Small Business Credit Cards for Your Pharmacy by Kevin Chappell
Most businesses need credit at some point in their existence, and your pharmacy is no exception. Depending on the length of time you’ ve been in business, your credit needs will vary. Here are two scenarios where credit cards can really help.
New and Growing Pharmacies Established Pharmacies
New and growing pharmacies need capital to fund their inventory and payroll. If your capital needs are particularly large, then you’ ll want to apply for a bank loan. This traditional approach gives you more time to pay off the loan, but the interest rates can be high.
However, smaller pharmacies or pharmacies funding additional growth may require smaller amounts of capital. If you need less than $ 20,000 and you have good personal credit, then using credit cards is an option for your business. The length of time you have to pay the loan back will be shorter, but the interest rate can be much lower than a bank loan.
Look for a credit card with
• No interest on purchases( at least 6 months interest free)
• Low APR after the introductory period
• No annual fees
In those first six months, you can make a big dent in what you’ ve invested without the interest charges of a bank. Make sure you have a plan on paying off your investment.
Now, established pharmacies don’ t have the start-up capital needs of younger companies. At this stage, you’ re more concerned about managing your cash flow and tracking expenses. It’ s important to use a card that downloads purchase information into your accounting package. In addition to expense management, you’ re now spending enough each month that you should get a card with a good rewards program.
Imagine: You and your employee’ s spending get applied to a common pool of rewards. You can use them to reward employee’ s hard work through incentives or travel – or for yourself to take a well deserved vacation! You could even use rewards to create incentives for customers. Or, to secure high-value items for your pharmacy’ s promotional needs. Over time and as your reward points build, perhaps you can do all three!
Look for a credit card with
• Cash back or Travel Rewards
• No or low annual fees
• Tracks employee purchases separately under a master account
• Integrates with your accounting software www. smartmoneytalk. com / new-pharmacy-credit-cards www. smartmoneytalk. com / established-pharmacy-credit-cards