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“We started off as an auto parts store, selling product to the garage down the street,” says Jeremy Baus, Chief Financial Officer at Mi-Sher Fleet, recalling his early days with the family business, where he first pitched in as a floor sweeper.
Today, the Texas-based fleet vehicle inventory company operates on a much larger stage, supporting complex supply chains and a growing national network of vendors. With that expansion comes a new level of financial oversight, and a need for smarter ways to manage payments.
“As we continue to expand, I’ve taken over our IT operations, taken over finance,” Baus explains. “Really just tried to take us from the previous generation into the next generation, making sure that we can continue to function and grow.”
A big part of that transformation has been rethinking how payments are managed. Through the American Express® Corporate Card Program1, and the Virtual Cards On-Demand he creates via American Express One AP®2, Baus has found the tools to better organize spending while bringing control and clarity to Mi-Sher’s financial operations.
“We’ve gone digital,” he laughs. “And it’s been a heck of a lot easier than I thought.”
Manual processes to precise payments: Payment flexibility with One AP
As Mi-Sher Fleet has grown, so has the complexity of paying vendors. For Baus, what became clear was that traditional methods weren't built for the pace and precision the company now demands.
Mailing paper checks had “really become a problem for us,” he says. “We’ve had a few accounts compromised by a check getting lost in the mail.” Beyond the risk, manual processes were slowing operations, creating friction in a business where strong vendor relationships depend on paying accurately and on time.
That reality pushed Baus to rethink his approach. “We're trying to get to a place where we're using ACH payments and Virtual Card payments for all of our vendors,” he says.
Central to that shift has been American Express One AP®*, a consolidated accounts payable solution that enables businesses to streamline and automate their eligible supplier payments by Virtual Card, ACH, or check, all in one platform.** By streamlining payment workflows, One AP helps business leaders drive efficiency and control on-demand spending.
* Enrollment required and fees may apply (including an auto-renewing monthly platform access fee). Suppliers must be enrolled and located in the United States. Please contact your American Express® Specialist to learn more.
** Fees apply for check/ACH (including an auto-renewing monthly platform access fee). No fee for Virtual Cards.
Virtual Cards: An essential approach to paying vendors
One AP has made it easy for Baus to expand his use of American Express® Virtual Cards On-Demand as well – and through One AP, Baus says Virtual Cards have quickly moved from a nice-to-have into a core part of how Mi-Sher pays its vendors and suppliers.
Virtual Cards On-Demand offer single-use, multi-use and reloadable options that create visibility into supplier payments and spending by project or category. Users can set specific controls for each Virtual Card On-Demand, including spending limits and expiration dates, or leave reloadable Virtual Cards on file with suppliers for recurring bills or subscriptions. Virtual Cards also allow businesses to make payments without sharing physical Card details.
“Virtual Cards have really solved a problem for us,” Baus says. “If we’re keeping a card on file with a website or with a subscription, it’s a completely different number from (our) main Corporate Card. So that way if it gets compromised in any way, we can actually shut that one Card down.”
Built-in limits for controlled spending
Beyond security, Virtual Cards On-Demand offer a level of control that more traditional payment methods simply can’t match.
“When you set up a Virtual Card, you can set it for a specific limit,” Baus says. “That way if it’s run outside of that amount, it’ll be declined.” Such precision, he adds, helps ensure every payment is intentional while preventing overcharges before they happen.
Rewarding the business with Virtual Cards
Virtual Cards On-Demand aren’t just about control; they also extend the value of the Corporate Card Program. Because Virtual Cards are tied to the same Corporate Card Account, they earn Corporate Membership Rewards® points on eligible purchases – just like the eligible purchases made on the Corporate Card.3 Then, these Membership Rewards® points can be redeemed in a variety of different ways that directly support company growth, such as covering tech expenses when you Use Pay with Points at Dell.com checkout.4
“Every time we use Virtual Cards, we’re earning Membership Rewards® points,” Baus explains. “And we use a lot of the points for our travel, primarily when we're going to see vendors or going to see customers. If we need to fly anywhere, then they're using those points.”
As Mi-Sher continues to evolve, Baus sees Virtual Cards playing an even larger role in the company’s financial operations. “It’s been incredibly easy to work with American Express,” he says. “The Amex Corporate Program has really helped us find the solutions we need.”
Terms and Conditions
1 The American Express® Corporate Card Program is subject to application and approval. Terms and fees apply. To learn more, call an American Express® Specialist at 855-531-3491 or visit americanexpress.com/corporate.
2 American Express One AP®
American Express One AP® may not be available to all customers. To access the service, all customers will be required to enroll their eligible U.S.-issued American Express® Business, Corporate, or Corporate Purchasing Card. There is no fee to use the service for customers electing to process only Card payments. Use of additional payment methods requires activation through an American Express® Specialist and a monthly platform access fee of $200 which will automatically renew each month, unless the service is cancelled or all additional payments methods are deactivated, as applicable. If additional payment methods are being used, with the monthly platform access fee, to the extent used, the first 400 check transactions and first 400 automated ACH transactions each month are complimentary, after which point a fee of $1.00 per check and $0.35 per automated ACH transaction will apply. Fees are subject to change. Sales tax on fees may apply. All fees associated with American Express One AP® will be auto-billed monthly in arrears to the first Card enrolled for the service. The monthly platform access fee will be charged starting in the month in which the customer first uses an additional payment method and will not be pro-rated; the full monthly platform access fee will be charged regardless of when in the month a customer activates and first uses an additional payment method. Customers may cancel the service or activate/deactivate additional payment methods by contacting their American Express® Specialist. The customer will be charged the full monthly platform access fee (and any applicable transaction fees and taxes) for the month in which the service is cancelled (or all additional payment methods are deactivated), with continued access to the service for the thirty days following the cancellation date. Customer must cancel by 5:00 PM ET on the last business day of the month to avoid being charged the platform access fee for the following month. To make a Card payment to a supplier through the service, the supplier must be an American Express-accepting merchant. To learn more, please contact your American Express® Specialist.
New York: The American Express One AP® service is a money transmission service provided by American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express). This service is not available to consumers. American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. is licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services. California: The American Express One AP® service is a money transmission service provided by American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express). This service is not available to consumers. Georgia: The American Express One AP® service is a money transmission service provided by American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express). This service is not available to consumers. American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. is licensed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.
For a list of our money service business licenses and information about addressing complaints and other disclosures, visit www.americanexpress.com/us/state-licensing.html.
NMLS ID # 913828
3 Corporate Membership Rewards® Program
Enrollment in the Corporate Membership Rewards program is required. Only the American Express® Corporate Green Card, American Express® Corporate Gold Card, and American Express Corporate Platinum Card® are eligible to enroll in the Corporate Membership Rewards program. The Program Administrator is charged a $90 annual enrollment fee for each enrolled Corporate Green Card. A program fee is not applied for the Corporate Gold Card and Corporate Platinum Card®. Get one Corporate Membership Rewards point for every dollar of eligible purchases charged on enrolled American Express® Corporate Cards. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. If the Corporate Card Member is transferring from an existing Membership Rewards program to the Corporate Membership Rewards program, the Card Member will have 30 days to use any existing Membership Rewards points before they are forfeited.
The redemption value of Corporate Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them.
For the full terms and conditions for the Corporate Membership Rewards® program please visit americanexpress.com/corporatemrterms for more information. Participating Corporate Membership Rewards partners, available rewards, and point levels are subject to change without notice.
4 Additional terms and conditions may apply for each Pay with Points at Checkout merchant. Please visit the individual merchant detail pages from global.americanexpress.com/rewards/pay-with-points to learn more.
For the Dell.com Terms & Conditions, visit global.americanexpress.com/rewards/pay-with-points?brand=Dell.com
Terms and Conditions for the Corporate Membership Rewards® program also apply. Visit corporatemembershiprewards.com/terms for more information. Participating merchants and available rewards are subject to change without notice. The value of Corporate Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them.
