Small business company (credit card, employment, to buy)

[nitynity]

I work for a small business company (INC). The owners live outside TX and we have weekly meetings over phone where they check upon the status. They are kinda cheapskates who try to save money at any cost.

So currently, we don't have a company business card, instead use our personal CC and later get reimbursed on business expenses. And the owners don't reimburse on a timely fashion and hence sometimes we end up making monthly payment from our own pocket to avoid late fees and affecting credit scores.

I started working here recently and I don't agree with this at all. I don't want to pay out of my CC for making business purchases for whatever reason.May be the owners trying to save up on the business account maintenance fees. The other employees agree but they don't want to ruin the relationship and hence just abide.

So what's the best way to bring this up to the owners that they should be covering the expense and not the employees? Is there any legal clause they are violating in TX by having this practice?

[europeanone]

I have never heard of a state law prohibiting companies from requiring employees to use their personal credit card for business expenses. It is common practice, unfortunately. This thread would probably be better suited for the Work and Employment Forum on city-data.

That said, there’s no need to start out so adversarially. Instead, go back to your manager and avoid the issue of whether it’s reasonable or not. Instead, say: “I really want to attend this conference / I really want to take this client out to lunch, but I’m not in a position to be able to put it on a personal credit card. What can I do?”

Your company is doing something unreasonable by requiring you to use your personal cc, but it’s a common enough practice that your first step should be to try to work WITH your boss to find a resolution. Perhaps they can advance you money and you provide them receipts on a monthly basis, for example.

Best of luck.

[Katana49]

As easy as it is to get a corporate account with American Express, there's no justification for making their employees front any business expenses.

We have a small business, last I checked our credit line was $100k, which can be split among several different card holders. If wanted, they can set a limit for individual cards, say a cap of $1k or something, if they want to limit their liability.

[Stevehanrahan41]

I work for a Fortune 25 company, that also happens to be frugal. All employees except the higher ups are required to pay for their travel and then get reimbursed. We don't travel that often so it's not a big deal.

[nitynity]

Thanks for the response guys. It's not for conferences, travel etc. but more like office equipment purchases like printer, PC, router, laptop, software licenses etc.

[TeamLynn]

Tell them you are on a financial plan too and decided to give up Credit Cards.
You'll need cash advance for any purchases they want you to make.
Sounds like you and some others are helping with company cash flow.
Sounds like you need a new CFO or controller.
They should be using POs and approval process and organized purchasing to buy computers, printers, office supplies.
Having each staff do what they want sounds like a disaster to me.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by nitynity

I work for a small business company (INC). The owners live outside TX and we have weekly meetings over phone where they check upon the status. They are kinda cheapskates who try to save money at any cost.

So currently, we don't have a company business card, instead use our personal CC and later get reimbursed on business expenses. And the owners don't reimburse on a timely fashion and hence sometimes we end up making monthly payment from our own pocket to avoid late fees and affecting credit scores.

I started working here recently and I don't agree with this at all. I don't want to pay out of my CC for making business purchases for whatever reason.May be the owners trying to save up on the business account maintenance fees. The other employees agree but they don't want to ruin the relationship and hence just abide.

So what's the best way to bring this up to the owners that they should be covering the expense and not the employees? Is there any legal clause they are violating in TX by having this practice?

Are you claiming the fees and interest on your expense report when they do not pay in a timely manner?

[Squirl]

to answer your question you can declare expenses on your taxes that are related to your job if unreimbursed

[nitynity]

Originally Posted by escanlan

Are you claiming the fees and interest on your expense report when they do not pay in a timely manner?

It's more about my credit score getting dropped than about the money getting reimbursed in a timely fashion.