Virtual cards for marketing agencies & affiliates

Marketing agencies oversee costs and spending not only from multiple sources, such as media suppliers, but also on behalf of multiple clients. Each new account adds to the complexity of managing spending and finances, since it is rare for one client to use only one platform for media buying. As part of their financial operations, agencies and affiliates also need to pay for subscriptions to software like Canva and Adobe, pay suppliers such as copywriters and designers, and settle all bills and invoices on time to avoid problems with cash flow and reputation.

While virtual cards are not a complete remedy for all financial operations struggles faced by marketing agencies and affiliates, these financial instruments can greatly streamline day-to-day operations by giving finance teams greater visibility of costs, more efficient subscription management, and the ability to improve the bottom line. This article explores the unique features and benefits of virtual cards and why they are ideal for marketing agencies and affiliates.

It is common for marketing agencies to produce copy or creative for clients. In order to accomplish this, they need access to multiple software across multiple teams. Subscriptions were traditionally managed through corporate bank cards, and any spending had to be pre-approved by the finance department.

However, this approach has several drawbacks. A lack of funds on the card can prevent access to the software and disrupt normal business operations. In addition, if a trial is not canceled on time, funds will be deducted from the account, resulting in overspending. Some companies try to avoid this by using subscription management software that tracks payments and trials, but in the end, this is just one more tool that needs to be paid for.

This can be resolved with virtual cards, which can be set up for specific software and specific teams, with recurring top-ups each month to make sure funds are always available and business operations continue without interruptions. Separate cards for each tool used in the company also allow for better visibility and management of all subscriptions. A single-use card can also be used for trials to avoid full payment at the end of the trial period.

The flexibility of virtual cards sets them apart from traditional cards. Besides easy issuing and the ability to manage them remotely through an online dashboard-including deleting, issuing, adjusting limits and controls, as well as topping up-they have one other feature that is particularly beneficial to marketing agencies and affiliates. The creation of virtual cards one by one from the platform is still tedious and manual due to the high volume of virtual cards needed when launching and managing online media campaigns. By using an API, you can integrate the creation, loading, and spending from virtual cards into your existing workflow and automate the entire process to increase velocity and efficiency.

Using virtual cards to manage campaigns for clients significantly streamlines account management, reporting, and reconciliation.

Virtual cards allow marketing agencies and affiliates to gain a deeper understanding of costs and greater control over them. Individual cards can be issued for each client to keep spending separate from others for ease of reporting and reconciliation. Imagine a scenario where you pre-approve a campaign budget with a client, which then can be loaded onto the card. This will help you avoid overspending, but it will also allow you to keep an eye on the costs and adjust accordingly as needed. You can also tag transactions pertaining to specific campaigns for greater visibility.

Additionally, some virtual card vendors let you restrict cards to specific merchants or merchant categories, preventing unauthorised expenditures and providing better cost insight. In the case of media buying platforms such as Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, and others, merchant cards are particularly useful—you can keep media buying separate from other client-related expenses by creating a dedicated merchant card, which offers the same advantages as a normal virtual card

Virtual card vendors often offer cashback on online purchases, so every time you spend, you get money back. In addition to lowering your subscription bills, this also improves your bottom line since the money spent on the campaigns is returned to your budget. This is an often-overlooked aspect of virtual cards that is worth considering when selecting a provider.

We’ve recently added Merchant Cards to our platform—you can now create virtual cards restricted to specific merchants or merchant categories. Interested in requesting a merchant card? Get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] or book a demo.