‘It’s not personal. It’s just Business.’

Tee Dunn, a small business owner for four years and a member of CreditBoards.com, says that like many, she utilized her personal credit cards in the early days of her business. As her business grew and continues to grow, she finds her needs changing.


“It was becoming hard to gauge how much money I was making while using my own credit cards and cash; I needed to separate my business and personal cash flow,” she says.

There are distinct advantages to having a credit card in your business’ name.

· Build credit history in the business’ name

· Capacity to account for expenditures accurately, and to

· correctly gauge income

· Easy itemization for tax purposes

· Vendor discounts

· Concierge services offered by the lender

· Financial consulting services

According to Gerri Detweiler, a credit expert and author of “The Ultimate Credit Handbook", unless the business has been incorporated for at least two years, has about 25 employees, and a large revenue (around $2 million per year), then a business credit card will have to be personally guaranteed. This means that the issuer will base its decision in large part off the credit history of the person signing for the credit card.

What this means for most small business owners is that they have to start small and build a credit history for their business. For those trying to re-build their credit, a credit card secured by and equal to a collateral deposit may be necessary.

Much like her business, Tee built her business credit line from the ground up. She started small by applying for a card from Office Max with a $250 limit; she also obtained lines of credit from Federal Express and Staples. While some of these credit cards did require a personal guarantee to prove her ‘credit-worthiness,’ Tee has quickly managed to establish credit for her business. With good credit management, she reports offers coming in from larger lenders within six months – some offering credit limits of $10,000.

Tee states, “The perks are great, too. With a business credit card, you get discounts from wholesalers who wouldn’t give a second glance to a personal credit card.”

There are many other perks afforded to business card holders, including travel accident insurance, collision coverage on rental card, free or inexpensive additional cards for employees, individual credit lines on each card, and detailed monthly, quarterly and annual transaction reports.