Modern spending tools for modern businesses: Smarter ways to pay, track, and automate

Whether you're managing everyday purchases, paying vendors, or enabling your team to spend confidently, traditional spreadsheets and business cards often fall short. Today’s finance teams need agility, transparency, and above all—automation.

Here’s how a new generation of business finance tools is helping companies operate more efficiently and make smarter decisions about spend.

Virtual cards: Security meets control

If your team is still using a shared corporate card—or passing card details around—it might be time to modernize that approach. Tools like virtual cards offer a scalable, secure way to let employees make purchases while maintaining control over where and how money is spent.

With virtual cards, you can issue merchant-specific or time-bound cards instantly. This not only strengthens fraud protection— it also helps enforce spend limits automatically, track transactions in real time, and automate expense reports .

Smarter credit options: Business cards without personal guarantees

Many founders and small business owners hesitate to use business credit cards that require personal guarantees—and understandably so. Tying personal credit to business expenses can carry unnecessary risk. Fortunately, modern credit options now focus on business fundamentals instead.

This can be especially valuable for startups and growing teams that want to keep personal and business finances separate. Some solutions offer generous limits with no founder liability—learn more about business credit cards with no personal guarantee and how they’re changing access to working capital.

Paying vendors? Don't overlook ACH

While corporate cards offer flexibility and rewards, some payments—like rent, contractor invoices, or cross-border vendors—require more traditional methods. ACH remains a major channel for B2B payments and is a key part of a reliable AP process.

If you’re looking to better understand how ACH works—or want to minimize fees and delays—this ACH payments guide is a solid resource. It covers everything from payment timelines to fraud prevention, with helpful takeaways for any finance team.

Automate more than just card spend

Spend management involves more than just swiping cards. The full invoice lifecycle—receiving, coding, getting approvals, and processing payments—can take up significant time without the right systems in place.

Modern platforms now automate invoice intake, route approvals based on your internal policies, and sync directly with accounting software—eliminating manual work. This guide on how to automate invoice processing breaks down how to get started and where automation adds the most value.

Not sure where to start? Follow the roadmap

Whether you're setting up your first company card or improving a legacy AP process, it helps to start with a big-picture view. If you're choosing new tools or building workflows from scratch, consider starting with a business credit card —and think about how your finance stack can grow with the business over time.

Final thoughts

Today’s finance teams need more than off-the-shelf bank products. They need tools built for speed, automation, and control. Whether it’s issuing virtual cards, streamlining invoice approvals, or moving away from personal guarantees, now’s a great time to modernize how your company manages spend.