by: Kent Pinkerton

One of the advantages of using a credit card to finance your business operations is the ability to extend and effectively manage your business cash flow. Business credit cards with salient features such as low interest rates are considered the ideal card for businesses and their employees.

The interest rate is also called the annual percentage rate (APR). It is the cost of maintaining the unpaid balance of your account past a given grace period. Simply put, it is the price of doing business with your card company over time. The principle here is that the lower the APR, the more beneficial it will be for your business.

As with most major banks, a grace period is usually 30 days from the date of your purchase in which your company may pay for all its purchases without incurring any interest and additional bank charges. Subsequently, the unpaid portion of your account is then transferred to the next billing cycle for which your business will be responsible, with the corresponding APR and other finance charges.

The key here is to compare your own business billing and collection cycle with that of your card's APR. If your business billing cycle collects its receivables after the 30-day allowable grace period, it would be best to get a business credit card with lower APRs to enable you to carry your unpaid balance longer without suffering exorbitant interest rates and other bank charges synonymous with unpaid debts. However, should your business collection cycle end before the 30-day grace period, it would be more prudent to secure a business credit card with regular APRs or fixed APRs, since your business is capable of paying off its obligations within the specified time.

In any case, try to look for business credit cards that offer cash back guarantees and other rewards programs for prompt credit card payment so as to maximize the usage of your business cards.