3 Benefits of Integrating Corporate Credit Card Programs

The primary advantage of a corporate credit card program is the convenience it offers to an organization and its employees, especially when integrated with expense management software. For example, a system like Chrome River EXPENSE allows an employee to automatically download charges to an expense report, taking the tedium of data entry out of business expense tracking. An article on BusinessTravelNews.com reports that employees tend to respond well to this convenience, resulting in improved compliance with internal policies.

One indication that this combination is working, the article reports, is that more corporations are declining to offer rewards programs as an incentive to use the corporate card. While rewards programs typically offer “points” to cardholders, these benefits usually come with an annual fee. Instead, organizations tend to prefer credit card programs that pay annual rebates based on factors like transaction volume. For many companies, these rebates can reach six figures.

Here are three benefits of using a corporate credit card program alongside your expense management software.

1. Lower expense report processing costs. Integrating credit card data into expense management eliminates the need for employees to rekey their expenses. This improves the accuracy of the captured data and reduces the time employees spend creating expense reports, reducing processing costs.
2. Eliminating cash advances. Most merchants now accept a wide variety of credit cards, making it easier to track small purchases. Rarely do employees need to dig into their pockets for cash.
3. Reduced expense fraud. An estimated 25 percent of expense claims include fraudulent receipts. Using a corporate card makes it easier to catch falsified numbers—for example, when an employee pads an expense report by claiming larger tips on business meals.

In the end, implementing a corporate credit card program provides a valuable convenience to employees, especially when integrated with expense report software. This results in a number of benefits for larger organizations, including annual rebates, improved compliance, and reduced report processing costs.

We’d like to hear your insights. What are the pros and cons of offering rewards programs with a corporate credit card? Join the conversation in the comments section.