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“Have I paid that vendor yet?” you ask yourself as you sort through the dozens of invoices you’ve received this month. Definitely not the way you wanted to spend your Friday afternoon.

As your small business grows, manually managing accounts payable (AP) processes becomes more challenging, time-consuming and error-prone.

Enter accounts payable software. These platforms can automate processes like invoice management and payment processing while syncing to your accounting software to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

This article offers an overview of the six best accounts payable software solutions for small businesses so you can find just the right platform for your needs. We’ll also give you a list of the features you should look for when choosing a platform, plus tips for how to make your decision.*

Financial admin eating up too much of your time? We can take it off your plate

Automate your accounts payable processes with Juni and free up your day for more impactful work.

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*The information about all the platforms discussed in this article was collected between 9 January 2024 and 11 January 2024. This article was written and approved by Juni and is intended as marketing material.

Accounts payable software comparison: The best solutions available

Juni
Pleo
Spendesk
Sage Intacct
SAP Concur
Visma
Automated invoicing/ payments
Accounting andfinancial software integrations
Flexible financing options
Analytics and reporting features
Mobileapp

6 features to look for in accounts payable software

Whenever you’re researching software, whether that be an accounts payable solution or inventory management platform, you need to be clear on what functionalities your business needs. So before we get into our list, here are some features you should prioritise when selecting accounts payable software:

  • Invoicing automation features: This includes payment scheduling and auto-fill for payment details so you can spend less time on AP processes.
  • Auto-pull and matching to transactions: You want the platform you use to pull in your invoices and automatically match them to payments to reduce your manual work.
  • Simple international transfers: If you work with international vendors, you want to make sure it’s easy to pay them (and that the transfer fees are low).
  • Integration capabilities: The platform you choose should integrate with whatever accounting tool you use, as well as your storefronts and other software.
  • Financing options: As a small business, cash can get tight, so look for AP software with financing options to ease your cash flow.
  • Mobile app: You may not be at your desk when you want to check the status of an invoice payment, so find a platform with a mobile app that gives you visibility wherever you are.

6 top accounts payable software platforms

Let’s take an in-depth look at our list of software. For each platform, we’ll list its features (as well as its limitations), explain how pricing works and point out what kind of business it’s best fit for.

1. Juni: Accounts payable (and much more) for ecommerce brands

Schedule invoice payments with Juni to make sure you never fall behind.

Juni’s platform for ecommerce entrepreneurs comes with automated accounts payable features that can help you run simpler, tighter and more accurate financial admin. With Juni, it takes just seconds to auto-collect, pay and even finance your invoices.

By collecting and scanning your invoices automatically, then pre-filling all the important payment details, Juni saves you time and reduces the risk of human error. You can also automatically import your receipts and invoices with your dedicated Juni inbox for effortless spend management, plus match receipts to transactions.

What’s more, if you need to reduce pressure on your cash flow cycles, Juni offers financing options for certain types of payments, giving you up to 120 days to pay.*

The platform goes beyond accounts payable features, also offering business accounts and cards, features to optimise cash flow management, powerful accounting automations, fast transfers and storefront integrations.

Most suitable for: Ecommerce entrepreneurs and small businesses

Our user reviews speak for themselves—we offer our customers quick and comprehensive support to help them make the most of Juni.

Key features

  • Invoice automation to auto-collect and pay invoices, as well as schedule payments in advance.
  • Dedicated receipt inbox for automatic imports and matching to transactions.
  • International transfers with low, transparent FX fees (up to 0.5% for accounts payments and 1.5% for credit card payments) and multi-currency accounts.
  • Accounting software integration with platforms like Xero, Netsuite and Fortnox, plus integrations with payment gateways, storefronts and other tools.
  • Flexible financing options to ease your cash flow.
  • ecommerce business solutions like expense management, business accounts and cards and data insights.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.
  • 24/7 live chat support.

Limitations

  • Available to all industries, but built for ecommerce businesses primarily

Pricing

Juni has two plan options:

  • Scale: 79€/month, a better fit for small business owners and costs
  • Prime: Bespoke pricing, geared toward larger organisations

You can try our Scale plan for free for the first 30 days.

2. Pleo

Like Juni, Pleo also integrates with various accounting software platforms, meaning all your data is connected.

Based in Copenhagen, Pleo is a business spending solution with built-in AP automation software. Pleo’s invoice management features make it easy to capture, process, approve, pay and bookkeep invoices in a central location. With over 50 supported currencies, Pleo users can seamlessly pay vendors across the world.

Most suitable for: Companies that need to pay invoices in several currencies

Key features

  • Automated invoice processing for less manual work and fewer errors.
  • Real-time payment status updates for increased transparency.
  • 50+ supported currencies for international payments.
  • Instant data exports to simplify reporting.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.

Limitations

  • No financing options

Pricing

Pleo has three plan options:

  • Starter: Free for up to three users
  • Essential: 45€/month when billed monthly, 3 users included and up to 12.50€/month per additional user
  • Advanced: 89€/month when billed monthly, 3 users included and up to 14.50€/month per additional user

3. Spendesk

Spendesk’s accounting software integrations means no more manual data entry.

Spendesk is a spend management platform with accounts payable features like invoice automation and approval workflows, giving you greater control over the invoicing lifecycle and your AP processes. By using Spendesk, you can minimise (or eliminate) manual data entry for your invoicing processes, plus get real-time insights into your spending patterns.

Most suitable for: SaaS, tech and fintech companies

Key features

  • Invoice automation for streamlined processes and time savings.
  • Real-time spending insights for better budget control.
  • Approval workflows to reduce risk and stay ahead of excess spending.
  • Integrations with accounting systems for more efficiency and accuracy.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.

Limitations

  • No financing options

Pricing

Spendesk doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote

4. Sage Intacct

Use Sage Intacct to automate invoice management, significantly reducing your AP processing time.

Sage Intacct’s cloud-based invoicing software helps small business owners and finance teams automate invoice management with the power of AI. For example, simply upload or email an invoice, and the software will automatically extract details and populate fields for your approval. The platform can also detect duplicate invoices, helping you stay in control of your expenses and avoid costly errors.

Most suitable for: Businesses that need powerful analytics tools

Key features

  • AI-powered AP automation and duplicate invoice detection for increased accuracy.
  • Real-time payment tracking for better cash flow management.
  • Recurring invoices settings so you never miss a payment.
  • Advanced reporting, metrics and analytics features for in-depth financial insights.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.

Limitations

  • Not available in all EU countries (for example, not available in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden)

Pricing

Sage Intacct has three plans for its accounts payable software. All plans come with three months free:

  • Accounting Start: £14 +VAT/month for a single user
  • Accounting Standard: £28 +VAT/month for unlimited users
  • Accounting Plus: £36 +VAT/month for unlimited users

5. SAP Concur

Automate supplier invoices and get more time back in the day with SAP Concur.

While SAP Concur isn’t specifically designed for small businesses, it’s still a good fit for solopreneurs and SMBs looking to automate their AP processes. The platform automates invoicing processes, meaning you can pay suppliers quickly without constantly having to double-check invoices and complete transactions yourself.

Most suitable for: Businesses with immediate plans to scale

Key features

  • Automated matching functionality to pair invoices with purchase orders and goods received.
  • Streamlined approval workflow to simplify the review process.
  • Accounting software integrations to automatically sync data across your tech stack.
  • Reporting dashboard with spend overviews for better financial insights.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.

Limitations

  • Not available in all EU countries (for example, not available in Austria, Iceland, or Portugal)
  • No financing options

Pricing

SAP Concur doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote.

6. Visma

Pay invoices instantly with Visma eEkonomi.

Visma is the parent organisation for a number of accounting and invoicing solutions across Europe. It has designated products for 15 different EU countries, such as Visma eKonomi, its designated Swedish accounting platform. Visma eKonomi has basic AP features for paying vendors, but it has a range of other accounting features that can help you streamline your financial admin as a whole.

Key features

  • Centralised supplier invoicing to streamline your AP processes.
  • Recurring and automated customer billing for hands-off financial admin.
  • Integrations with popular banks, payment gateways and storefronts.
  • Access to Visma Spcs company card to sync all your payments to the platform.
  • Mobile app to give you access to the platform wherever you are.

Most suitable for: Small businesses in Sweden

Limitations

  • No financing options
  • Only available in Sweden (though other Visma products are available across a range of European markets)

Pricing

Visma platform prices range depending on which country you operate in and the Visma product you select. Visma eEkonomi has three plans that come with supplier invoicing features:

  • Accounting: 169 SEK/month
  • Smart: 249 SEK/month
  • Pro: 399 SEK/month

How to choose an accounts payable software platform in 4 steps

You can have all the software comparison guides in the world available to you, but if you aren’t intentional about your decision, you may end up choosing software that falls short for your needs. Here are a few steps you can take to help you make the right decision when selecting an accounts payable platform for your small business.

  1. Identify your challenges. Do you often make mistakes when transferring invoice data into your accounting software? Find yourself forgetting to pay vendors? The first step in choosing the right AP automation solution is to identify where you need the most help.
  1. List out what features are most important to you. Now it’s time to list out the must-have features you want in a platform. For example, if you know you need to make payments in various currencies, ensure that’s a feature the software you choose offers.
  1. Set a budget. You want your AP automation solution to help you save money, not drain your profits. Set a realistic budget of how much you can spend per month and, whenever possible, try out a platform for free before signing up.
  1. Consider scalability. You’re a small business now, but you might have plans for growth. So take time to investigate whether the software you choose will be able to scale with your business.

Minimise financial admin and focus on growing your business with accounts payable software

By digitising the traditionally paper-intensive process of handling invoices and payments, AP software is not only more efficient than manual processes, but also minimises the possibility of errors, like a missed or incorrect payment. Having more visibility over invoices, due dates and your general spending patterns can help you maintain tighter control over your financial operations.

But to get the most out of a platform, you need to make sure you’re choosing the right one for your needs. For example, if you run an online storefront, you’ll want to choose a solution like Juni that has the specific needs of ecommerce entrepreneurs in mind.

By choosing a software solution that’s a good fit for you, you’ll make your business more agile, resilient and competitive. Meanwhile, you’ll get back more time in the day to focus on what you most love about running your company, whether that’s marketing your product, interacting with customers or finding ways to scale.

Financial admin eating up too much of your time? We can take it off your plate

Automate your accounts payable processes with Juni and free up your day for more impactful work.

Sign up for free

*Juni Invoices is available for EU-based companies only. Media financing is available for companies registered in NL, SE, DE, FR, ES, IT, FI and NO, upon eligibility. Fees and terms and conditions apply. Click here for more details.

Frequently asked questions about accounts payable software

What is accounts payable automation software?

Accounts payable automation software helps businesses manage and track the money they owe to suppliers, vendors and other parties. Essentially, this type of software helps business owners and finance departments handle their payment processes by recording invoices, tracking due dates and organising information.

How do you keep track of accounts payable?

While you can manually manage your accounts payable process, this approach can be time-consuming and error-prone. A better way to keep track of accounts payable is by using specialised accounts payable software that tracks and pays your invoices for you.

Can you automate accounts payable?

You can automate accounts payable processes by using specialised software. These platforms handle a number of tasks, including:

  • Invoice recording
  • Payments and transfers
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Data sharing with accounting platforms

"Only six more to go," you tell yourself as you upload yet another receipt to your accounting software. We all know the pain of searching for receipts across emails and platforms and trying to match them to expenses.

This becomes even more challenging the larger your business becomes and the more vendors you have to pay. You can avoid most of that frustration and wasted time with the right spend management software.

But not all spend management platforms will be a good fit for your business. For example, digital commerce companies need solutions that take into account sector-specific expenses like ad receipts and multiple platform payments, while small businesses need tools that simplify their financial admin, not complicate it.

This article takes a look at the six best spend management software solutions so you can find just the right platform for your needs. We’ll also give you a list of the features you should look for when choosing a platform, plus tips for how to make your decision.*

Spend less time on spend management

With real-time spend overviews, receipt matching automation and powerful integrations, Juni will make you forget what a hassle managing your expenses used to be.

book a demo

*The information about all the platforms discussed in this article was collected between 17 January 2024 and 19 January 2024. This article was written and approved by Juni and is intended as marketing material.

Spend management software comparison: The best platforms available

Juni
SAP Concur
Zoho Expense
Expensify
Quick Books
Fortnox
Spend overviews
Receipt matching
Virtual cards
No, but you can connect your corporate cards to the platform
No, but you can connect your corporate cards to the platform
No, but you can connect your corporate cards to the platform
Multi-currency accounts
Mobile app

6 features to look for in spend management software

Before taking a closer look at the tools on our list, here are six features your spend management software (also known as expense management software) should come with:

  1. Spend overviews: You want whatever solution you choose to pull all your transactions onto one intuitive dashboard.
  2. Receipt management: Having a platform that autocollects, uploads, scans and matches receipts will save you hours on financial admin.
  3. Virtual cards: The ability to create multiple virtual cards means you can have complete control over employee spending and where it takes place.
  4. Multi-currency accounts: If you’re paying vendors across various countries, you’ll want to have access to accounts in different currencies.
  5. Customisable permissions and controls: If you’re not the only person who will have access, make sure the platform you choose lets you control who’s spending what and where.
  6. Integration capabilities: The solution you choose should integrate with whatever accounting tool you use, as well as your storefronts and other software.

Bonus: Look out for spend management platforms that come with built-in accounts payable and invoice automation features, which will help you centralise your financial admin and save time.

6 top spend management software solutions

Now, let's explore the solutions on our list in depth. For each platform, we’ll list its key features (as well as its limitations), explain how pricing works and point out what kind of business it’s best fit for. 

1. Juni: Spend management software for digital commerce brands

Juni spend management software
Juni gives you a clear overview of your monthly spend and allows you to create unique virtual cards for designated expenses. Source

Juni helps businesses in digital commerce manage their cash flow, track their expenses and optimise their profits with features that are specifically designed with ecommerce companies in mind. 

While it’s not specifically expense management software, you can use the platform for your spend management needs. Juni's goal is to give everyone in digital commerce, from the CFO to the accounting team to marketing managers, everything they need to focus on business growth.

Juni’s expense management features are especially valuable for users who have multiple receipts coming from different media buying channels and online transactions. With Meta and Google Ads integrations, plus powerful receipt matching, expense management suddenly becomes easy. On top of that, you can also manage your unpaid invoices and accounts payable processes within Juni, bringing your financial admin under one roof. 

All of this comes with easy access to media and inventory financing for up to 2 million EUR, helping you free up your cash flow and grow your business.*

*Juni Invoices is available for EU-based companies only. Media financing is available for companies registered in NL, SE, DE, FR, ES, IT, FI and NO, upon eligibility. Fees and terms and conditions apply. Click here for more details. 

Most suitable for: SMBs and mid-market companies in digital commerce

Key features 

  • Real-time spend overview that draws from your bank feeds, credit card transactions and other accounts so you can easily keep track of expenses in one place. 
  • Receipt inbox so you can automatically import receipts and invoices, plus match receipts to transactions. 
  • Virtual cards with group and user permissions to help you categorise your company spending and get better control over your expenses. 
  • Flexible business credit lines on cards with interest-free financing. 
  • Multi-currency accounts so you can spend in the currency that makes the most sense while also immediately grouping all transactions in each currency. 
  • A range of integrations with accounting platforms, storefronts, bookkeeping tools, banks and payment gateways. 
  • Mobile app so you can manage your expenses wherever you are. 
  • 24/7 live chat support so you can always make the most of the platform. 

Limitations

  • Available to all industries, but built for ecommerce businesses primarily

Pricing 

Juni has two plan options: 

  • Scale: 79€/month for up to three users
  • Prime: Bespoke pricing with custom terms for businesses with 3M+ EUR AR

2. SAP Concur

SAP Concur spend management software
Minimise manual financial admin with SAP Concur. Source

SAP Concur helps you streamline processes to deliver efficiency savings, with a focus on eliminating manual data entry, lost receipts and unclaimed VAT refunds. As such, it’s best suited to larger organisations. The platform helps you reduce the risk of human error and compliance issues with automations, plus the software can identify potential mistakes and discrepancies in real-time. 

Most suitable for: Larger and enterprise organisations

Key features 

  • Receipt capture and submission via a native app to eliminate manual entry. 
  • Automated expense rules for business-wide consistency and fewer errors. 
  • Syncs with data feeds from banks, credit cards and some third-party businesses to give you a holistic view of your finances. 
  • Automatic expense review processes for less manual financial admin, freeing up your team to focus on growth. 
  • Smart dashboard with real-time insights so you can track expenses against budgets. 

Limitations

  • Not available in all EU countries

Pricing 

SAP Concur doesn’t list its pricing options, so you’ll have to reach out to sales to get a quote.

3. Zoho Expense

Zoho Expense spend management software
Get a clear overview of how much you’re spending on the Zoho Expense dashboard. Source

Zoho Expense is the business expense tracking app from the Zoho suite of business tools, which means it integrates with Zoho’s other financial management apps. It’s a reasonably priced platform suited to handling all aspects of expense management and reporting for SMBs. Zoho Expense automatically records expenses from receipts, simplifying and automating the expense reporting process. 

Most suitable for: People already using other Zoho products (namely Zoho Books)

Key features 

  • Receipt scanning via iOS or Android devices to eliminate the need for manual entry.
  • Automated expense reporting with receipt matching to reduce human error and time-consuming processes. 
  • Ability to pull in credit card feeds and automate reconciliation for enhanced accuracy. 
  • Simplified and automated approval processes for a quicker workflow and increased overall efficiency. 
  • Built-in purchase requests for more control over expenses, ensuring employee spend aligns with budget. 

Limitations

  • While Zoho Expense has a UK-specific version, users in many EU countries must use the generic global version of the software 

Pricing 

Zoho Expense has three plans for its spend management software:

  • Free: £0 for up to three users
  • Standard: £7/month per active user when billed monthly (unlimited users)
  • Premium: £10/month per active user when billed monthly (unlimited users)
  • Enterprise: £12/month per active user when billed monthly (unlimited users)

4. Expensify

Expensify spend management software
Filter your expenses into records of transactions, receipts and documents for a clear view of exactly what your business is spending. Source

Expensify is a spend management solution for keeping track of business expenses on the go. Most of the expense management functionality can be done on your phone, while a series of handy integrations help to automate and streamline processes around uploading and allocating receipts. Plus, it’s easy for employees to create and submit expense reports for quick reimbursement. 

Most suitable for: Small businesses with lots of employee expenses

Key features 

  • Receipt scanner in the native app to reduce manual entry and human error. 
  • Expensify CorporateCard for automated expense tracking, with cash back and custom limits. 
  • Custom approval workflows for expense policies that fit your company’s unique needs. 
  • Integrations with Sage, QuickBooks, Xero and Oracle to simplify taxes and financial admin. 
  • Receipt integrations with Uber, Trainline, The Parking Spot and more so every employee purchase is tracked digitally. 

Limitations

  • No extended financing options on the Expensify CorporateCard

Pricing 

Expensify has two plans:

  • Collect: £8/month per active user when billed annually 
  • Control: £14/month per active user when billed annually 

5. QuickBooks

QuickBooks spend management software
QuickBooks gives you a clear overview of your cash flow, expenses, profit and loss, invoices and sales. Source

One of the many features of smart accounting software QuickBooks is its built-in expense management tool. There are obvious advantages to expenses being handled via your accounting platform, like how easy it is to claim business expenses for tax purposes. And when you connect your bank to the platform, QuickBooks automatically matches and organises your receipts to transactions. 

Most suitable for: Businesses who want more comprehensive accounting tools built into their spend management software

Key features 

  • Automatic organisation and matching of receipts to transactions for less manual input. 
  • Connect your bank and credit card feeds for greater visibility over your spending. 
  • Instant expense sorting into the correct tax category to simplify your tax processes. 
  • Ability to email photos of your receipts to your QuickBooks account or upload via the mobile app. 
  • In-app collaboration with your accountant with real-time figures, giving you a clearer picture of your expenses. 

Limitations

  • Does not have a built-in credit card with financing options

Pricing 

Quickbooks has five plans:

  • Self-Employed: £10 +VAT/month for a single user
  • Simple Start: £14 +VAT/month for a single user
  • Essentials: £28 +VAT/month for up to three users
  • Plus: £38 +VAT/month for up to five users
  • Advanced: £90 +VAT/month for up to 25 users

6. Fortnox

Fortnox spend management software
When you use the Fortnox Company card, all purchases and receipts are automatically recorded on the platform. Source

Fortnox is a cloud-based accounting software platform based in Sweden that helps businesses manage their accounting and bookkeeping processes, as well as other financial admin like spend management. Users can take photos of receipts and instantly upload them via a mobile app, and the platform automatically fills in date, amount and VAT.  

Most suitable for: Businesses that operate in Sweden

Key features 

  • Automated receipt handling and matching for fewer manual processes and reduced risk of error. 
  • Fortnox Company card that integrates seamlessly with the software and can be used just about anywhere. 
  • Real-time expense tracking for visibility and forecasting, helping you and your team stay under budget. 
  • Broader accounting and payroll features to consolidate financial admin and keep your processes under one roof. 
  • Mobile app for easy uploads of receipts, plus payment collection and salary features. 

Limitations

  • No extended financing options
  • Designed primarily for Swedish businesses, so it may not suit companies in other countries

Pricing 

Fortnox has three plans:

  • Fortnox Bas: 199 SEK/month
  • Fortnox Standard: 299 SEK/month
  • Fortnox Plus: 399 SEK/month

How to choose a spend management software

The information in this guide can help you make your decision, but ultimately, you need to factor in considerations about your business and its needs when choosing a platform. Here are three things you can do to ensure you’re choosing an ideal solution. 

Find the right platform for your business size and industry 

As you’ll notice from the list above, different software solutions are more suitable for different business industries and sizes. For example, Juni is spend management software built with the needs of ecommerce companies in mind. So when researching a platform, pay close attention to what type of business (big or small, ecommerce or SaaS) it’s best suited for. 

Do a cost-benefit analysis

While it shouldn’t be the only factor that guides your decision, you can’t ignore pricing when choosing a solution. You need to find a healthy balance between a platform you can afford (and doesn't go over budget) that still gives you all the key features and functionalities you need to run smarter, more efficient financial admin. 

Research how the solution can grow with your business

You may be a small business now, but if you have plans of scaling in the future, you want to make sure your expense management solution can scale with you. Juni, for example, caters to both SMBs as well as mid-market companies, meaning we can provide the solutions you need from the time your business is founder-led to when it has 100+ employees. 

Get better control over your expenses with spend management software

While you can never remove expense management from your to-do list, you can find a platform that does most of the work for you. The best spend management software is one that not only simplifies financial operations but also contributes to strategic decision-making and the long-term financial health of your organisation.

To find a platform that does all that, you need to make sure you’re making your selection with the unique needs of your business in mind. For example, if you operate in digital commerce, you want to choose a solution like Juni that comes with ecommerce-specific capabilities, like features designed specifically for media buying and online transactions. 

So take your time finding the right platform—doing so can lead to significant time savings and valuable insights into spending patterns, helping you improve the overall financial health and success of your business.

Spend less time on spend management

With real-time spend overviews, receipt matching automation and powerful integrations, Juni will make you forget what a hassle managing your expenses used to be.

book a demo

Frequently asked questions about spend management software

What is spend management software? 

Spend management software is a platform or tool that helps businesses manage and control their expenses. This type of solution usually includes features for receipt management, expense reporting and approval workflows. Plus, these platforms often integrate with accounting software, as well as sync with banks and credit cards. 

What are the benefits of spend management software?

There are a number of benefits to using spend management software to control your expenses, including: 

  • Optimised spending for increased savings
  • Greater financial visibility
  • Compliance with budgetary restrictions
  • Time savings
  • Reduced manual errors

How much does expense management software cost?

The price of expense management software varies depending on the size of your business and what industry you operate in, as this will impact which platform you choose. Prices range from as low as £7 per month to almost £100, and some spend management systems also offer free plans to certain users.

It's no secret that growth can quickly outpace profit, no matter what industry you're in. From marketing agencies to tech start-ups and everything else in between, the desire for more financing typically falls into one of two categories: Either the owner wants to increase profits to pursue new business opportunities, or there is a problem preventing advancement to solve. 

Expanding companies need more capital than those tackling challenges alone; after all, whether you earn $100,000 or $10 million annually, there's always another future milestone to reach. Each milestone prepares the journey for more growth, but it's never cheap and usually requires financing more than you have before. As a result, when business owners face an opportunity to grow, they can often turn to high limit cards.

Importance of having a business card

Business cards can be a company's most essential tool, so getting the right one and using it wisely can be invaluable.

Having a separate card for business expenses can make account management much more accessible. In addition, while smaller business owners could rely on personal cards, opting for a business card can often give you better benefits, such as better expense tracking, high spending power, and more generous rewards to earn.

1. Easier expense management

Using a company card streamlines expense tracking, paying suppliers, covering bills, and managing other business financial aspects. In addition, most business cards allow you to categorize types of spending and identify trends in your purchases.

For example, you can track how much you spend on advertising, supplies, utilities, and traveling to meet with clients. As a media buyer you might find that you’ve been spending more on ads than you intended to, causing the ad spend amount to eat up too much of your monthly budget. The same goes for ecommerce business owners, who might notice that their fulfillment partner has been overcharging them for parcel deliveries. Having one statement that breaks down your spending makes it easier to make adjustments and get your budget back on target.

2. Convenient accounting records

Your business expenses might qualify for a deduction when you file a tax return. However, you need clear records of what you spend your capital on, or you might lose track of oft-overlooked credits and deductions for businesses. In addition, mixing personal and company purchases on the same account makes it harder to find everything you need to qualify for the maximum refund.

Managing spending on a single business card helps your accountant find what counts as a tax break for your return. Not only that, but you'll also have a record of everything in case of an audit by your local tax authority.

3. Flexible borrowing

When your business runs low on funds, you can use a card to cover your expenses; then pay off the balance when your cash flow returns. As long as you pay off the balance by the end of the statement, you won't owe interest for borrowing against the credit. However, if you need to borrow for longer than that, you'll owe interest until you pay the total amount.

4. Spending rewards

Many cards attract customers through their rewards programs; when you spend money using these cards, you can earn cashback or points that you can invest back into the business. So running your expenses through this kind of program allows you to generate a sizeable return for the company.

For example, if you spend £100,000 a month on a card with a 2 percent cashback rate, you can earn £2,000 every month; that's an additional £24,000 a year just for using a rewards program. Additionally, as long as you pay off the entire balance each month, you won't lose out by owing interest.

Of course, the more money you can spend each month, the more you'll get back.

How to get a high limit card

Card issuers use a variety of factors pulled from your credit report, your application, and their own internal data to formulate an appropriate credit limit. The exact amount will depend on how an issuer weighs these different factors.

For instance, if your company turns a high net profit each month, the issuer will likely feel more comfortable issuing a higher credit limit. Likewise, having a history of paying your bills on time and maintaining an excellent credit score will likely increase your chances of getting a card.

Because card issuers don't usually advertise limits in their marketing, it's difficult to say for sure if you'll get a high limit card when you apply.

Tip 1: Grow your business with more cash flow

In the same way that starting a business requires cash, so too does scaling a company; growing your business needs more funding for facilities, equipment, working capital, and operating expenses. However, few people understand that even a profitable company that tries to expand too quickly can quickly run out of cash, even if it has only produced successful products and services.

For ecommerce entrepreneurs, the cash flow bottleneck can manifest itself in all types of problems which could be detrimental to the scaling process. One of these is when demand outweighs the supply of a product because there is not enough cash flow available to produce more products. Should this be the case, potential customers might not wait two or three months for you to get the money together, produce and restock more products. Instead, they could go check out one of your competitors and purchase their product instead. All the time, energy, and resources you’ve spent on moving those customers down your conversion funnel would have been for nothing. A high limit card can help you avoid this problem, as it allows you to anticipate the demand and finance the production of more products so that you are always able to satisfy the demand of your customers.

The same thing applies for media buyers and online advertisers. Imagine that you have created a winning ad campaign for Black Friday, one of the biggest sales periods of the year. Your CPC is unmatched, and your ROAS is excellent. Naturally, you want to scale this campaign in order to maximise your profits. The problem is that you do not have the cash flow to do so because your earnings will not land in your bank account until next week, causing you to miss out on huge amounts of profits. Leveraging a high limit card to get the extra cashflow will prevent you from losing out on an opportunity of a lifetime.

A high limit card gives you access to more resources, but one vital challenge for managers is to achieve the right balance between generating cash and spending it. If you cannot find that balance, then even a thriving company can become a victim of its own success.

More capital can solve many challenges, but be sure to dig deeper

It's often inevitable that if your business faces a financial challenge like tax bills or a slow season, then more financing is necessary to press forward. No matter your industry, there are two ways you can solve a money problem. 

The first and most common approach is to grab your card, borrow money, and jump back into business. After all, the problem is that you're not generating enough money. This strategy temporarily solves the problem, but the cycle will continue in the future if you don't tackle the root issue causing it. This also applies to the aforementioned issue of not having enough cash at hand to scale winning ad campaigns, which is something that many media buyers face. When the ROAS hasn’t been paid out into your bank account, it is easy to simply apply for more credit every time. A way to negate that is to build up a specialised cash reserve which is exclusively dedicated to scaling those unicorn ad campaigns which you keep creating.

The second approach is to dig deeper into company operations and identify changes to make, whether that is to eliminate waste, change entire processes, or adjust something as simple as your accounts receivable collection method. This strategy forces you to stop and analyse your company to make essential adjustments.

Growing a business takes more funding at each stage

Even if your business earns higher revenue, it doesn't automatically grow overnight. Strategically growing a company requires you to invest in your business wisely, creating an infrastructure that allows it to thrive. In other words, you must take big strides where it matters.

For example, consider how spending more on marketing can give your company new leads, leading to more revenue. Early on, your business can acquire new customers and still turn a profit with local word-of-mouth recommendations and a minimal advertising budget. However, that kind of success plateaus; unless you have a plan to double your revenue from the customers you already have, you'll need new ones to make more money. 

Investing in a balanced mix of various digital marketing channels can give you the necessary exposure to generate new leads, but it won't be a cheap endeavour; depending on your approach, the most expensive part of the expansion will be hiring a marketing team or enlisting the help of an agency. Additionally, other expenses are involved in gaining a competitive edge, such as making a new website, advertising budgets, and marketing platforms. 

An initiative like this can be a significant financial burden, so enlisting the help of a high limit card can help relieve some of the pressure in a lucrative way. In addition, if your marketing efforts lead to new, paying clients, your revenue will speak volumes.

Of course, it's just as important to focus on the smaller steps. Establishing suitable systems and putting a good structure in place is the foundation that any business needs to expand. Having capital gives you the traction required to achieve the next milestone, such as adding new technologies, relocating, or physically expanding, but the structure and processes are vital.

While you must keep track of the expenses that add up on your budget, not all costs neatly fall into one of these categories. Certain foundational fees are essential and can't be bogged down by direct or eventual ROI calculations; you cannot easily quantify expenses like these, but they ultimately improve your bottom line.

Be strategic and deliberate to get the most out of your high limit card

Funding is often an expensive necessity, but you don't need to go overboard. Instead, calculate exactly how much you need to grow your business, taking into consideration all possible expenses that can spontaneously occur as you achieve your primary objectives. For media buyers, this could be things like taking into account the increased competition on an ad platform like Facebook, which causes the CPC to increase and make advertising on this platform more expensive than when you first started to use it. Similar to how you take monetary inflation into consideration in the pricing strategy for a product, so should you when it comes to the inflation of advertising costs before budgeting for your next ad campaigns. Estimating your costs will help keep you from spending too much on your high limit card.

Tip 2: Become more flexible in scaling marketing campaigns

The reality is that marketing is expensive; in planning a new campaign or organically growing your business, most business owners quickly discover that executing a strategy can cost tens of thousands of euros that cuts into the bottom line. 

To make matters more expensive, your business is never finished growing; growth isn't a one-time deal, and each milestone costs more than the one before it. But, of course, if that cost leads to doubling or tripling your revenue, then it's more than worth it.

However, managing your spending is essential rather than endlessly throwing money at expenses.

A high limit card helps you scale your marketing campaigns

Cash is a business's lifeblood, and it needs to make enough profit from its operations to manage expenses, repay investors, and grow the business to make more revenue. While it's possible to fudge your earnings, the company's cash flow gives away the truth about its health. 

One of the most crucial factors to consider when budgeting for any marketing campaign is your return on investment. In other words, how much value will you get versus what you put into it? A high limit card can help you put more money into advertising, but it's only worth it if you'll profit from the decision. For instance, if you spend an additional £10,000 on scaling an existing ad campaign using your high limit card, but your ROAS doesn’t increase because your potential audience was already saturated, then extra cash for ad spend wasn’t the answer. Instead, those £10,000 could be used to identify a new, untapped audience and build a new ad campaign to target them.

A high limit card gives you the capacity to handle growth

Scaling a well-organised marketing campaign inevitably leads to new customers, given that you have created a sound strategy which ensures that you target the right people with appealing content relevant to their interests. When you have found your winning campaign formula, you must prepare your business for the extra burden that comes with success. If you haven't equipped your company to accommodate a higher number of orders or clients, scaling your efforts could prove detrimental in the long run. A high limit card can help you prepare.

Even if a business does make a profit by spending less than it earns in revenue, you must correctly manage its cash flow to continue seeing success. Cash flow is tied to business activities and operations, including investment activities, such as buying or selling capital equipment, and financial activities, such as repaying debt or raising equity funding. Therefore, the cash generated from core business activities provides the best opportunity for managing cash flow.

Don't spend money where you don't need to

Without a clear plan, it's easy to spend a little money on several one-off campaigns. Too often, the "let's see what happens" approach in marketing leads to wasting lots of time and money. A great way to avoid this pitfall is A/B testing, as it allows you to get an objective overview of what works and what doesn’t. Running several A/B tests for any given campaign will help you identify your winning campaign formula, not based on your subjective opinion, but on actual data. Once you have identified your winning campaign set up, you can confidently leverage your high limit card to scale your campaign.

Another important thing to consider is that wise marketing involves establishing a recognisable brand that customers can trust. It's also about consistent, ongoing communication that gets your messages out; throwing your money at an email campaign one month and then switching to magazine advertisements won't help you successfully scale your marketing campaigns. Knowing your customer, their interests and behaviors will help you map out the type of marketing placements and channels you should focus on first. For example, if you are an affiliate marketer for a crypto platform, then buying ads on reddit is more likely to generate better ROAS than buying ad space in a generic newspaper, as reddit is where your target customer spends most of their time online. The same goes for ecommerce brand owners. If you sell sports supplements online, and you know your highest conversion rate is with males between the ages of 24-35 who come to your webshop via Instagram, then doubling down on Instagram ads and an influencer marketing strategy is the way to go. Like with a lot of things in life, it is better to focus on a few things and excel at them rather than try to do 100 things at once and make little to no progress in any of them. Once you have identified the winning channels and platforms for your marketing campaign, the high limit card can help you get the most out of your winning choices.

Add value, don’t just push product

You already know how to talk about how great your products are, but that's not what your audience wants to hear; they want to see how you can solve the problems they have and how these products make them better. 

To that end, you must first understand what your customers are going through; you learn this information through conducting market research, focus groups, and online surveys, which will inform your marketing strategy. Naturally, these things require a considerable amount of investment and resources, especially if you are looking to generate quality data. Using a high limit card in this scenario will help you build a solid understanding of your customer’s wants and needs. Accurate buyer personas based on reliable data and customer feedback are an essential part of a strategy, so focusing on this will ensure that your marketing efforts and messaging address relevant pain points which your target customer deals with on a regular basis.

Content marketing is a great way to create a balance between product advertorials and brand messaging which adds value to your target customers. If you are an affiliate marketer, media buyer, or run an ecommerce business that sells fitness supplements, then investing in the production of a number of blog articles related to fitness and nutrition is a great way to advertise to cold traffic and bring new potential customers into your marketing funnel. Once they have familiarised themselves with your brand and you have gained their trust, they are more likely to move further down your funnel towards purchase. This long term approach to marketing is often overlooked by marketers because, next to ad spend budget, it requires additional investment into content production. A high limit card can help you manage your cash flow in a way that makes it easier to free up budget for a solid content marketing strategy.

Tip 3: Run More Campaigns at Once

Marketing campaigns are the heart of the process of reaching potential new clients and appealing to your existing ones. Whether you are a media buyer or run your own ecommerce business, the goal of any good campaign is to tell your brand's story over a specified period of time. In doing this, you'll establish a brand image, increase brand awareness, sales and profits, generate new customers, and raise product awareness. That means the more campaigns you run, the more opportunities you'll have to find a new potential audience. And while more campaigns mean more opportunities, it also means more money and resources needed to bring those campaigns to life. That’s why a high limit card can be a great tool for increasing the amount of campaigns you are able to produce and run at the same time.

Keeping Your Campaigns Organised

Staying organised as you analyse your current needs and the consistency of your campaigns should always be a top priority. Doing that and ensuring your clients' needs are met requires top-notch organisation. Here are a few tips to help you maintain multiple marketing campaign accounts without confusing your data:

  • Use a content calendar: Record all of your plans for each campaign to help with the brainstorming process and scheduling content. You can use any recording program you're comfortable with. Use this content calendar to track important events for your various campaigns, such as product launch dates and other essential data.
  • Establish specific goals and deadlines: Identify your goals for each individual campaign. Are they measurable, attainable goals that are timely with specific deadlines? It's also crucial to remain realistic about your capabilities as a marketer; as ambitious as you may want to be, it's never a good idea to make too large a goal than you can handle.

Take Advantage of Project Management Tools

Successfully managing multiple campaigns is difficult for even the most organised marketers. Truthfully, everybody needs assistance sometimes; most marketing companies rely on project management tools that simplify otherwise complicated tasks. They can help you manage communications, calendars, and overall progress. 

The reason the previous two points are so important in the context of using a high limit card, is that organisation and proper campaign management can make or break a successful campaign. When you finance marketing activities on credit, it is important to be able to generate enough ROAS in order to meet the payment deadlines on your high limit card. If you don’t, it puts unnecessary pressure on your business and might prevent you from getting the most out of this financial tool on the future.

Do You Have the Resources for Multiple Campaigns?

Whether you’re an affiliate marketer, media buyer, or you run your own ecommerce business - you should already know the answer to this question before choosing to expand your business, but sometimes ambition can overtake sensibility. As a result, it's wise to identify your available resources, including employees who can handle the increase in workload. 

Having the right resources will not only take the pressure off of you, but it will also ensure your business is equipped for multiple accounts. In addition, a high limit card can help provide more funding to prepare your company for a successful business expansion.

Conclusion

A high limit card gives you a secure way to pay for business expenses. It consolidates your spending in one place so you can track everything with ease. As a tailor-made financial platform for ecommerce entrepreneurs and digital marketers, Juni offers high limit virtual cards* which seamlessly integrate into an all-in-one financial dashboard that gives you a centralised overview of your entire business, at the click of a button. Combined with the Juni financial management ecosystem, our high limit cards* empower you to unleash the full potential of your business, including scaling winning marketing campaigns, expanding your audiences, and staying on top of your finances.

*Capital for cards is available for companies registered in UK, NL, SE, DE, FR, ES, IT, NO, and FI, upon eligibility. Fees and terms and conditions apply. Visit juni.co/terms-and-conditions for more information.

Juni serves as an alternative to traditional banking, offers virtual cards designed for online marketing with account management tools designed for campaign managers. Check your eligibility to see what credit limit you qualify for.

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