Somebody's watching your transactions

If you have a company credit card, you probably also have a few pairs of eyes peaking over your shoulder at how you use it.

These days, Corporate America has a wide variety of options when it comes to monitoring the way employees use company plastic.

"All transactions are part of your employer's file, so that they can see where you're spending money," says Thomas Kelly, spokesman for Bank One Corp. "Which is appropriate if you're spending the company's money."

Just because the card is billing you directly doesn't mean that it isn't also sending a copy to your employer. In addition, some credit card issuers offer almost real-time systems that allow corporate higher-ups to access and monitor employee spending via the Internet.

The good news: If that business trip has been extended and you need to cover additional expenses, they can bump up your limit.

The bad news: If you spend the weekend wining and dining your spouse on the card, you're busted.

Your employer is also looking at how quickly you pay your bill, says Kelly, who adds that his own employees get the same scrutiny. "I get a notice if anyone who has a company credit card is delinquent," he says.

In addition, companies such as Johnston McLamb offer programs that help businesses recognize everything from inappropriate purchases to outright fraud.

"The typical person who is intent on malfeasance will rely on the fact that there are so many transactions," says Jim Kline, director of business development for the company. "No way a person or persons can go through and ferret out all those transactions. [But] that's where computers come in."

Different types of purchases -- things like gas, office supplies, hotel rooms -- are given certain codes. And employers will set filters that put limits on what types of things employees are authorized to buy, how often and how much. When someone exceeds the limit, it raises a computerized red flag.

"There have been a number of examples where [employers] have actually caught people filling up other people's gas tanks," Kline says. One clue: Very few vehicles have a 40-gallon gas tank.

Think that dinner you ate from the minibar will just show up as part of your total hotel bill? Not necessarily. Some lenders now break out spending line by line so your employer can see exactly how the money was spent.

Kline's advice: Treat the money as if it were your own. "If you had a second credit card and you were going to give it to [your employees] for business purposes, what would you want them to use it for and what wouldn't you want them to use it for?"

Dana Dratch is an Atlanta-based freelance writer.