There are certain secrets to success that you can only discover by talking to business owners – like how to add substantial value to your bottom line with little effort. Realizing that some business owners were using their American Express Business Charge Cards to do just that, we commissioned research by Accenture – to learn more about these owners' secrets so that we could share them with you.
The findings were both fascinating and practical: Businesses that use their Cards for most expenses and take full advantage of the OPEN system are able to reduce business costs, improve cash flow, and/or save time. The study demonstrates how by following these best practices, a small business can potentially save $15,000 a year.
For the business owners interviewed, this is a sizeable savings, especially when viewed as an offset to business expenses like a month of office rent, insurance premiums, employee bonuses, and the like.
You can download and review the full Study – “How High-Performing Businesses Boost the Bottom Line through American Express Business Cards” – to learn more about how some companies:
- Reduce costs (potentially $5,500) by using Membership Rewards point redemptions, Plum Cards early-pay discounts, and/or OPEN Savings discounts.
- Improve cash flow (and possibly save $2,500) by using the higher purchasing power of OPEN Cards and eliminating the need to use an alternative source of funding like a line-of-credit.
- Save time (and potentially $7,000) by consolidating expenses on OPEN and using OPEN’s expense management tools for streamlining accounting and tax processes.
We hope this Study can help you understand and implement these best practices and boost the bottom line for your business. If you use any of these or other strategies, I invite you to share your story with me at marcy@openforum.com. Your experience may provide valuable insights to other entrepreneurs.
Download your complimentary copy of “How High-Performing Businesses Boost the Bottom Line through American Express Business Cards.”
*Based on actual customer data obtained by Accenture in March 2010 via research of OPEN Charge Cardmembers. Study commissioned by American Express. The Study, consisting of interviews and surveys involving over 135 U.S. firms using an OPEN Charge Card – ranging in size from 1 to over 100 employees and in revenues from $200,000 to over $20 million a year – clearly shows that small businesses can derive substantial value by using the OPEN system. The “OPEN system” refers to the suite of OPEN Charge Cards, services and tools, including OPEN Savings, the Membership Rewards program, and OPEN expense management tools.