More small businesses are considering using credit cards as part of their daily operations. With rates on the rise and lending ceilings shrinking at banks, businesses should know a few things about business banking before jumping on for the plastic.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act limits how much rates can go up on credit cards along with several other important requirements to protect consumers from unfair billing or payment application methods. Unfortunately, businesses don't benefit from the act. They're currently seeing about a 30 percent hike in credit card rates since the beginning of 2010, and according to BillShrink this is nearly double pre-CCARDA levels of roughly 16 percent average per year increase.

This is big news for small businesses already using cards as a major source of funding. The National Small Business Association's Small Business Credit Card Survey found that almost 45 percent of small business owners have at least 10 percent of their financing on credit cards, and most of these holders agree their card terms are getting worse.

More than just that, considering financial services outside credit cards like online banking and mobile banking ups convenience for both the owner and company seeing as cards don't allow anyone but the owner to use them. According to Gwen Moran of Entrepreneur magazine, small business cards will be issued to an owner usually and will not allow other members of the company to use them. It also means that the owner's credit score will be scrutinized even though it's a business card, and issuers are looking for very high ratings before they'll extend credit. What's more, even though the card will be issued for the business using the owner's credentials, any late payments will go to both the business and personal credit bureaus.

Credit cards can offer businesses a flexible source of income in case things are tight or an owner wants to build credit. However, people should be mindful that other sources of financing exist and that credit cards, while convenient, can have significant negative backlash. As the NSBA reports, a third of businesses have reported mixed up or unreceived billing statements, another 40 percent have had their credit limits reduced and more than half have experienced an interest rate hike. You can always have a small business credit card as a fallback, but exploring more stable financing options may be best for your business.