Just as it's common for a company to have a fleet of cars to meet its employees' travel needs, it's possible to set up a fleet of bank cards by providing your team members with a company business card. This practice is a way of showing them how much you trust them.
Let's take a look at how to create it, and the many advantages it offers.
A corporate pro card eliminates expense claims
Filling out expense forms is often a real ordeal for your employees. In fact, this is the main reason why they tend to put it off, even though making advances on expenses is not ideal for balancing a personal budget.
By providing your employees with a company business card, you're making life easier for them, you're no longer afraid of seeing receipts evaporate into thin air, and you can approach a potential tax audit with greater peace of mind.
Choose a corporate pro card to avoid expense advances
If the sums involved are not too high, it is usually the employees who make the advances, using their own means of payment. The risk with this procedure is that these "small" advances accumulate and can complicate the end of the month, especially if they don't prepare their expense reports on a regular basis.
When financial commitments are significant, as is often the case on long-term assignments, it is generally the company that makes the advance and pays a budget to the employee. This practice is not required by law, unless provided for in the collective bargaining agreement or a company agreement.
For employees who travel a lot on a regular basis, the company may also decide to grant them a permanent financial envelope. The major disadvantage of this practice is an additional cash outflow, which is not necessarily a good thing.
Another solution is to make one-off advances to meet a financing need that arises. The difficulty here lies in quantifying expenses, which is not always easy. Sometimes, the employee will find himself in possession of too much money, while at other times, he will be required to settle part of his financial commitments using his own funds.
With a corporate pro card, all these difficulties are eliminated, simplifying both the employee's life and that of the finance department. What's more, business cards are usually linked to an online pro account held by the company, enabling it to easily manage its business expenses.
How do you set up a fleet of business cards?
For your security, the business cards you entrust to your employees can be easily configured. You can set the authorized limit at any time, and increase or decrease it without delay. If you find that expenses have been incurred inappropriately, or simply by mistake, you have every opportunity to block the card of that careless or unscrupulous employee.
Finally, you always have the option of setting the ceiling to zero. In this case, every expense must be anticipated and approved by you. All that remains is for you to set the ceiling corresponding to the financial commitment you have validated.
Which employees can benefit from a pro expense card?
These are all those who have a relationship with either customers or suppliers. This card gives them complete autonomy to manage their travel without the need for a dedicated department within your company.
They can :
- make their own hotel, train or plane reservations;
- pay restaurant bills for business meals;
- pay for fuel, tolls...