Question about business

1. Which retail business would be best to start and why: a) Specialty retail business or b) Mail order business?

2. Which type of business is more predictable and does not change often: Specialty retail or mail order?

3. Many people say that PASSION is important when it comes to starting a business because the owner will have to work long hour to make his or her business a success. I agree with that but can you explain to me why there are many people out there who started their successful businesses outside their PASSION?

4. How can I choose products and services to sell that fit my personality and are part of my values?

5. I took a Myers-Briggs personality test and the result of the test shows that my personality type is an ISFJ (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging). Would someone like me who possess this personality type can become successful in operating his or her retail business?

span lang=”EN-US”>For a newly established business without corporate credit, the basis for approval for a business credit card would be the business owner’s personal credit history. If you carefully examine your contract, it contains a clause that discusses your personal liability as the owner of the business credit card account. What does the personal liability provision mean and how should this affect you?

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Personal Guarantee on Business Credit Card

When you sign your business credit card agreement, you also agree that you would personally guarantee the account. This means that in case the business fails and repayment becomes difficult, you- the business owner is personally liable to pay off all charges in your business credit card.

Under the personal liability clause, the cardholder’s personal credit history can be damaged if there would be unpaid charges on the business account. If your company incurs a large amount debt, your own credit rating can drop even if you don’t have any problem with your personal accounts. As the owner of the business and the owner of the business credit card, you are directly responsible for this account.

With this in mind, entrepreneurs should be cautious with the use of their small business credit cards. Bear in mind that in the event that your employees abuse the account- using their supplementary cards, you will still be accountable to pay off all bills charged to your name. This is why supplementary cards must only be given to your most trusted employees. To avoid the possibility of abuse, closely monitoring your employee’s spending habits is a must.

Can You Get Off from Personal Liability?

Is it possible to be free from the personal liability clause? The answer is yes, it is possible. If you have been using your business credit card for at least two years or more and your record shows that you’ve been a consistent payer, you can request from your business credit card company to remove the personal liability provision. Still, the decision would depend on your business credit card issuer.

It is recommended for business owners to register with a business credit bureau immediately. As soon as you’ve opened the business, you can establish a separate credit history for your company by signing up with major credit reporting agencies like Dun & Bradstreet and Experian (Business). Once this is done, you can apply for a business credit card to start building up your business credit more easily.

Be sure to select a business credit card that will report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies, not to the personal credit reporting agencies. Building up your corporate credit may take some time so establishing as early as possible would work to your advantage. As we’ve said, after 2 years, you can request your business credit card company to dismiss the personal liability clause and completely separate your business credit from your personal credit history.

However, be reminded that separating your business and personal credit history does not mean you should relax on managing your business credit card. It is still important that you watch out your credit card use, that you stay within your credit limit and that you submit your payments on time. By doing this, you can be sure that you‘ll maintain an excellent business credit standing.

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Question about business

The recession’s impact on personal credit cards has been well documented over the past few months – in fact the responsibility for the ‘credit crunch’ has been squarely laid at the feet of inappropriate credit lending by the banks. Many people are receiving letters from their credit card lenders informing them of an increase in interest rates as the lenders try to recoup some of the substantial losses incurred as the financial crisis deepens, but what effect has the general fiscal malaise had on business credit cards?

The economy still needs to operate to fight off the worsening financial picture, and businesses (particularly small businesses) will still need lines of credit. With the Bank of England base interest rate at a record low, business leaders are now calling on the government to cap interest rate charges on business credit cards to give them a little bit of breathing space. The government has consistently resisted the calls on the grounds that a cap could harm the consumers they are designed to protect by restricting access to credit and also reducing the transparency of charging structures.

Credit cards – particularly for small businesses – are an additional form of financial income, allowing short-term flexibility and playing a vital role in keeping other lines of credit open to a business. Using a business credit card can enable a small business to ensure that suppliers are paid on time whilst giving the business an interest-free period in which to bring in sufficient funds to pay off the credit card debt. Although this may sound like a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, this financial juggling act is what keeps many businesses trading and can avoid them having to take out costly loans or charge-laden overdrafts. But as the recession really begins to bite, businesses may find that obtaining a business credit card in the first place becomes far more difficult.

The worst thing a budding entrepreneur can do is to use their own personal credit card to finance their business. This makes it very difficult to separate business and personal finances and makes the businessman personally responsible for the debt. Business credit cards also have similar offers to personal credit cards, including interest-free periods, balance transfer facilities and often additional perks as well. This makes them ideal for short term, small credit payments and for larger businesses it enables a number of employees to use the same facility through multiple card access. As the full effects of the recession begin to be felt, business credit card users may see some of these perks start to disappear as card issuers attempt to cut the costs of their cards and reduce their exposure to potential bad debt.

Some businesses are using business credit cards to pay their tax bill, which is tempting as it avoids any fines for late payment. However, HMRC has become more flexible as the recession showed that many businesses were struggling with their tax bills, and have introduced a deferred payment scheme. Before putting the tax bill on a business credit card it may be worth investigating this option first rather than incurring interest charges on the amount via the credit card.

As financial belts tighten, business credit cards may start to become more of a luxury rather than a necessity for many businesses. Although there are still plenty of opportunities for small businesses with a good credit record to take advantage of business credit cards, lenders will invariably be stricter in their acceptance criteria than during the credit boom of the eighties and nineties. Before applying for any form of credit it would be wise to take the time first to ensure that you meet all the requirements for acceptance, as repeated refusals will damage your credit rating further. Credit needs to be used wisely, and careful management of a business credit card is still a good option for small and medium size businesses that want an additional line of funding available to them for everyday use.

About Author

Hannah Callen

Hannah Callen has published many articles on Business Finance issues and enjoys breaking down the jargon surrounding business credit cards. You can find out more on business credit cards here.

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