The benefits of business corporate card programs can go well beyond earning rewards points with each purchase, if you choose the program wisely. The corporate card program that's right for your business will offer purchasing solutions that best suit your needs - and may also support the company with a variety of expense management tools and global business services. 

When weighing up the features and benefits that come with different corporate cards, consider which one is the best fit for your company.

Each company's overall aim in selecting the best corporate card will vary, however common criteria can include: streamlined and efficient purchase management tools to improve employee productivity; global support for corporate card users; and tools to give your business visibility and control over purchases through actionable insights that apply worldwide. 

Which purchasing solutions?

Corporate card programs offer a number of payment solutions that can help you gain visibility and control over your expense management. Some of the purchasing solutions available include corporate cards for travel and everyday business spending, as well as purchasing cards, virtual single use accounts and buyer initiated payments.

Tailored cards may include:

• Corporate purchasing card: helps you control department and employee spending.
• Corporate meeting card: lets you manage all your company's meeting and event expenses.
•  Business travel account: manage travel expenses for infrequent travellers without issuing cards.
• Virtual cards: manage expenses for new recruits, contractors, consultants, and employees who do not have a corporate card. 

Electronic payments are now ubiquitous and employees can funnel anything from large payments (such as utilities and telecommunications) or small purchases (such as coffee with colleagues) into the company's account system quickly by using a corporate card program.

If you have chosen a corporate card program that feeds directly into your business accounting systems and which assigns key data - like card user details - into the company's back-end accounts, your company can have real-time monitoring of progress against budgets and drive end-to-end efficiencies and savings. 

Reward employee performance 

Corporate card programs can be a great way to incentivise employee performance and to build an engaging company culture. Depending on the program, your company may also be able to assign reward 'points' where they can be most effectively deployed.

Card programs typically offer two types of rewards, including:

• Membership Rewards: If your employees are given access to the rewards points earned on their corporate card it could encourage employees to direct business spend to their card. More active participation in the program will allow your company to capture more data, monitor spending, and reduce paperwork.
• Corporate Membership Rewards: Consistent use of the corporate card program lets your organisation accumulate and consolidate rewards points to accumulate in a central account. The company can then retain all points earned, even when an employee leaves your company.

Global business services

The business world is now more connected than at any other time in history. Whether your business has offices and customers all over the world, or you have a single-country base, your business is likely to sell and buy across international borders. Most businesses will benefit from a corporate card program that includes expert global business services. 

Some of the support your business might need in order to thrive across the globe include:

• Global payment solutions
• A global network that gives you coverage where you need it
• Global implementation to help you launch programs and grow internationally
• Global Account Management with local expertise to provide global accountability alongside market-specific cultural, regional and regulatory expertise.

Online tools

You can help streamline your program administrator's tasks with a corporate card that offers access to online tools that help with the management of the program. Some card programs will offer a central online tool with a single login to ensure the program administrator can easily manage the day-to-day operations, including:

• New card applications
• Suspension of charging privileges
• Cancelling cards
• Updating employee details
• Managing card limits
• Reporting 
• Bill payments.

Your provider should be able to help you tailor a corporate card program to suit your needs and answer questions about how you can maximise efficiencies with the program.