cards icon

15 Best Practices for Corporate Card Management

Brianna Blaney
By Brianna Blaney
Brianna Blaney

Brianna Blaney

Brianna Blaney began her career as a fintech writer in Boston for a major media corporation, later progressing to digital media marketing with platforms in San Francisco. She has worked as a financial writer for Tipalti for 7+years, keeping a close eye on shifting trends and reporting on the ever-evolving landscape of financial automation. She prides herself on reverse-engineering the logistics of successful content and implementing techniques centered around people (not campaigns). In her spare time, she loves to cook and take care of her pet squirrel, Marshmallow.

Follow

Updated September 30, 2024
Cards
Expense Management
Expenses
Asset Image

See how forward-thinking finance teams are future-proofing their organizations through AP automation.

The cornerstone of effective financial strategies is managing corporate credit cards. This gives organizations the tools to enhance financial controls, streamline spend management, and foster responsible card usage. But, the role of corporate card management goes far beyond just tracking expenses.

Corporate card management encompasses various concepts, such as automation, policy adherence, and real-time visibility. This creates a dynamic financial framework that empowers employees and helps a business confidently navigate the complexities of expense management. In this article, we delve into the world of corporate card management, exploring best practices, benefits, and strategic approaches that will lead to more efficient financial management.

What is Corporate Card Management?

Wondering how to manage company credit cards? Corporate credit card management is a set of practices, processes, and policies that a business uses to oversee and manage corporate credit card usage. It involves the systematic handling of all aspects related to corporate cards, including:

  • Issuance
  • Monitoring
  • Compliance
  • Reporting
  • Reconciliation

The primary goals of company credit card management are to ensure responsible usage, adherence to company policies, increased cash flow, and accurate expense tracking. Here are some key components of corporate credit card management:

Policy Development

A business needs to establish clear and comprehensive rules that outline the guidelines for card usage, allowed expenses, spending limits, reporting procedures, and the consequences of violations. This should be communicated to all employees responsible for card expenses.

Issuance and Authorization

A business must oversee who gets a card based on roles, needs, and responsibilities. Employees should obtain the necessary authorizations and approvals from relevant departments and management levels. This is also the time to determine the spending limit for each cardholder based on their job function.

Tracking and Reporting

Employees should track and report the expenses made with corporate credit cards in expense reports. Many management solutions include a mobile app for easier reporting. Establish a standardized process for company spending and reporting. This includes employees categorizing expenses and submitting relevant documents (like receipts).

Reconciliation and Payment

A business must reconcile corporate credit card statements with financial records to ensure accuracy and proper documentation. This also means credit card bills are paid in a more timely manner to avoid late fees and interest charges.

Analysis and Reporting

Analyze trends and spending patterns on corporate credit card transactions. Reports can help you gain insight into expense distribution and vendor relationships, opening the doors for cost optimization in various areas.

Additional Features of the Corporate Card Management Process

  • Employee Training
  • Auditing
  • Security and Compliance
  • Vendor Relationships
  • Continuous Improvement

15 Best Ways to Manage Corporate Cards

Whether you run a startup, small business, or Fortune 500 company, corporate card expense management requires a combination of robust processes, clear policies, strong oversight, and open communication.

Here are some of the best practices to help a business effectively manage corporate cards:

#1) Provide Training

Offer training material and one-on-one sessions to educate cardholders on the proper use, expense reporting, policy adherence, and security measures.

#2) Establish a Clear Credit Card Policy

Develop comprehensive rules, allowed expenses, spending limits, and document requirements. Communicate these policies to all cardholders, including any consequences for violation.

#3) Set Spending Limits

Define all spending limits based on employee roles and responsibilities. This will help align with budgetary guidelines and prevent overspending.

#4) Authorize Employees

Only authorize team members with the relevant needs to hold corporate cards. That means not everyone has to have one. It should only include job functions that involve regular business expenses.

#5) Expense Management Tools

Use expense management software to streamline reporting, expense tracking, and the reimbursement process. Tools like the Tipalti Card enhance expense management, increase accuracy, reduce administrative workload, and streamline compliance.

#6) Require Detailed Documents

Mandate proper documentation for every transaction. This includes:

  • Digital receipts
  • Descriptions
  • Categorization of expenses

This ensures greater transparency and more accurate reporting.

#7) Monitor Transactions

Regularly monitor transactions for accuracy, compliance, and any unusual activity.

#8) Pre-approval Processes

Implementing pre-approval processes for certain expenses is a good idea. This is particularly true for expenditures outside of typical spending limits or those that exceed predefined limits.

#9) Foster Responsibility

In order to foster a culture of responsibility, emphasize the importance of using corporate cards for business-related expenses only. Employees should always operate within corporate car company policies.

#10) Conduct Audits

Regularly conduct audits of corporate card usage to verify compliance with policies, accurate documents, and adherence to internal controls.

#11) Transparent Reporting

Provide cardholders with access to their transaction history and spending data to encourage accountability.

#12) Reward Good Use

Recognize and reward staff who always adhere to corporate card policies and contribute to responsible spending.

#13) Promptly Address Issues

Quickly address any issues or discrepancies related to card usage. Investigate and resolve concerns while maintaining open lines of communication.

#14) Support Channels

Provide a clear support channel for cardholders to report issues, seek assistance, and ask questions related to corporate card usage.

#15) Data Security

Implement strong security measures to protect sensitive data associated with card transactions both during storage and transmission.

Following these best practices ensures a corporate credit card program is managed effectively, streamlining expense management, responsible spending, and financial transparency.

Why is Corporate Card Management Important?

Corporate card management impacts a company’s operational efficiency, financial control, and compliance, helping to leverage cloud spend management. Here are the main reasons why it’s important:

Accurate Expense Reporting

Proper credit card management means more accurate recording, categorization, and reporting of expenses. This improves the accuracy of financial reports.

Budget Adherence

Corporate credit card management ensures spending is controlled and aligned with a company’s budgetary guidelines. It prevents overspending and promotes more responsible behavior.

Policy Compliance

Effective corporate credit card management ensures staff adhere to company policies regarding card usage, spending limits, and reporting. This promotes compliance and consistency throughout the company.

Fraud Detection

Monitoring and auditing corporate credit card transactions helps detect fraudulent and unauthorized activities, prevent financial losses, and maintain a company’s financial integrity.

Data Security

Proper card management includes implementing security measures to protect sensitive financial information associated with card transactions. This safeguards against identity theft and data breaches.

Vendor Management

Effective card management ensures that vendors are paid accurately and on time. This contributes to positive vendor relationships and negotiations of better terms and credit limits.

Operational Efficiency

Streamlined expense tracking, reporting, and reimbursement processes save time and reduce administrative burdens, allowing employees to focus on core business activities.

Internal Controls

Effective credit card management establishes internal controls to prevent the misuse and abuse of corporate credit cards (think personal credit or personal expenses). This enhances oversight within an organization.

Compliance Checks

Properly managed corporate card usage facilitates external and internal AP audits, ensuring transactions are accurate, accountable, and compliant.

Additional Benefits

  • Financial transparency
  • Employee accountability
  • Cost optimization
  • Policy enhancement

Ready to take better control of employee spend?

Manage all employee spend in a single solution to rapidly scale, accelerating business visibility and reducing risk.

Can You Automate Corporate Card Management?

Automating corporate card management aspects helps improve accuracy, streamline processes, and enhance efficiency. Automation will significantly reduce workload, ensure policy compliance, and provide real-time visibility into usage.

Here are some areas where automation can be applied to corporate card management:

Pre-approval Workflows

Set up an automated workflow for pre-approval of specific expenses. This ensures that expenses outside predefined limits or categories are approved before they are incurred.

Policy Enforcement

Automated spending limits and policy checks can be set to prevent cardholders from exceeding authorized limits or making non-compliant purchases.

Expense Tracking

A company can use expense management software that allows employees to capture receipts, categorize expenses, and submit reports digitally. These platforms automate the process of documenting expenses, ensuring accuracy and transparency.

Tipalti Expenses features corporate card integration, where you can automatically reconcile all corporate card transactions regardless of issuing entities, simplifying finance workflows. Tipalti Expenses supports integrations with Tipalti Card, Mastercard, Visa, and American Express.

Real-time Notifications

Configure automated alerts to notify managers when specific spending thresholds are reached. This enables timely intervention and oversight.

Automated Reporting

Finance teams can use automation to generate reports that provide insights into trends, spend analysis, and compliance metrics. This helps upper management make more informed decisions.

Accounting Software Integrations

Automation makes integrating expense management systems with accounting software to transfer data easier, minimizing manual entry and reconciliation.

Auditing and Compliance

Automate routine audits to identify irregularities, policy violations, and fraudulent activities. This enhances the accuracy of compliance checks.

Employee Authorization

Set up an automated employee authorization and onboarding workflow to ensure that only eligible employees receive credit cards.

Receipt Matching

Implement optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically match receipts with transaction records, reducing manual efforts.

Payment and Reconciliation

Automate the reconciliation process by matching corporate credit card statements with internal financial records,

Additional Sources for Automation

  • Compliance reporting
  • Vendor management
  • Security and encryption
  • Data analysis and insights
  • Employee training

Automation helps companies achieve greater corporate card management efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. However, it’s critical a business strikes a balance between automation and human oversight. This is the best way to address any anomalies or policy changes that may arise.

Benefits of Automating Corporate Card Management

Automating corporate card management draws many benefits that enhance accuracy and efficiency. Here are some of the top advantages of automating your corporate card program:

Reduce Administrative Burden

Automation means less administrative workload for humans. This is especially true for tracking, reporting, and compliance checks.

Save Time

Automation significantly reduces manual data entry, reconciliation tasks, and approval workflows. This frees up valuable time for team members to focus on business growth and more strategic tasks.

Enhance Accuracy

Automation reduces human errors and increases accuracy. Manual data entry and calculations can all be automated, ensuring more accurate expense reporting and detailed financial records.

Streamline Auditing

One of the perks of automation is generating accurate and up-to-date reports that simplify the auditing process. This helps detect policy violations, anomalies, and potential fraud more efficiently, reducing risk and driving compliance.

Enhanced Employee Experience

Staff members benefit from a streamlined expense reporting process, reduced administrative tasks, and faster reimbursements.

Data Analysis and Insights

Automated data analysis tools provide actionable spend control insights, helping identify trends and cost-saving opportunities. Reporting tools provide detailed insights into spending habits, helping management make more informed decisions. It also ensures the timely generation of compliance reports for audits and regulatory requirements.

Policy Enforcement

Automation helps businesses enforce spending limits and expense policies, preventing unauthorized spending and policy violations.

Improved Vendor Relationships

Automated payment scheduling helps to maintain good relationships with vendors, ensuring more accurate and timely payments.

Cost Savings

Automating corporate card management reduces manual labor, paperwork, and human error, leading to more cost-saving opportunities.

Security and Privacy

Automation for business credit cards includes robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data, greatly reducing the risk of data breaches.

Additional Benefits

  • Real-time visibility
  • Faster approvals and reimbursements
  • Consistent policy adherence
  • Improved scalability

FAQs

How do you manage a corporate card program? 

Who is responsible for corporate credit cards?

What is the difference between a commercial card and a corporate card?

Summing It Up

Effective corporate card management cannot be overstated in an age where agility and precision are paramount for finance teams. The multidimensional approach requires careful planning, policy formulation, advanced technology, and continuous evaluation.

A well-managed program helps streamline operations, enhance transparency, bolster vendor relationships, and empower employees to seamlessly navigate business responsibilities.

As companies evolve and adapt to new challenges, corporate credit card management will continue to improve accuracy and efficiency. By implementing best practices and leveraging automation, a business will be better equipped to thrive in today’s dynamic corporate landscape.

To facilitate effective corporate card management, you need a holistic approach to accounts payable. Explore Tipalti Card to see if full-fledged automation is right for your business.

Recommendations

You may also like