be particularly useful in separating your business transactions from your personal ones at the end of the month.
• Your FICO score will also benefit since your social security number will be used by the credit card issuer; and this is another reason to maintain a healthy credit score.
• At the same time, a business credit card will create a credit history for your business, which will equally play an important role in when you’ll apply for business loans, leases, factoring, and lines of credit.
• You can use reward credit cards to decrease the cost of doing business, or use them for employees perks.  Happy employees help the bottom line.
• A business credit card makes record keeping easy, you’ll be able to see at a glance your recurring monthly expenses, as well as things like meals, travel and entertainment expenses, especially if your credit card issuer offers an annual, itemized statement that comes very handy at tax season.
• Last but not least, many business credit cards offer exclusive travel benefits and travel insurance that are very important to businesses where its employees have to travel to see clients.

As usual, in business just like in your personal finances, credit cards and credit in general are tools to build and manage your business, but if you abuse them and misuse them they might become your downfall: use it wisely.

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Photo Credits: chenutis (cc)