The corporate purchasing card, also known as procurement card, or just P card, is a credit card issued by a company to its employees for business expenses.
P cards are credit cards that allow employees to quickly and efficiently purchase the items they need for work. In many cases, P cards are a more efficient way of handling small company payments than traditional procurement methods. Additionally, modern p cards often come with added functionalities that corporate cards do not have.
P cards have several significant benefits for businesses, especially for the purchasing department.
- Streamline the purchasing process by providing faster access to company funds and eliminating the need for a purchase order or expense report.
- Simplify accounting by enabling simple and instant receipt capture. This helps to manage spending by providing detailed transaction records.
- Reduce the potential for fraud.
- Save the company money by eliminating the need for manual data entry and paper receipts.
- Enable tighter spending control and accountability
- Help to build good relationships with suppliers by providing a convenient way to pay bills. And when used properly, corporate purchasing cards can help you get discounts from suppliers.
Companies that frequently make payments online can benefit from creating unique virtual cards for each purchase. This helps to protect the company's credit card information and prevents the need to use the same card for multiple purchases.
Of course, corporate purchasing cards are not without risk. That's why it's essential to have a purchasing card policy in place. This policy should outline how the cards can be used, set a spending limit, who is responsible for them, and what happens if there is misuse.
P-cards provide certain functionalities that traditional corporate cards can't, making them a better fit for certain job functions.
They're also known as purchasing cards, procurement cards, corporate charge cards, business cards, prepaid expense cards, and employee debit cards.
