Landscape Management, February 2019

Grow your Green 56 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET FEBRUARY 2019 PHOTO ISTOCK COM MANGOSTAR_ STUDIO Elements of an effective employee credit card policy I n the landscape and lawn care business we find ourselves on the road solving many problems As such we often require supplies that cant be planned for such as parts for our equipment fees for mechanics who provide emergency repairs while on the road meals while were out and about and other expenses that need to be paid for on the spot Enter credit cards for our employees a perfect way to solve the problem of on the spot payments While distributing credit cards to employees is a great idea you should have some policies regarding limits and usage to prevent employee abuse and overuse The following are three best practices I recommend you implement as part of your employee credit card policy Give cards only to trustworthy employees Remember trust works both ways and providing some employees with credit cards may empower those employees and show you trust them This move can be positive if done properly If you distribute credit cards to your employees and then distrust them it can lead to bad vibes between you and the employee and a possible decrease in productivity Therefore distributing credit cards only to employees who demonstrate maturity and fiscal responsibility is the first best practice you should consider Lay out the rules Devise a workable and smart expense policy This policy should define acceptable purchases the limits on purchases that dont need approval how the expenses should be submitted for reimbursement and if the company will pay the expense directly It may be best to have a brief conversation with any employee who will have a credit card and carefully go over the guidelines You dont want to find yourself with large charges that the employee believed he or she had the authority to make Trust but verify Check your credit card statements regularly BY DANIEL GORDON The author is a CPA who caters to landscape and lawn care firms Reach him at dan@ turfbooks com either by going online to analyze activity or downloading the transactions into QuickBooks I highly recommend checking credit card charges daily so you know exactly what is being spent and can identify potential fraud immediately Question every charge you dont recognize In addition to the downloads many credit card companies offer smartphone alerts each time a card is used Depending on the volume of charges alerts can get annoying but perhaps a supervisor can monitor this important real time activity instead of the owner Control is vital Remember an unchecked credit card can do a lot of damage Building a company culture of prudent spending is key to an effective employee credit card policy If youve hired the right folks then issuing business credit cards shouldnt be a problem Good employees will know when its appropriate to use them and will follow your direction when you define what the cards are to be used for CRYSTAL CLEAR Its important for employers to set ground rules for employees regarding the use of company credit cards