Remember those movies where one of the principal characters is dealing with some financial crisis and pulls out a box filled with scraps of paper receipts. Don’t do that!

As a business owner, it’s vital to stay away from using monies from your business to pay for personal expenses even if you intend to reimburse the company later. You run the risk of piercing the corporate veil and getting into serious trouble with the IRS and other tax agencies should you and/or your business undergo an audit (ex: claiming business deductions for non-legitimate business expenses, failure to report and pay taxes on taxable income).

A business credit or charge card can be helpful for business owners when it comes to making purchases and paying expenses on behalf of your business. However, it’s extremely important to develop best practices when it comes to managing and using these cards.