Industry Insights
How Corporate Cards Can Benefit Startup Companies
Many startups often fail due to a lack of capital in their first year of operating. Corporate cards — physical and virtual — serve as a great tool to help startups effectively manage their growth, monitor spending and increase operational efficiency.
August 24, 2021
One of the biggest hurdles many Canadian startups face is a lack of capital. In fact, approximately 20% of them can fail because of this. With things moving so rapidly, it can be difficult for startups to manage accelerated growth, increased spending and simply knowing where all of their funds are going.
The good news is that we have a solution and it’s a compact one. Corporate cards — virtual and physical — serve as a key tool that many startups can use to manage business and employee growth, easily make purchases and effectively monitor their spending. And, when integrated with smart, automated financial software, the benefits are on a completely different scale. Here are a few:
It increases operational efficiency so your team can actually get stuff done
For many startups, finding an optimal solution for financial and expense management can be a challenge. From long expense reports and employees forgetting to submit receipts to tracking purchases from multiple sources — the list is long and it goes on and on. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Corporate cards linked to smart, automated spend software can simplify those daily accounting tasks by centralizing your expenses and financial data all in one place.
This gives employees the freedom and flexibility to make critical purchasing decisions faster, without having to wait for management approval on purchases or spend requests as transactions and category spending can be authorized instantly. Corporate cards are also an express ticket to innovation, giving startups the capital to quickly act on their creative ideas and go to market with them. ✅
It increases financial accuracy and reduces human error
As we know, the traditional process of managing business expenses is manual, time-consuming and not exactly efficient, leaving more room for error and in some cases, financial loss. When employees pay for items themselves and submit expenses through screenshots and loose copies of receipts, it becomes difficult to track, monitor and validate real-time spending.
Luckily, when corporate cards and smart spend software come together, they’re a force that can’t be reckoned with. 💪 All transactions on these cards are recorded in real time and automatically matched to their respective receipts. Not to mention, this technology also prompts employees to submit receipts upon making a transaction so no one has to be chased down come month end. Having your books in order on a monthly and quarterly basis grants startups more strategic oversight to plan for the future and more opportunity for cost-savings. Your VP of Finance will thank you later.
It creates a culture of healthy spending
Promoting a healthy spend control culture is critical for startups – one where a team can focus on providing value, while also being mindful of how their daily spending decisions can impact the overall business. Having access to capital – especially for startups — is essential for their ongoing growth and stability. By providing every employee with a corporate card, startups can empower their teams to make valuable spending decisions, while instilling greater trust and encouragement to view corporate spending in a more collaborative, mindful and honest way.
On the flip side, leaders are able to create spend controls for specific categories, departments and employees to both limit and monitor spending. It’s a great way to keep day-to-day business operations running smoothly, prevent expense fraud and keep a close eye on where funds are going and why.
At Float, we provide startup companies with a hassle-free solution to simplify and optimize the way your team spends, tracks and manages your money. Backed by automation software, our corporate cards are approved in one day and delivered to you within three. No archaic banks, no wait times and no complicated processes involved. (We weren’t kidding when we said hassle-free 😉).
If you’re ready to take action and get the Float cards you need to elevate your startup, connect with us today!
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