Credit card for work

grimeire

Hey,

I recently move companies and the new company does not provide a company credit card so I have to pay for everything myself and expense it to get paid back the cost. My new manager is telling me get a credit card and just use that to pay for everything and then pay it back when the company pays me.

I would expect around 10k-20k to be spent on the card each year so am wondering if there is any suggestions on what card to get as it seems everyone is providing one these days including revolut, Aerlingus etc.. Im not sure what i should be looking for for my situation.

Appreciate any help.

kennethsmyth

DO NOT get a personal credit card that you use for work! Let them get you one with a limit, if they won't do that then they need to pay for accommodation etc. directly. I would only be paying for minor expenses that are then refunded in following pay run. I am not the companies debt owner.

Tell them no.

You should not be paying for regular work expenses on a personal credit card. Only minor or occasional incidentals like car parking, train fares etc.

If anything goes wrong, it's your credit record that's potentially impacted. What if they are late in settling your expenses claim? Can you afford to clear your bill in full - otherwise interest clocks up. It is not a cheap way to borrow money.

Company credit card facilities are a basic banking product provided by all the mainstream banks. The company has a global limit and can allocate individual limits to specific cardholders. Bills are settled in full each month by direct debit to the company's current account. Generally speaking there is no minimum payment option on company cards so no interest accrues.

sundodger5

If you are using it just for work then it does not really matter what card you get as you should be clearing down whatever you put on it before any interest is added.

Yes, The company providing a card would be easier but if they do not do that you have to figure what works best for you.

I assume a lot of them nowadays have a "loyalty" scheme e.g cash back for certain purchases etc. Could work in your favour.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058387649/credit-card-for-work

There is a very big difference between a company credit card and a personal one used for business and while it might be a simple solution for your manager to fob you off, I think you need to think carefully about it, especially given the amount involved.

For starters, how do you go about claiming back your expenses? Do you have to complete some kind of expense claim forms each month, attach receipts and wait for them to pay out? If so then what happens if there is a query on one or two expenses, is the whole claim suspended until the issues are resolved or will you get a partial payment?

And another think to consider is who pays the costs of using the credit card? There will be taxes, fees, interest, exchange rate differences etc…. how will you be compensated for this?

And then the real biggy - are you willing and able to finance it all? If every thing goes correctly, you should have been refunded the expenses before you need to make the credit card payment, but if it does not, can you/will you finance it? If you have a high balance on a card and fail to make a payment it may impact your credit worthiness with the issuing card company and if it is significantly high it may be a statutory reporting event requiring the card company to report it to the Central BanK's CCR. And that will remain on file for five years after the debt has been settled in full.

It's normal to expect people to occasionally pay up to a couple of hundred of Euros expenses and claim later, but I have never heard of it where people are running up significant expenses on a regular basis. With one exception I have always had a credit cards from the bank I was working/consulting for and in that case they advanced you a rolling 6 months expenses allowance and you settled it in the same way.

I would be very slow to do what your manager is suggesting.

grimeire

thanks for the responses.

To be fair this is only the second company i worked for that i had any expenses so i don't have much experience with them. From what i am told from my current colleagues any company they have worked for you pay for things yourself and expense them back to get refunded by the company. I was going to do that but thought it was simpler to have a separate CC just for work as I can easily keep transactions separate and in the off chance money was tight that month. Also then as @sundodger5 said there can be advantages to using CC as you get cashback, discounts and other bonuses. I know from my previous role that even with a company CC i still had to justify everything and provide receipts and its not different here.

In comparison to my current colleagues I'm going on visits to customer sites and in many cases the flights and accommodation can easily be around €2000-2500 depending on the time of year. I know this as i was in a similar role with my last company. The company is pretty much a start up so i dont want to me making demands the second I am in the door especially when i am the only one really who will have such high expenses. From what my current colleagues are saying they are pretty quick to pay expenses and they are usually in my next pay and there has never been any changes to the expenses that delayed them. Most CC seem to have 6 month 0% rates so i cant see expenses taking that long to refunded.

I had colleagues in my previous role who would get cash back of a couple of hundred every month as they stayed in specific hotel chains and all of this was due to staying in these hotels due to work but they were based in the US and it was a US hotel chain.

Currently from my previous role i am a platinum member with aerlingus and british airways which allows me discounts, free lounge, extra luggage etc.. which is handy when going on family holidays. My real question here is if its worth getting a CC for work to get personal benefits from its usage or should i just use revolut or something for these work expenses? looking at bonkers there isnt really but i know there are CC that are not listed there.

3DataModem

There aren't great benefits on credit cards in Ireland because of the low card processing fees (especially compared to the US).

The only benefit of having a seperate credit card for your work expenses is it makes everything neater any easier to claim, and also is better from a cashflow perspective as long as your expenses are paid promptly.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123048898#Comment_123048898

Very much this. I recently went on a work trip. I had to prebook and pay for everything myself. The company had a policy of paying expenses, not in the upcoming payroll, but the one after.

Ultimately I ended up out of pocket and it was the source of much stress and hassle. I used my own money, but had it been on my personal credit card, it could have affected my credit rating with the companies policy.

In future, I will be avoiding such hassles and simply saying, no, I am not going - unless someone from HR books the big ticket items themselves.

db

0% interest for 6 months is usually on the debt you transfer when you open the account. To avoid interest on purchases using the card you will have to clear the entire balance every month. You will have a maximum of 6 weeks from purchase to payment but it may be as little as 2 weeks.

As others have said above there may be times when you have to clear the balance yourself while you are waiting for payment and whoever does your expenses won't care about your interest. It's one thing to use a personal card for small amounts but if you have regular high expenses the company should provide a card and as long as you submit your claims promptly any delays in payment are their responsibility.

grimeire

@LambshankRedemption

How were you out of pocket did the company not pay you?

watchclocker

Sorry this is absolute madness, I understand you don't want to make demands in a new job but this startup is starting up badly if they can't even get these kind of basics right

Its not at all normal for an employee to have to pony up €2000 themselves, small expenses and mileage fine but not booking entire overseas trips

Either they have a person who can book it for you on the "one" corporate card or they give you a credit card to manage yourself (and that could be that you claim the expenses before paying it back to yhr company CC yourself, but it's their card and in their interest to pay you with enough time that you can then pay their debt)

If anything happens whereby they do not refund you on time (startup has higher chance of going under) then you are liable and your credit record could be impacted

Trampas

What happens if you owe €5k let’s say and company goes bang but they give you anything. It’s your debt even if company expenses. Do you might taking the hit

In a similar situation and the flights, accommodation, car hire if needed are always paid for by Company HR and send me on the details.

Meals, my own car mileage, airport parking, trains etc, day day expenses i expense myself and get back the following week once i submit it.

They should be booking it for you or if not a company credit card. I'd let them know that you want the flights/accomodation/car booked by HR in advance.

MarkR

I would insist on a company credit card. Some of those costs are significant. You shouldn't be using your credit card as a source of free credit for your company. What if you're maxing out your credit card just before Christmas, and you're waiting for January to cover it?

Limerick_dude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123050359#Comment_123050359

I have experience of both sides of the fence and I wouldn't go back to booking company expenses on my own personal CC it's not up to you to finance the company. I certainly wouldn't be doing it for a "start up" way too much exposure to being left with a big outstanding bill.

dulpit

My experience of dealing with expenses was that big ticket items (devices, travel, accommodation) were always paid for by the company. Small things like a bus, cab, train, food and the like were paid for by myself and then claimed back. Depending on when in the month the claim went in I got paid back either next payroll or the month after.

I didn't mind this system, I never had significant expenses to be waiting to be paid back. I didn't have the risk or hassle of having a company card either.

But if I was expected to cover all travel costs and get it back in 1-2 months there is 0 chance I would have agreed to that. Just becase the company is a start up and you're new doesn't excuse them from making an unreasonable request to you to cover your costs with the expectation that you get paid back. Act carefully…

Donald Trump

If the manager says it is fine and not to worry, then just get them to get a credit card in their name that you can use.

grimeire

@db good point it's seems to be 56 days.

https://personalbanking.bankofireland.com/borrow/credit-cards/aer-credit-card/features-benefits/

I'll forget the CC.

I'll bring up about the big items on the next call with my manager

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123050711#Comment_123050711

The recommended accomodation was a Raddisson Blu close to the office. I couldnt afford to pay for a week in a Raddison Blu in Norway, so I got an AirBnB instead. On the first night i went to a supermarket and got the essentials like teabags, bread, bacon, ham and cheese. I kept the itemised receipt.

When it came to expenses being re-imbursed i was told they had a policy of not refunding expenses from supermarkets because it wasnt classed as a meal.

grimeire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123050846#Comment_123050846

Wow that was absolute disgraceful from them. You saved them money and had an itemize receipt. They should have no excuse for it.

With the last company I had a set budget for food of like €100 per day and you could be sure i used it. Fillet steaks for dinner every day.

witchgirl26

So I don't have a company credit card as they aren't widely available in my organisation. I would have some flights/accomodation costs during the year but nothing to the level you're talking about. So I'm happy to cover my own & claim back.

One thing they should look at if they don't want to be handing out cards is something like Roomex whereby the booking is done centrally on a centrally held card but in your name. We use this now for anyone travelling. Currently it's not covering flights for most people (still a work in progress) but it's covering the accommodation in full which is usually the most expensive aspect. Meals are still expensed as standard by reimbursement.

Oscar_Madison

Look into American Express - potentially better deals/benefits for you using that .

Personally I wouldn’t opt to fund 15-20k expenses per annum - small over night costs yes but definitely not 1000s for just one trip - you’re leaving yourself totally exposed given it’s a start up

watchclocker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052112#Comment_123052112

It's not a widely accepted card in Ireland it's mostly fine for hotels and flights but day to day expenses you'll still be using your Visa/Mastercard most of the time and you can't add American Express to your apple or Google pay in Ireland

Gooser14

I would insist on either a company credit card or cash advance into your account prior to travel. No way would I be accepting the risk on behalf of my employer.

Jim2007

In comparison to my current colleagues I'm going on visits to customer sites and in many cases the flights and accommodation can easily be around €2000-2500 depending on the time of year. I know this as i was in a similar role with my last company. The company is pretty much a start up so i dont want to me making demands the second I am in the door especially when i am the only one really who will have such high expenses. From what my current colleagues are saying they are pretty quick to pay expenses and they are usually in my next pay and there has never been any changes to the expenses that delayed them. Most CC seem to have 6 month 0% rates so i cant see expenses taking that long to refunded.

You are talking about financing a start up! The chance of failing is about 90% and you could well end up on the hook for several months expenses. Unless you are in for a slice of the action you do not finance other people's dreams.

I was there for the financing of the dot.com, the clean up and have done a lot of other insolvency work over the past 30 years…. If they don't have the cash now to advance the expenses, the chances of them being able to do so later…. not very high (people are always on their best behaviour starting out).

But at the end of the day it's your money….

nachouser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058387649/credit-card-for-work

"I would expect around 10k-20k to be spent on the card each year"

Good luck with advancing your new job loans of 10-20k a year.

kirving

TBH for a company to even consider this an acceptable solution is a total red flag in itself, and especially a start-up, where money control is essential to long term success.

Just for reference, where I work (big multinational), our flights and hotels and rental cars were all paid directly with the travel agency, and the most senior person on the trip was supposed to pay for meals out, so as to limit the number of credit cards issued to people who might not travel very often.

If you travelled on your own, you'd only really have to pay day to day expenses, and airport parking if you were travelling overseas.

To use a personal credit card for everything is nuts, and you're leaving yourself totally exposed should something, anything go wrong in the company finances.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052112#Comment_123052112

Effectively impossible to get as a private individual in Ireland.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052668#Comment_123052668

yeah wasn’t thinking

Archeron

I worked in a company previously who had a great record in claiming expenses. I'd worked there for years with no problems.

Then one day they changed system and outsourced to a shower of absolute asshats who seemed to do everything they could to make life difficult.

They rejected receipts based on dates not being legible, vat not being properly listed and more, and all of their rejections were totally invalid. There were times when claims were accepted and approved, only to be rejected later when you resubmitted something else that they'd queried. Absolute nightmare.

On numerous occasions I ended up deleting lines from my report just so I could get back at least most of the claim as I badly needed the money (my money!!)

My company ended up having to employ somebody purely to deal with escalations and complaints based on the new expense system. My expenses weren't huge but colleagues in other countries has problems running into thousands, all in their own personal credit cards.

Absolutely no way would I put these kind of expenses in my own name. Company card or prebooked and prepaid.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123052781#Comment_123052781

Nah, they were not 'asshats' as you called them, they were delivering on what they promised in the customer presentation!

I retired a few years ago at 55 and these days my interaction with the corporate world is voluntary TG! Because some of the pitches I saw towards the end were utterly disgusting:

• We will reduce your staff expense claims by the old tricks: challenge, delay and deny
• We will reduce your help desk costs by populating support sites with 'standard help desk texts', hiding the phone contact details forcing people to hopefully give up or at least open tickets
• Etc..