The boom in small and home-run businesses has increased the demand for business credit card accounts. Credit cards of any form are the most popular way of managing finance. However, business expenditure needs to be kept separate from a business manager's personal finances although managers of small businesses are likely to be the individuals making the application for a business credit card account and, in the outset, the credit score of the applicant will have a direct impact on the interest rates and credit limit that their company can expect.

Managers of large companies, or corporations, generally do not operate by the same rules; instead of applying for a business credit card account, banks and financial institutions tend to offer their services directly to these companies. These offers are not available to small businesses or entrepreneurs, as they are designed for different reasons. More often than not, the larger a company is the more complicated its financial system. Large business or corporate business cards offer bespoke solutions to the issue of credit and the financial controller will be able to liaise with the offering company and decide exactly what features the card should have alongside the appropriate services and facilities. In its basic form, a corporate business card should be able to track the total expenses and spending of each employee, give the employees a fixed limit within which to make transactions and receive rewards that are specific to the company's needs. Ultimately, the finance manager will responsible for the credit welfare of the company, although the company credit rating is unlikely to be tied in to his or her own.

Some credit card companies also offer incentives or perks along with business credit cards, which might be beneficial to your company; if you employ people who travel a lot, then you might want to consider a deal on travel insurance, air miles, road miles or hotels. It is worth shopping around for the deals that often accompany business credit cards. Online comparison sites are a quick and easy way to see if there are deals out there that might suit your business needs. These sites can also tell you about other facilities, including membership fees, branch access, overdraft protection and bespoke accounts. Should you see a business credit card that suits your purpose, you should then pay a visit to the website of the company you have chosen and read around the introductory offers; once these expire, you need to be sure that the interest rates are still manageable in terms of repayment.

It can work in your favour if you are able to apply to an institution with which you already do business; this way, you are more likely to be considered for favourable interest rates and higher credit limits. However, it is very important that your calculations reflect your company's ability to meet the monthly repayments; as the director or manager of a small business, the company's credit is likely to be tied in to your own personal credit score. Any late payments or unauthorised debt can have a negative impact on your own personal credit rating and hamper your company's capacity for further credit. You should also make your employees aware that the card is not to be used as a simple substitute for cash as the transaction fees can be high and related interest is immediately incurred.

You can research the deals, interest rates and other facilities of most cards, by using an online comparison site. These display the relevant information of most cards in an easy-to-read table system, so that you can quickly compare the benefits and pitfalls of each card.

You may need to issue other employees with their own business credit cards. It is essential that those employees can be trusted to use them wisely and not just as a convenient substitute for cash transactions, which can incur high rates of interest. It can be a wise move to impose an initial limit on their business spending, just to see how things go. There are business credit cards available that offer a 'reporting' facility that can tell you how much each employee spends and the relevant data can also be downloaded onto accounting packages, like Quickbooks or Sage. This may seem a little strident but, as the person who applied for the business' credit, you don't want to be liable for other people's thoughtless overspending.

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Lorna Shea looks at the pros and cons between Business and Personal Credit Cards. Read this informative article helping you to research the best Business Credit Card deal online