Banking and payments

Business banking

What kind of business bank account do you need, and what should you look for in a bank?

Get my business banking plan Is this the right tool for me?

Six short steps. No email or account.

Who needs it: Every registered business, immediately after formation.
When it matters: As soon as you have an EIN. Before the first customer payment if possible.
Compare first: Real fee schedule

Matters most when: just started, established, growing, mature

Is this the right tool for you?

Running business money through a personal account makes the books harder, weakens the separation a registered entity is meant to give, and makes you look less established to customers and lenders. A dedicated business account gives you a clean record of every transaction and a relationship to borrow against later.

Signs you need it now

Business and personal transactions share one account.
Customers pay you by writing checks in your personal name.
You need to give staff access to pay or view transactions without seeing your personal finances.
You deposit cash regularly and your bank makes it awkward.
You expect to need a loan or line of credit and have no business banking history.

Recognise two or more of these? Sort out business banking next.

Tell us how your business runs and get a plan that puts business banking in order with everything else: what to set up first, your must-haves and what to compare.

Get my business banking planSix short steps. No email or account.

What matters at your size

Working alone

A business checking account with low friction, good mobile deposit and a clean connection to your accounting software is the core need.

A small team

Multiple users with different permissions, cards for staff, and separate accounts for tax reserves or payroll. The relationship starts to matter for credit.

Several teams or locations

Treasury tools, approval workflows for payments, fraud protections and a banker who knows your business.

How the way you work changes the choice

Cash-heavy businesses: shops, food, some trades: Branch access and how the bank handles cash deposits matter. Online-only banks can make regular cash deposits difficult.
Trades paid by check and transfer: Mobile check deposit, fast availability of funds and easy transfers to suppliers and subcontractors.
Professional firms: Clean integration with accounting and, where your profession requires it, separate client or trust accounts under specific rules. Check your profession's requirements.

What to compare

Real fee schedule
Monthly fees, minimum balances, and per-transaction charges after a threshold.
Cash deposits
Online-only banks handle cash badly. If you take cash, this is decisive.
Accounting integration
A clean bank feed into your books saves hours every month.
Who actually holds the money
Many fintech accounts are software over a partner bank. Check FDIC arrangements.

Cost and setup effort

Compare the whole fee schedule, not the headline: monthly fees and how to waive them, cash deposit handling, wires, extra users and paper checks.
Opening usually requires your entity documents, tax ID and identification for owners. Have them ready before you apply.
Check how the account connects to your accounting, payroll and payment tools, and confirm deposit insurance coverage applies to how the account is held.

Trade-offs to weigh

Online bank or branch bank: Online banks are often easier to use and cheaper to run. Traditional banks offer branch access, cash handling and local relationships that can help with lending.
One bank or several: One bank is simpler. Keeping a second account elsewhere reduces the disruption if an account is frozen or a bank relationship ends.

When to sort it out

As soon as you have an EIN. Before the first customer payment if possible.

Why a separate business account comes first

Keeping business money apart from personal money is the foundation for clean books, a straightforward tax return and, for an LLC or corporation, the separation between you and the company. Mixed accounts turn bookkeeping into detective work and make it harder to show what the business earned.

Opening one usually needs your formation documents and an EIN, or your Social Security number if you are a sole proprietor. Requirements vary by bank, so have the documents ready before you apply.

Fees and how you actually use the account

Compare fees against your own habits. An account with no monthly fee can still cost more if it charges for the things you do often, such as depositing cash, sending wires or keeping a low balance. If customers pay you in cash or by cheque, check where and how you can deposit; many online-only banks cannot take cash directly.

Online banks and deposit insurance

Many business accounts are offered by financial technology companies that hold your money through a partner bank. That can work well, but read who the partner bank is, how deposit insurance applies to your balance, and what happens if the technology company runs into trouble. For larger balances, ask how coverage is structured rather than assuming it.

Connect it to your books

A bank feed into your accounting software removes most manual entry. Before choosing, check that the account connects reliably to the software you use or plan to use, and that it can separate money for tax and savings if you like to set it aside as you go.

Your next step

Answer six short questions about how your business runs. You get an operating plan: where business banking fits among your priorities, the must-haves to hold every option to, and what to compare when you choose.

Get my business banking planSix short steps. No email or account.

Where this comes first

Trades and businesses that usually sort this out early.

Often decided alongside

Other parts of banking and payments.