Many business owners find that having a business credit card can make things a lot easier. You can protect your credit score as an individual and keep your personal spending and accounting completely separate from the business. When it comes time to get ready for tax season or even to pay your own salary, the clear distinction of the two is beneficial. While applying for a personal credit card seems simple, there are certain requirements that need to be met in order to qualify and obtain a business credit card.
Your business needs to be official in order to qualify for a business credit card. Remember that you want this to be completely separate from your own finances, so the company itself will be working through the application. You must have a business name. Once you have a name, be sure to register it with your local area. This establishes some credibility to your company.
Next, you will need to establish just what your company is. You can choose from options like sole owner or even proprietor. However, this leaves you still attached to the company financially. In other words, the company`s credit and credit score is directly attached to you. Other options that make a more distinct separation include an actual corporation or LLC. This is the type of paperwork that will be required as you attempt to apply for credit. A lender will want to know just what they are getting involved with.
Once you have a name and have decided on the structure of your business, you will need a business license. Once again, you are establishing credibility and setting up your company apart from yourself as well as others in the community. The license will also be a necessity for establishing a business credit card.
With a business name, an established structure and a business license, the final necessity is a federal tax ID number. This is the final step to separate you from the company. From this point on, you will not only be registered with the federal government, but you will be expected to file taxes separately as well. You will file with your personal taxes as well as your business taxes. A credit card company will also need to have this federal tax ID number before extending you a line of credit.
When you start the application process, it is important to have all of this paperwork already established and ready to go. If you are going into a bank to apply for a business credit card, you can bring the paperwork along. If you are searching online, be sure to have a copy of these papers that can be sent through the mail, faxed in, or even scanned and emailed. This allows the lender to set up a separate account for the business, completely separate from you, your social security number and even your own credit score.
As a final step, be sure that you have a way for the bank to contact your business. If you were to apply for a Tesco credit card, this is just one more way to draw a distinction between you and your business. While you can use your home address and phone number, you may want to consider setting up something separate for the company. You can choose to rent a post office box to receive business mail. Depending on the nature of the business you may also want a separate phone line or number. At the very least, be sure that you have at least one email address dedicated to your business.
