Business Card
A type of commercial card that is geared to meet the needs of small and medium-sized companies. This typically refers to firms that spend less than $1 million per year on purchases and have fewer than 100 employees that will use cards.

Central/Consolidated Billing
Central billing consolidates all employee charges into a single bill. The main benefit of central billing is that it streamlines your accounts payable, thereby reducing the administrative costs of processing checks.

Commercial Card
The term refers to the full range of card products offered to companies. These cards are designed to be paid by a business, although employees can carry and sign for charges whenever necessary.

Corporate Card
A type of commercial card that is marketed to companies that spend a minimum of $1 million yearly on purchases.

Fleet Card
A type of commercial card that is marketed mainly to larger companies. Fleet cards offer unique tools to help manage fleet-related expenses such as gas, maintenance, and repair. For instance, spending can be restricted so that only fuel and/or maintenance costs can be charged. In addition, cards can either be assigned to the driver or to the vehicle.

Individual Billing
With individual billing, monthly statements are issued to each cardholder. The company can make the payment on behalf of the employee, or have the employee pay for the bill directly and be reimbursed.

Management Reports
Reports that break down expenditures into various purchasing categories. Depending on the report, the data can be analyzed by such variables as cardholder, city, type of spending or vendor. They are issued on either a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.

Purchasing Card
A kind of commercial card that is marketed mainly to larger companies. Purchasing cards are specifically geared to streamline small ticket purchases by placing tighter controls on spending and allowing for more detailed reporting than with other types of commercial cards.

Punitive Fees
Punitive fees that are completely avoidable if bills are paid on time. Examples include returned check fees, late payment fees and over the limit fees. Punitive fees can range from $10-$30 per statement, depending on your card issuer.