Keep Small Business Expenses under Control with Visa Payment Controls
July 06, 2012
By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer
For small businesses, one of the most important tasks is to manage expenses effectively. With funds in the early going often coming from whatever source of venture capital could be raised -- or even from loans -- minimizing expenses until the cash flow is sufficient to cover them is vital. Visa wants to make that process simpler and more effective with Visa Payment Controls.
Visa Payment Controls gives small businesses a variety of tools to ensure that spending is curtailed to the level at which it's most necessary, including spending limits on cards for those who need to have them, as well as restrictions on who can access cash, blocks on travel and even limits on ATM withdrawals. But Visa Payment Controls isn't just about putting restrictions on employees; it's also about making the reporting process easier and more transparent overall.
Small businesses, as Visa's head of global small business, Janet Zablock, explained, often use cash or checks to handle their expenses. This in turn requires employees to hold onto paper receipts and submit reports in order to be reimbursed. Using Visa Payment Controls, meanwhile, allows all the receipts -- and by extension the reports -- to be compressed into one centralized document that records all the transactions encountered, making reimbursement unnecessary in many cases. Plus, businesses get a handy document that will prove helpful for not only controlling cash outflow but also serve as a useful tool in tax preparation.
But this isn't the only tool in Visa's cash management toolbox. They've also set up operations with MasterCard, American Express (News - Alert), Verizon and AT&T to produce Isis, a mobile payments system that works with the NFC (Near Field Communications) systems on smartphones, allowing them to function in much the same way a wallet, or a card, might. Since Isis can also allow for the redemption of coupons and loyalty program points, it makes for the best chance at discounts and, by extension, further cost savings.
Keeping costs in line, especially in the early going, is vital to any small business' operations. While there are plenty of tools out there to help ensure that businesses can keep a handle on their outgoing cash flow, the Visa Payment Controls platform will go a long way toward ensuring that that oh-so-important cash stays where it needs to, and only goes out when it must.
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Edited by Rich Steeves