Five game-changing corporate card benefits

Corporate cards in a nutshell

Let's imagine your number one salesman, Steve, has been busy closing great deals on the road. But each time he gets home, he has to spend hours gathering and submitting his expenses, and even worse, wait ages to receive reimbursement via his payroll. Not great for Steve, and there's especially bad news for your company too. Steve isn't even sure he wants to work for you anymore.

Thankfully, Steve's finance team was way ahead of this issue and had set about fixing it by implementing a spend management solution featuring corporate cards and expense management software.

With corporate cards, Steve didn't need to use his own money anymore. He could buy things right away while the company paid the bill. Steve's happy because he can focus on selling things and meeting people without worrying about his money getting stuck. And you (as the business) is happy too, as you can see how much Steve is spending and set rules around expenses, travel, and more.

Compared to traditional bank cards used for business, smart spend management solutions, including corporate cards and expense management software, can offer a stack of benefits to support seamless expense management, more efficient processes, and happier employees.

Smart corporate cards (and associated expense management software) can fuel more efficient transaction flows, promote accountability, and enhance security, helping businesses to:

• Streamline employee expense reimbursement processes
• Automate accounting workflows
• Save time and money on time-consuming reconciliations
• Enhance company security and restrict access to funding

Achieving full finance team potential with five corporate card benefits

At Payhawk, we issue corporate Visa cards that offer many benefits for businesses that revolutionise how companies manage and control expenses.

In particular, our corporate cards offer five distinct corporate card benefits, including:

Simplified expense management

According to the Global Travel Business Association, completing a manual employee expense report takes approx 20 minutes. But with our company cards, you can do it in seconds.

*So, what's the secret? *

Company cards can significantly simplify the expense management process. By using their corporate cards at checkout, employees can automatically record company expenses without the need for tedious invoice reconciliation and data entry processes.

With our solution, managing employee expenses with cards is simple. When an employee uses a corporate Visa card to pay for a transaction, we automatically record it in the app as part of the process, which includes the following steps:

1. An employee scans the invoice using cutting-edge AI camera technology, which pulls all of the relevant data out and records it.
2. We automatically reconcile the spend data with the company's accounting system or ERP, saving time and reducing errors.

Corporate cards simplify the expense management process and make tracking spending easier for both employees and employers. Workers no longer have to pay out-of-pocket for expenses, chase invoices, and wait to be reimbursed by their employer later on.

Instead, they can use their corporate card to make purchases on behalf of the company and get reimbursed more quickly. This allows companies to have better control over employee expenses and track which employees are making purchases and what they are spending money on. By streamlining this process, companies can save time and money while gaining greater insight into how money is being spent throughout the organisation.

Improved cash flow control

Businesses that use spend management solutions, including company cards and expense management software, also benefit from improved cash flow control.

When companies use corporate cards instead of other methods, such as checks or wire transfers, they don’t have to worry about waiting multiple days for payments to clear or dealing with bounced checks or overdraft fees. Some of the expense management features that a good spend management solution will offer include:

• Custom expense approval workflows
• Auto-blocking cards that go over the limit
• One-click out-of-office expense approval
• Automated expense reimbursement notifications
• PSD2-enabled one-click top-ups and balance checks

Additionally, by using corporate cards, businesses can set up recurring payments, making it easier to handle all incoming and outgoing payments and manage subscriptions in one place without manually entering each payment every month.

Enhanced fraud protection and security

Using corporate cards (within a spend management solution) also provides additional fraud protection and security. Each card is linked directly to an individual employee, vendor account, or team rather than a single bank account with multiple users. This means that you never store all your eggs in one basket, as each corporate card user gets access to only their portion of the funding.

Additionally, most corporate card providers offer additional security measures, such as advanced encryption technology that helps protect sensitive customer information from potential hackers or cybercriminals who may try to gain access to company data through online payment portals or other digital channels.

Finally, many companies also opt for chip-enabled credit cards, which provide added layers of security against fraudsters trying to steal financial data from customers during in-person transactions rather than virtual cards (which have the benefit of easy issuance at scale).

Increased employee accountability and productivity:

Did you know that 19% of all employee expense reports contain errors?

Corporate cards provide businesses with a way to track and monitor employee spending. This helps ensure that expenses are incurred for legitimate business purposes and can also help identify areas where companies can pinpoint and make cost savings.

Additionally, with real-time reports, automated reconciliation, and complete visibility into every company transaction, CFOs and accountants are empowered to make better cash flow management decisions, which is essential for the long-term financial success of any business.

By providing employees with corporate cards, businesses can increase productivity by allowing employees to make necessary business-related purchases without needing reimbursement or approval. By providing employees with corporate cards, you save them up to 20 minutes wasted on paperwork, approvals, and receipt-chasing every time they create an expense.

Bringing five benefits of corporate cards under one hood with Payhawk

From simplified expense management processes and improved cash flow control to enhanced fraud protection and increased visibility into spending trends across the organisation, businesses should consider using corporate cards to maximise their efficiency and profitability.

As part of a broader spend management solution, corporate cards provide businesses with numerous benefits that can help them improve their bottom line by saving time and reducing errors. They also offer a secure way for employees to make purchases on behalf of the company without worrying about fraudulent activity or lost cash flow due to delayed payments or bounced checks.

Experience the future of expense management with Payhawk's corporate cards — no more tedious manual tracking or waiting for reimbursements. Our automated system seamlessly records transactions, reconciles with your accounting system, and provides real-time insights into spending patterns. Curious about how our solution works? Book a demo today and say goodbye to tedious and lengthy out-of-pocket expenses.