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FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, credit cards offer tremendous value — from helping finance big purchases and keeping better tabs on expenses to giving a little extra time to pay the bills.
Now comes the challenge — picking the best one.

Although many owners use personal credit cards for their business needs, more and more cards are being aimed specifically at small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, each with its own perks and fees and fine-print conditions.

Using a business-specific card for business expenses is generally a smart idea. Rewards on business cards are often richer than on personal cards, and they allow you to keep personal and business finances separate — at least for accounting purposes.

Here's a look at some considerations when selecting the right card for your business.

To figure out which card you might need, start by analyzing how you'll use the card. How much will you spend each year? On what and where will you spend? Will you hold a balance or pay it off each month?

Businesses floating a balance on the card should generally search for one with the lowest annual percentage rate and best payment terms to minimize the sting of interest, says Curtis Arnold, the founder of CardRatings.com, a credit-card comparison site. The difference in interest paid on a $10,000 balance between a 7% APR card and a 12% APR card is about $3,500, according to a calculator on Bankrate.com. That assumes you're just making a 2.5% minimum payment each month over the life of the balance.

Some newer cards offer innovative payment terms to appeal to companies likely to need more flexibility. American Express's Plum card, for instance, lets businesses have up to 60 days to pay off the balance, as long as they pay at least 10% of the balance by the "due date." If they pay the entire balance within 10 days, they get a 2% rebate on the payment.

Others, like Advanta's business cards, just focus on offering competitive rates and low introductory offers, such as 0% APR on balance transfers for 15 months. But don't be swayed by an introductory offer unless you're sure you can pay off your balance before the rate jumps.

You pay off your balance each month? In that case, find a card with the most lucrative rewards program. "Businesses can take advantage of reward cards more than anyone else, because they spend so much," says Scott Bilker, creator of DebtSmart.com, a financial advice site.

But picking the right rewards program is tricky.

"Rewards" range from 1% to 5% cash back on some or all purchases to frequent-flier miles and even more creative perks like free gasoline and retailer gift certificates.

The math, of course, can be murky, since you're trying to figure out the future benefit of a card.

But it makes sense to calculate what the value of the rewards might be for your business. A previous year's financial statement or card statement might help.

Some cash-back programs, for instance, provide much higher cash-back percentages on certain types of purchases, such as gasoline or airline travel, so you'll want to factor that into the equation.

Of course, don't overlook annual fees on some cards and other caveats that will eat into the benefits. Some cards cap rewards, such as a maximum $500 cash back per year, which could greatly reduce the reward for businesses that spend tens of thousands of dollars on their card each year. It's important to read the fine print.

Generally speaking, the best rewards cards are those with rewards you know you'll actually use on a regular basis. When in doubt, cash back is always handy.

Yet, there's more to consider than the main rewards program. Some cards offer fringe benefits, such as 5% discounts on FedEx Kinkos shipping, prescription-drug benefits or better-than-average car-rental insurance coverage, which can be very valuable if the business actually uses them.

For businesses, other non-reward offerings of a card may be key.

Businesses that give credit cards to their employees, for instance, will want to make sure the card provider offers adequate control features, such as monitoring of employees' card usage or setting spending caps. Also, some cards charge extra fees for every employee with a card, which can get expensive, while others charge no fees for extra cards.

Some cards also make it easy for companies to automatically transfer their credit-card usage data into accounting software such as Intuit's QuickBooks. That can save time, if not money.

Gerri Detweiler, founder of BusinessCreditSuccess.com, says business owners should use credit cards that report to business credit agencies, such as Dun & Bradstreet or Experian's business bureau, instead of the personal-credit bureaus. Reason being, you don't want the business's financial woes or big expenses to ding your personal credit rating. You may need to get on the phone with the credit-card provider to find answers to such questions.

Also, by reporting to the business credit agencies, you're building a credit history for the business which can only help — assuming the credit rating is good — in securing financing and the best loan terms down the road.