span lang=”EN-US”>For a newly established business without corporate credit, the basis for approval for a business credit card would be the business owner’s personal credit history. If you carefully examine your contract, it contains a clause that discusses your personal liability as the owner of the business credit card account. What does the personal liability provision mean and how should this affect you?
Personal Guarantee on Business Credit Card
When you sign your business credit card agreement, you also agree that you would personally guarantee the account. This means that in case the business fails and repayment becomes difficult, you- the business owner is personally liable to pay off all charges in your business credit card.
Under the personal liability clause, the cardholder’s personal credit history can be damaged if there would be unpaid charges on the business account. If your company incurs a large amount debt, your own credit rating can drop even if you don’t have any problem with your personal accounts. As the owner of the business and the owner of the business credit card, you are directly responsible for this account.
With this in mind, entrepreneurs should be cautious with the use of their small business credit cards. Bear in mind that in the event that your employees abuse the account- using their supplementary cards, you will still be accountable to pay off all bills charged to your name. This is why supplementary cards must only be given to your most trusted employees. To avoid the possibility of abuse, closely monitoring your employee’s spending habits is a must.
Can You Get Off from Personal Liability?
Is it possible to be free from the personal liability clause? The answer is yes, it is possible. If you have been using your business credit card for at least two years or more and your record shows that you’ve been a consistent payer, you can request from your business credit card company to remove the personal liability provision. Still, the decision would depend on your business credit card issuer.
It is recommended for business owners to register with a business credit bureau immediately. As soon as you’ve opened the business, you can establish a separate credit history for your company by signing up with major credit reporting agencies like Dun & Bradstreet and Experian (Business). Once this is done, you can apply for a business credit card to start building up your business credit more easily.
Be sure to select a business credit card that will report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies, not to the personal credit reporting agencies. Building up your corporate credit may take some time so establishing as early as possible would work to your advantage. As we’ve said, after 2 years, you can request your business credit card company to dismiss the personal liability clause and completely separate your business credit from your personal credit history.
However, be reminded that separating your business and personal credit history does not mean you should relax on managing your business credit card. It is still important that you watch out your credit card use, that you stay within your credit limit and that you submit your payments on time. By doing this, you can be sure that you‘ll maintain an excellent business credit standing.
Allison May
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/business-credit-cards-and-personal-liability-748739.html
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