Opening a business bank account can help to keep your business and personal finances separate. Plus, you might benefit from perks such as cashback and accounting tools. Even better, these accounts won’t charge a monthly or annual fee.
A free business bank account is simply one that doesn’t charge a monthly or annual fee, and there are no fees for opening the account either. This can be ideal if your business is new and needs to keep overheads low or if you only need to carry out a few transactions each month. However, the remaining account features depend on the provider, so you’ll need to compare them carefully.
Sole traders and freelancers are not legally obliged to open a business bank account as their business isn’t legally separate from them. But if you’re a limited company, you need to open a business bank account. This is because you’ve registered your business with Companies House, which means it’s a separate entity to you legally and financially.
A number of business bank accounts don’t charge a monthly or annual fee. But some of these might only offer this for a limited time, say, 12 months. Even if your bank account never charges a monthly or annual fee, you might still have to pay for certain banking transactions.
For example, some business bank accounts might allow you to make a certain number of free bank transfers or payments each month but charge a fee if you exceed this limit. Others might let you carry out certain transactions for free, say UK transfers, but will charge a fee for others. And others still might charge for all banking transactions on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The key difference between free and paid-for business accounts is that free accounts don’t charge a monthly or annual fee.
How they differ beyond this depends on the provider. You might find free business accounts don’t offer as many perks as paid-for accounts. For example, you might not benefit from features such as invoicing tools or integrated accounting, or you might not earn cashback on your purchases.
Other free business bank accounts might offer the same features as paid-for options but could charge more for everyday banking transactions or have stricter monthly limits. This could suit smaller businesses that only carry out a handful of business banking transactions each month. But a larger business that carries out high volumes of business transactions will likely be better off with an account that charges a monthly fee but offers unlimited free banking transactions in return.
Many free business bank accounts can be opened online. You’ll usually need to fill in an online form, providing a few personal details and some information about your business. Alternatively, you might be able to open the account through the provider’s app, in a branch (if your provider has one) or over the phone.
You usually need to provide your business’ registered address and contact details, and if you’re a limited company, you’ll need to provide details of your company’s registration at Companies House. You’ll also need to provide proof of address and proof of ID for all company directors.
When comparing business bank accounts, you should think about the features most likely to benefit your business, as well as the features you can do without. Consider the below to help you with this:
Free business bank accounts can be particularly beneficial for small businesses just getting off the ground. However, many free accounts come with other charges or limited benefits, so you’ll need to consider exactly what you want from your business bank account to be sure of choosing the right one for your business.
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