As small business owners know, there is no shortage of bank and credit cards that aim to help them manage expenses. Yet entrepreneurs still find themselves devoting precious time poring over statements. Toffer Grant, CEO and founder of PexCard, thinks there’s a better way.
Prepaid Small Business Expense Management
So what sets PEX Card apart?
“The main differentiating point is that it’s prepaid,” said Grant. It’s an approach that can make a profound difference on how small businesses balance their books. PEX Card has the effect of “removing day-to-day spending out of that credit line bucket and move it into a cash flow bucket,” he added
Whereas most card services exist for the sake of convenience and to speed financial transactions, PEX Card was designed to help small businesses control their spending from the start with a Visa prepaid card that they can manage online. Among its many benefits is the sheer level of control the platform allows.
PEX Card makes it “easy to issue a card to as many employees as you want,” said Grant. Account administrators can place limits on the amount and type of spending permitted per individual card. Businesses can fund their PEX Cards online using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) electronic funds transfer system that banks use.
Its user interface provides at-a-glance, near real-time monitoring and reporting, which allows small business owners to keep a close eye on their expenditures. And that’s where you find one of PEX Card’s biggest selling points.
With PEX Cards, expense reports can be a thing of the past, explains Grant. It eliminates the painful ritual of deciphering stacks of receipts (or arguing about their eligibility). PEX can also help boost employee morale.
Paying out-of-pocket and awaiting the issuance of an expense check can put a strain on most small business workers’ budgets. “Employees don’t necessarily have the funds, and they are often paid hourly,” explained Grant. PEX Card practically eliminates the need for expense reporting, saving time that is better spent on growing a business.
“At the end of the day, you have inherent time savings,” said Grant.
Mobile Expense Management
For small businesses with owners and managers on the move, the firm just launched PEX Mobile, a suite of iOS and Android apps that brings PEX Card management to smartphones and tablets. Now small business owners can conduct business whether they’re behind the counter or at a job site.
“In this economy, businesses are constantly in an ‘all hands on deck’ mode of operating. PEX Card administrators often play more than one role within their organization, and don’t have the luxury of managing employee spending from behind a desk,” said Grant in a statement.
Workers increasingly rely on mobile technology to boost productivity, pursue opportunities and drive efficiency. In terms of managing expenses, PEX Mobile gives them the same edge. “PEX Mobile provides highly-active businesses with a seamless way to adjust their expense card program in real-time and on-the-go,” said Grant.
PEX Mobile apps (free) are available now. PEX Card costs $49.95 for a one-time account set-up fee. Each card costs $7.50 per month, but the company waives that fee for any month the business spends at least $50,000.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Internetnews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Do you have a comment or question about this article or other small business topics in general? Speak out in the SmallBusinessComputing.com Forums. Join the discussion today! |