What is a business card?
A business card is a popular financial instrument that significantly simplifies the activities of entrepreneurs. It significantly expands opportunities for business development and makes the business environment more transparent.
Its owners are heads of large enterprises and small companies. Banks issue such cards to individual entrepreneurs and LLCs with attractive terms of service. Thus, account transactions become more comfortable.
A business card is a bank payment instrument linked to the current account of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur
Each purchase made through it is indicated in the account statement, since the funds present in the organization’s account are used. A corporate card can have not only a main account, but also a separate one. Transfers are made to such an account from the organization’s main account.
Since this means of payment can be used to pay a wide range of company expenses by bank transfer, the use of this banking product allows you to minimize transactions carried out through the cash register, simplifying accounting.
Design features
Sberbank offers clients two ways to register a product:
- By filling out an online application in the service for corporate clients of Sberbank Business Online;
- Using an application submitted by the head or authorized person in the department.
The first method involves pre-registering a bank account for further setting limits on expenses and ordering a card issue for a specific user. Here, in the service’s Personal Account, information about the future card holder is filled out with the ability to order plastic immediately after filling out the form or after some time - the entered data remains in the system and is deleted at the user’s request. To complete the procedure, an electronic signature of a legal entity is required.
IMPORTANT! Information about the citizenship, registration and place of actual residence of the person, gender and full name is entered into the application form for the holder of the banking product. The last name and first name indicated on the form will appear on the title side.
A similar procedure is carried out at the Sberbank branch, where a representative of the company applies, but, unlike remote submission of an application, when visiting the bank you can forget the necessary documents - you will have to come again.
After submitting the appropriate application, the finished card will be delivered to the legal address in packaged form along with instructions for use and an individual PIN code. Activation of the plastic is carried out directly by the owner.
What can you pay with a business card?
Entrepreneurs actively use this financial product to pay a variety of expenses related to the company’s activities:
- travel expenses
- hospitality expenses
- supplier services, goods, services
- goods for business needs - from ordering office equipment and stationery, purchasing bottled water for the office to implementing new software
Important: Individual entrepreneurs working on the simplified tax system of 6% have the right to spend funds from the card at their own discretion. This can be any services and goods intended for personal use.
Rates
After activating the card, which will happen automatically within 24 hours after issuance, even if the businessman has not found time for this, they begin to fully use it.
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Sample individual entrepreneur card
General transaction fees are as follows:
- The cost of using the card for a year is 2,500 rubles. But the entrepreneur saves this amount for the first year, since the service is free.
- Topping up with cash will require an additional 0.3% of the amount.
- The limit for replenishing your account per day is 100 thousand rubles.
- Receiving cash directly from Sberbank ATMs will cost 1.4% of the amount, and when applying for this service to Sberbank's partner banks, you will have to pay a withdrawal commission of 3% of the amount withdrawn.
- The limit on the amount of cash withdrawn is 170 thousand rubles per day or 5 million per month.
- For SMS notifications about transactions on a card (current account) you pay 60 rubles per month.
The specific amounts of money required to carry out a particular banking operation depend on the tariff plan that the entrepreneur chooses.
There are 5 tariffs to choose from:
- "Easy start." The name speaks for itself; the tariff is designed for a novice businessman. Therefore, the service will be free, but for other operations you will need to pay money in an amount exceeding the analogues of other tariffs. Cash withdrawals will cost an additional 3%, and for a reverse replenishment operation you will pay 0.15% of the amount. Payments to individuals are limited to the amount of 150,000 rubles, and for legal entities the limit of free transactions is limited to 3, further ones will cost 100 rubles each.
- "Good season." Also a telling name, suggesting a seasonal business (for example, growing and trading seedlings). Concluding an agreement costs 490 rubles, a businessman makes 5 free payments per month, payments with individuals are limited to the same amount of 150 thousand, you can top up without charging interest by 50,000 thousand, no more. Other tariffs are specified in an individual contract.
- "Good earnings." Aimed at people who constantly replenish their current account; this is retail trade, first of all. The cost of issuing a card will cost 990 rubles, but you can top up your account with amounts up to 100 thousand rubles without commission, and 10 times a month any transactions are free.
- "Active calculations". Suitable for businessmen who carry out many transactions per month. Paying 2,490 rubles to receive a card allows you to make 50 payments per month free of charge.
- "Great opportunities." The cost of 8,600 rubles per month is compensated by prices (or lack thereof) for one-time operations. There is no charge for 100 card transactions, money transfers of up to 300 thousand to an individual and withdrawals of up to 500,000 rubles in cash.
The cost of maintenance and one-time transactions on the account are directly proportional. Each businessman chooses what is more profitable - deposit money immediately or pay it gradually for operations.
Advantages of business cards
Each bank offers its own terms of service, bonuses and promotions for corporate card holders, trying to meet customer needs at the highest level. However, such means of payment have common advantages. Let's list them:
- possibility of cash withdrawal
- simple and convenient accounting
- control of employee expenses by setting restrictions on purchases and other things
- possibility of personal payments - for individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system 6%
- Availability of mobile applications and online banking for tracking account transactions
- release from one unit. Different banks offer different amounts of additional means of payment
Setting limits for a corporate card
Before using a corporate product, it is important to set a limit on the organization’s account funds that the owner can use . The limit is set separately for each holder in the Sberbank online service for business. You can change the specified data repeatedly.
Please note: in addition to the immediate monetary limit, there may be a limit on the number of daily and monthly transactions.
After setting the monetary limit, the card is activated by the user either on the day of receipt, or activation is performed automatically the next day.
Types of business cards
Each entrepreneur decides for himself which card to choose, taking into account the structure of the expenses of the business and the scale of the organization. You can enter into an agreement for servicing a credit or debit card. Payment means can be registered and not registered, currency and ruble.
A debit card is suitable for individual entrepreneurs with a small turnover of funds. Credit is important when you urgently need to pay for goods or services with suppliers, but there is not enough money. Each financial institution has its own credit limits, but under any circumstances we can insure ourselves with a certain amount.
Selection of services
In addition to ordering corporate legal entities, they can organize the issuance of salary cards. Initiating a salary project is possible by contacting a Sberbank office or using the online service for corporate clients. Since an employee at the branch will be responsible for consulting and processing documentation, it is worth considering how to open salary cards for employees in Sberbank Business Online.
- In the “Services” section, select “Salary Project”.
- Open the register of accounts and cards and click the “Create” button.
- The application form that pops up will be mostly filled out, except for the artist information. In addition, it is necessary to fill out a list of employees indicating personal data such as full name, place of residence, registration, etc. It will require information about all the company’s employees who plan to pay salaries in this way.
- The completed application should be provided with an electronic signature and sent to the bank for consideration.
The request status is tracked online in the same service.
Travel expenses
Having issued corporate cards at the chosen bank, you can issue them to employees, especially if they often travel on business trips. With them they can easily pay for hotel accommodation, air travel, food, and other expenses.
Setting limits will be a useful feature. This will allow you to spend money more rationally. You can always change limits online.
If necessary, your employee has the opportunity to withdraw a certain amount in foreign currency from the corporate card. In this case, one currency is converted into another automatically.
A bank statement will provide complete information on expenses. Employees returning from a business trip will submit an advance report, and you will be able to compare the data from the report and the statement.
Do I need to report to prove expenses?
Individual entrepreneurs and organizations must provide documentary evidence of expenses on a business card. For this purpose, checks, receipts, acts, invoices are used. The exception is for individual entrepreneurs working on the simplified tax system 6%, UTII or on a patent.
If the card is in the hands of your employee, then after the transactions carried out on it, he will be required to provide supporting papers for reporting and prepare an advance report. In this case, there is no need to pre-register for receipt of accountable funds. In the event that transactions are carried out by a person authorized to use money in the organization’s current account, there is no need to prepare an advance report.
Features of correct transfer to card
How to use a business card and top it up correctly? It is replenished, but there is a nuance: transfers from an individual’s card to a corporate card and reverse transfers are not possible.
Money can only be received from a bank account or by crediting through an ATM or terminal. If there is a need to transfer money from an individual’s cards to the corporate card of a certain person, you must transfer the funds to the organization’s account, and then top up the specified card in your Personal Account with the help of the manager or an authorized person.
Tinkoff
Open an account with Tinkoff
The bank issues 11 business cards to individual entrepreneurs or legal entities. However, if you wish, you can order any quantity through your personal account, free of charge. Additional means of payment will be delivered by courier at a time convenient for you. You must first provide the delivery address to your personal manager. Cash can be withdrawn in any country in the world, and purchases abroad are made without prior currency conversion. Through your personal account, you can set purchase categories, limiting employees’ access to spending funds on specific services and goods.
Bank Point
Open an account at Tochka Bank
Offers clients business cards with the ability to choose one of three favorable tariffs. Any transaction made by the holder of a means of payment is followed by the accrual of points in rubles, which can be spent on various purposes. The Bank does not impose restrictions on the number of corporate cards for one individual entrepreneur or legal entity. For each card, you can set limits on certain transactions. It is issued free of charge, and subject to certain conditions, the holder is not charged a subscription fee for service.
Promsvyazbank
Open an account in Promsvyazbank
You can apply for a corporate card directly at a bank branch or remotely using an electronic service. There are no restrictions on the number of means of payment. The bank offers several types of business cards for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities. When making transactions, cashback of up to 5 percent is accrued, discounts and special offers from Promsvyazbank partners are available. Corporate card holders can activate the Cash-in service to deposit revenue into their account. The SMS notification service allows you to monitor transactions in real time.
Modulbank
Open an account in Modulbank
You can receive a business card from Modulbank immediately after opening a current account with it. When registering a payment instrument, you must choose one of three tariffs. Each of them is assigned its own number of corporate cards, issued to individual entrepreneurs or LLCs at a time when opening an account. However, the bank provides for the issuance of additional means of payment. The first year of service is free. From the second year, the cost depends on the chosen tariff. It is convenient to view account transactions through your personal account. Cards are suitable for collecting revenue from retail outlets. You can deposit money for free through ATMs of Modulbank and its partners.
Loko-Bank
Open an account in Loko-Bank
You can receive a corporate card after opening an account. You can use it immediately after activation. One of the advantages is a constant 1% cashback accrued on any purchases. When converting Russian currency into foreign currency, the bank does not charge a commission. The maximum financial institution offers clients is up to three cards. There is no fee for registration. Four tariffs are offered. VISA Business holders can join the promotion, receiving 3% cashback when spending money from the card abroad. There are plans to introduce in the near future 5% cashback in some categories of purchases, as well as personalized cards for employees of organizations.
VTB
Open an account with VTB
You can apply for a VTB business card at one of its branches. The financial institution issues any number of cards and offers convenient online services for tracking account transactions. You can choose a corporate Visa or MasterCard card from the Gold, Business, Platinum categories. These payment systems provide a number of discounts and privileges. The bank offers clients the service of urgent issuance of payment instruments and SMS notifications.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages include the following:
- payments of any type online;
- you can withdraw money in different countries of the world;
- when choosing the VISA payment system, it is possible to link to an individual RS, which will expand the functionality (depositing in any way, withdrawing money and conducting financial transactions for legal entities);
- repayment of individual entrepreneur loans;
- a corporate service will allow legal entities to pay bills without visiting a banking institution;
- you can view the total cash flow and balance data at any time (allows you to quickly control the conduct of business by analyzing expenses);
- setting a cost limit for a certain period;
- authorized persons no longer need funds for reporting or payment of travel allowances in cash.
There were also some disadvantages:
- may not be accepted in all stores; in the regions, most stores do not have the ability to work with such cards;
- to receive and use the product you need an account with Sberbank with interest for annual maintenance;
- replenishing the balance and withdrawing money comes with a commission;
- funds are prohibited from being spent on personal needs.
Product advantages and disadvantages
An assessment of such a decision cannot be made without choosing the very concept of doing business: more delegation and autonomy for employees or more control? Simplification of the work process in exchange for less security or more bureaucracy, less mobility - but the maximum possible control?
The answers to these questions depend on the size of the business and the preferences of the manager. To put it simply, we can say that small businesses, where it is already quite easy to control processes, tend to simplify work in order to increase their main advantage over large enterprises - flexibility and efficiency.
Large business, on the contrary, needs control and strict systematicity. Medium businesses will benefit equally from both the first and second strategies.
To summarize, business cards are especially good for small and medium-sized businesses, but only in a limited format for large ones.