For any corporate business with many employees, it is worth considering bringing in business prepaid cards into the mix. These cards should be a solid part of any corporate cash flow strategy as they can improve the control over spending, cash flow visibility and even simplify the management of expenses. Using business prepaid cards within the company allows managers to set clear spending limits, monitor transactions in real-time and prevent overspending. It also helps from the employees’ end, as it simplifies the process of expense reporting and can be integrated with the current accounting software for even easier synchronisation.
Benefits of corporate prepaid cards
There are a variety of excellent benefits to including prepaid debit cards in a business plan. For the employees, it means that there is better spending control in place. With spending limits set, overspending is prevented and different rules can be imposed for travel or training. All of this can be tracked in real-time to see the company’s cash flow. This then leads to another benefit — improved cash flow management. When funds are capped on these cards, and preloaded, managers know the exact amount available to spend, which means that expenses are more predictable. Additionally, it reduces the chance of debt as these cards will not be linked to credit, thus avoiding the accumulation of debt by workers.
A hugely important aspect is that it simplifies all the processes surrounding expenses. Employees find it easier to monitor their spending and do not need to use their own cash, claiming expenses back later in a lengthy, painstaking process. As such, reconciliation is streamlined with receipt capture, automated expense coding, and even the ability to integrate it with accounting software platforms. Security is also increased as employees do not have to carry cash, and there is centralized control over the cards, as they can be turned off instantly, a valuable feature should a card get lost. All of this allows for flexibility for the business as a whole.
Choosing the right solution
Once a business has determined that a prepaid card is the way forward, the right plan is needed. This requires the business to carefully assess its needs and evaluate the spending patterns of the company as a whole. This is essential in order to determine and set the limits on business prepaid cards depending on the role, expense category or team that the holder is using the card for.
After this, it’s time to compare the providers. All the different features should be checked, including whether there are customizable spending limits, real-time transaction monitoring, automated reporting and the ability to integrate it with pre-existing accounting software. There should also be the ability to turn these cards on or off as the demand requires as well as prevent cash withdrawals and control online or contactless payments. With this in mind, businesses should always request a demo to ensure that all the features they need are present before signing on.
Once a card provider is chosen, it’s time to implement the card program. This means that spending limits and rules need to be configured for each employee. Cards must be funded from the business bank account, and then the cards are distributed. At this point, it’s important that employees are trained and know what the card can and cannot be used for. Monitoring and adjustments will always occur as spending patterns are reviewed to ensure that the limits in place are still appropriate. Reporting, tracking and other automated features within the platform can then simplify the process of reporting expenses and reconciling transactions. Any data should be analyzed and then used to gain helpful insights into the card use and the ability to make better, more strategic financial decisions down the line.
