The Advantages of Using Business Credit Cards

We often hear the advantages of using business credit cards. But the benefits you earn also depend on how well you use them. This article contains useful card tips that are especially meant for business owners like you:

1. Apply from your personal bank. Gettig a card from your personal bank can give you a faster approval with your application. If you haven’t yet established your business credit, your personal credit history will be used instead. Applying with bank who has had you as a client for a long time will work in your favor.

2. Don’t get too many credit cards. One or two should be enough for you to use in your business. Not only is managing multiple cards difficult, it also puts you at a greater risk of bad credit.

3. Use your credit card for all your business expenses. Some entrepreneurs use their personal credit with their business purchases, but it is wise to stick with your business credit instead. Even if you’re running a home-based business, it’s best to separate your personal finances from your business account. In addition, your business statement of accounts will be a big help in doing your accounting tasks and in filing your taxes.

4. Use your yearly summary as reference to your book keeping. The yearly summary of account provided by your card issuer will come in handy in your bookkeeping tasks.

5. Use your card wisely. Just because you have a card on hand doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch you spending. Make sure that everything you charge on your business credit card is really important for your business.

6. Make the most of rewards. Take advantage of the rewards you can get from your business credit card by choosing one with the right reward program. Make sure that the card you get matches with the needs of your business.

7. Distribute supplementary cards to your employees. Because all purchases charged to your business credit card willbe reflected in your statement of account, you’ll have more control of your employee’s expenses.

8. Pay off your bills before the grace period. Usually, the card will extend up to a 21-day grace period before you incur the interest rate. To save your finances, make it a point to submit your payment before the due date to avoid the interest rate completely.

9. Check your business account regularly. Always check your business account to make suer that all the charges are accurate. Generally, credit cards provide business owners online access to their accounts, so you can check them right from your desk.

10. Avoid cash advances from your card. Cash advances are not covered by the grace period, so you incur the interest rate the moment you take out the cash. You might as well charge it to your account and pay it back before your payment due date.

Article Source: http://Ezine Articles.com/?expert=Pamela_Williams

Tips to help you Conserve Gas…

With gas expected to reach $5 per gallon by summer, these tips that I received from a friend might come in handy.      

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline…. but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money’s worth for every gallon:

 

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.

 

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.

 Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

 

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

 

When you’re filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode:

 If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.

 

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL.

The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

 

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It’s really simple to do.