Thursday, April 15, 2010

What would be the best option for handling employee cash advances?

We have a set amount of a permanent cash advance we give to employees. Sometimes they go out on on site jobs that can last weeks, but we don't want them to carry huge amounts of cash to cover lodging, meals and other misc expenses or materials for job. I was interested in prepaid debit cards the I could reload and have control over the set amount for each employee. How and with what company could I do this with. What options also are available out there?

What would be the best option for handling employee cash advances?
Use visa cards in the business name. Have a monthly spending limit. Only give them to your supervisors if possible. Make sure each employee that recieves a credit card is trustworthy and signs a waiver if the card is used for personal reasons without expressed written authority of the management. If you cannot trust the people with the credit cards, they probably shouldn't be working for you anyway.
Reply:Define the parameters of lodging/meals - identify a base rate for lodging, meals, transportation, laundry services for week long trips.


Then pro-rate the amount for each day. A prepaid debit card can then be loaded with that amount. The employee spends it on whatever, when their expense allowance runs out, they pay out of pocket. So don't be too stingy on expenses.


I do not recommend a credit card type of system - you'll be on the hook when the employee defaults or misuses the card.
Reply:Just give them minimum wage.
Reply:How about a credit card with a set limit. I gave one to my daughter with $500 limit.
Reply:Try American Express. We used to give out AmEx gift cards as employee incentives. I'm not sure if the cards can be reloaded.


No comments:

Post a Comment