Starting and managing a construction business comes at a very huge cost. From keeping up with your inventory of raw materials, renting and buying construction equipment, paying your workers, as well as obtaining all the appropriate permits and licenses, the costs can be quite high.
As such, you might want to leverage a viable credit card. Keep in mind that the best cards for construction businesses will need to possess high credit ceilings, mind-blowing rewards, along with flexible financing terms to be considered. Owing to that, ensure to carry out the necessary research.
One thing you have to understand is that getting incremental of 1% or 2% back on large business expenses will in many ways make a huge difference. And truly, it always helps if you can get benefits for travel too. Keep in mind that the best business credit cards for your business will bolster your profits as well as help you have the tools to carry out high-quality work.
Best Credit Cards for Construction Business
A good number of big banks make available credit cards for construction businesses. To make your decision much easier, below are the most viable cards for most construction business owners.
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
One thing you will appreciate about the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is the ability to use your card beyond its credit limit. Over the years, business owners have found it as a life saver especially when jobs necessitate unexpected extra funds to accomplish.
It is necessary to reiterate that the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It changes as you continuously use the card.
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Divvy Smart Credit Card for Business
For businesses in the construction industry, expense reports and expense management can seem very daunting. However, with the Divvy Smart Credit Card for Business, you get rid of expense reports, build your business credit, and never outspend your budget again.
For Construction businesses with workers or contractors who will have to make purchases, you’ll relish the feature that Divvy provides. By using Divvy’s mobile app or desktop platform, every transaction becomes very seamless and will help to consolidate all your spending into one location.
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Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
This is one of the best credit cards to take into account, especially when you consider the competitive welcome bonus it comes with: Get $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
It ensures that you can earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in making purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services each account anniversary year.
You can also make 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in making purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. This is in addition to 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
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Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express
With this card, you can make the most of the valuable discounts it offers you at Lowe’s home improvement stores. It also offers rewards for other purchases.
You can make 2% cash back at U.S. restaurants, U.S. office supply stores, and wireless telephone services obtained directly from U.S. service providers. It also offers you 1% cash back on other qualifying purchases. However, note that rewards will only be redeemed for certain gift cards or used to take care of precise, eligible statement charges on your account.
Just like every other American Express card, you’ll get expense management tools to ensure that you can track expenses and manage your account.
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The Plum Card® from American Express
One thing you will love about this card is the outstanding rewards it offers to construction businesses that open new accounts. At any point you need to fund a project you can take up to 60 days to pay your statement with no interest charges.
Howbeit, if you can afford to pay early, you will get an unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on qualified charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and will watch the discount applied to your next statement once you reimburse at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Credit Cards for Construction Business
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Types of Rewards
Since you are a construction business, your primary concern may not be travel rewards that are most often seen with small business cards.
You need to evaluate the card’s rewards rate. Does it offer you a flat cash-back rate (or points) for all business purchases or will you earn higher rewards in certain bonus categories? If the latter, then you have to work towards getting a card that provides you with bonus points for the type of purchases you typically make.
Normally, for businesses in the construction industry, you will want a card that offers 2x or 3x points or cash back for the sort of purchases that you make the most, like gas or hardware purchases.
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Business Card Features
If you intend to or have plans to issue employee cards, then it is imperative you aim for cards with employee spending controls and expense tracking. You can also set your sights on companies that make available free employee cards, in addition to spending controls.
Aside from that, it’s unlikely that construction businesses will make business purchases beyond the United States; as such you won’t have to bother if your credit card has foreign transaction fees.
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Build Business Credit
You will also take into consideration how your business credit card will influence your credit history. You will find that certain credit card issuers report every activity to the owner’s personal credit, while some others report to business credit (and this can in many ways cultivate good business credit scores) and a good number of them do both.
If you know you’ll be carrying a balance steadily, you may need to go for a card that will not appear on your personal credit reports, as those balances will have a negative influence on your personal credit scores and your potential creditworthiness.
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Enjoy Introductory Financing
Construction businesses tend to carry a balance from time to time, which is why business owners are advised to always understand the interest rates they are charged for purchases and balance transfers. A good number of business credit cards also make available intro 0% APR financing for several months to more than a year.
You should take this into account if you finance a larger purchase. If you decide to go with a card that has a low intro APR, ensure to make a note on your calendar of when it elapses, and try to pay off the balance before that happens.
Conclusion
Truth be told, it can be quite challenging to start and manage a construction business. Coupled with getting paid on time, maintaining an inventory of materials, and locating good-quality labor, you would not want any other additional stress.
Owing to that, it is necessary you consider any of the cards noted above to make the most of your business purchases or facilitate the smooth operation of your business.