In short: Purchasing cards (P-cards) are a quick way to pay for small purchases, and they work well for web shops, subscriptions and travel. For the wider tail of small suppliers they often fall short: many B2B suppliers do not accept cards, there is no purchase order, receipts and VAT invoices have to be collected afterwards, and finance still reconciles every card line. A single creditor works the other way around: every purchase starts with a PO, any supplier can be used, and you receive one digital invoice per purchase order. You can also use both, each for what it does best.
What a purchasing card is
A purchasing card is a company credit or debit card given to employees or departments to pay for low-value goods and services directly. The idea is simple: instead of creating a new supplier and processing an invoice, the employee pays by card and the bank sends one consolidated statement each month.
Where purchasing cards work well
- web shops and online marketplaces that only accept card payments;
- software subscriptions and online services;
- travel, hotels and event tickets;
- urgent, very small purchases where speed matters more than process.
Where purchasing cards fall short
- Not every supplier accepts cards: local service providers, contractors and many B2B suppliers expect a purchase order and pay by invoice.
- No purchase order up front: the purchase is paid first and checked later, which makes budget control and approval harder.
- Receipts and VAT invoices: employees have to collect a correct invoice in the company's name for every card payment, or the VAT cannot be recovered.
- Reconciliation: finance still matches every line on the card statement with a receipt, a cost centre and a GL account.
- Limited data: a card statement shows a merchant and an amount, not what was bought, by whom and for which project.
- Payment terms: a card payment is settled immediately, so you lose the benefit of your own payment terms.
- Risk: lost cards, misuse and purchases outside policy are found only after the money has left.
- E-invoicing: structured e-invoicing obligations, such as Peppol in Belgium, still apply to the underlying B2B purchase, but card purchases rarely come with a structured invoice.
How a single creditor works
With a single creditor, Spot Buy Center sits between your organisation and all your small suppliers. An employee requests what they need from any supplier or web shop, the request is approved in your own workflow and gets a PO number. Spot Buy Center orders, pays the supplier (also online or by card where the supplier requires it), checks the supplier invoice and sends you one digital invoice per purchase order, through Peppol or another channel you choose. You pay one creditor on your own payment terms.
Purchasing cards and a single creditor compared
- Control: a card is checked after payment; a single creditor starts with an approved PO.
- Supplier choice: a card only works where cards are accepted; a single creditor works with any supplier.
- Invoices: a card needs receipts collected by employees; a single creditor delivers one digital invoice per order with your PO number.
- Data: a card shows a merchant and an amount; a single creditor reports what was bought, by whom, from which supplier and for which cost centre.
- Payment terms: a card pays immediately; with a single creditor you pay on your own terms.
- Admin for finance: a card statement still needs line-by-line reconciliation; a single creditor gives you one creditor and structured data.
Use both, each for what it does best
Purchasing cards and a single creditor are not mutually exclusive. A practical split is to keep cards for travel, subscriptions and a small number of card-only purchases, and to route all other small purchases, spot buys and one-time suppliers through the single creditor. That keeps the speed of a card where it fits, and adds control, invoices and data everywhere else.
Frequently asked questions
Can employees still buy in web shops without a card?
Yes. They request the item from any web shop and Spot Buy Center places and pays the order, so no card is needed on your side.
Does a single creditor replace our purchasing cards?
Not necessarily. You can keep a limited number of cards for travel and subscriptions and move the rest of the tail to the single creditor.
How do we decide which purchases go where?
Look at your card statements and small supplier invoices from the last 12 months. Purchases that need a PO, a VAT invoice or a supplier that does not take cards are good candidates for the single creditor.
Read more about single creditor services, tail spend options compared or talk to us about your tail spend.
