Starting a new business is a thrilling experience. After all these years, you’re finally ready to make your dreams a reality, and you’re poised for success. This new venture takes serious bravery, ambition, and finances, so you’ll want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to start on the right foot and outpace the competition.
Keep reading to learn how to get a credit card for your new business and get answers to the most common questions about credit cards for new businesses. We’ll also explore some other financing options that you might not have considered, but should.
3 Common Questions About Credit Cards for New Business
As you evaluate all of your new business’ financing options, you need to realistically assess your creditworthiness, your goals, and whether a credit card is your best financial option. However, most new business owners have fundamental questions about obtaining financing.
Do I Need an Established Credit History?
There’s no clear-cut answer to this question, but if you already have good credit (680+), you’re definitely in great shape for a new business credit card, even if your new business hasn’t yet turned a profit. The credit issuer will review your personal finances and your business plan to determine your eligibility, so be confident and honest in your answers to help ensure success.
However, many credit card companies and banks are overly reliant on business owners’ credit scores. At Team Financial Group, we know that there’s more to your business than a single number. While our financial professionals consider credit scores and your credit history, we take a more holistic, thoughtful approach.
What Are the New Business Credit Card Application Requirements?
The issuing institution will ask you for several key bits of personal and business information, including:
- Business name: Businesses should state their legally registered business name, while freelancers and gig workers should simply state their personal name.
- Tax identification number: State your business’ tax ID number. If you don’t have one, you can simply state your Social Security number.
- Address and phone number: If your business address and phone number are different than your business address, you’ll need to provide this information. If not, simply list your home address and personal phone number.
- Legal structure or business type: You’ll need to classify how your business is structured, such as a:
- Partnership
- Corporation
- Limited liability company (LLC)
- S corporation
If you alone are running the business, you’ll declare your company a “sole proprietorship.” (Don’t worry, you’re still eligible for a new business credit card).
What Is a Personal Guarantee?
As the name implies, a personal guarantee is your guarantee that you will become personally responsible for any debt you incur if your business fails— even if your business is structured as a corporation or LLC. To be clear, if your business fails, the credit issuer can pursue repayment in the form of your personal assets. In most cases, you will be required to make a personal guarantee when applying for a new business credit card.
On the plus side, agreeing to a personal guarantee helps clear the path toward a line of credit even if you don’t have a lot of revenue. However, if you’re required to make a personal guarantee, you will be subject to a detailed credit check that will likely result in a slight temporary dip to your credit score. To complete the credit check, you will probably have to provide the following information:
- Name and job title
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Home address
- Phone number
- Email address
- Annual income
- Business ownership percentage
To further discuss the responsibilities and potential consequences of a personal guarantee, please contact Team Financial Group today. We offer flexible equipment financing options that, unlike a credit card, might not involve a personal guarantee.
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Tips for Small Businesses to Secure Credit Cards and Financing
New businesses come in all shapes and sizes, with different legal classifications, financial constraints, and competitive landscapes. So, it’s important that new business owners choose a new business credit card and financing options that align with their unique needs. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Choose Business Financing That Aligns With Your Needs
Some crucial considerations to keep in mind when researching new business credit cards are:
- Annual fees: Most of us want to avoid annual fees, but when it comes to small business credit cards, sometimes cards with annual fees have some pretty impressive benefits (e.g., travel points, cash back, etc.). Not only that, but you might be able to deduct annual credit card fees on your taxes as a business expense.
- Credit reporting: To help ensure scalable business growth from the start, you’ll want to begin building your credit as soon as possible. Therefore, you’ll need a business credit card that reports to Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet. Be sure to speak with your credit card issuer about which credit bureaus they report to.
- Account management tools: With so much of our lives going online (both personally and professionally), many business credit cards now offer digital account management tools to help you organize your taxes and manage your finances all year-round.
Explore All Possible Financing Options
New businesses often require fast (or even immediate) financing for big-ticket items, like machinery or vehicles. And since these purchases can mean the difference between failure and success, you want to choose financing options that are both practical and cost-effective.
Many of our clients receive same-day approval or even funding on request for small business financing. At Team Financial Group, we offer various options, including $1 buyout leases and fair market value (FMV) leases for equipment purchases. This helps new business owners avoid using up their company’s available credit and includes additional perks, including:
- Protection against rising interest rates
- Fixed monthly payments
- Full equipment ownership and depreciation
- No further obligations at the end of the term
- Possible tax deductions
Whatever you decide, be sure to weigh all of your financing options with whatever time you have available before committing to a solution. Our clients believe that partnering with Team Financial Group has been fundamental to their long-term success—and we’d love to hear more about your business and its goals.
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Contact Team Financial Group to Secure Financing for Your New Business
At Team Financial Group, we are committed to small business owners, which is why we offer diverse and flexible financing options to meet your unique needs. Our application process will not affect your credit score and takes only a few minutes to complete, so please click here to apply today!
Or, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your potential financing options further, please reach out by calling (616) 735-2393 or completing this brief form.
The content provided here is for informational purposes only. For financial advice, please contact our commercial financing experts.