How do you open a business bank account?
In reality, it's not much more difficult to open a business bank account than it is a personal checking or savings account.
If you have incorporated your business then the bank might want to see proof that you actually own the business. Another thing to look out for is that some businesses might need the permission of two or more company personnel in order to open a business. Typically this might be a company director as well as a company secretary.
You might also want to consider which employees or directors will be signatories to the company's bank account.
Some bank managers might like to see some evidence of your business plan, particularly if you're starting out in business and don't have much of a track record. This is particularly so if you need to borrow money in order to get the business off the ground.
One thing worth considering when opening a business bank account is that there aren't generally so many free accounts options as there are with personal bank accounts.
Here in the UK for example, banks will fall over backwards trying to offer your business a free business bank account. However, if you read the small print then these free offers generally only apply for the first 18 months in which you hold the account. And often the free banking offers only apply for new businesses, not already established businesses.
At the time of writing, the UK's best business banking offer is from HSBC. I recently opened a business account with HSBC. They offered free banking for basic services. As I generally only pay in a couple of direct deposits a month, an account with no standing fee appealed to me.
It wasn't too difficult for me to open my business account with HSBC. A lot of it was done online, then they phoned me back to collect certain details.
If you pay in a lot of cash (maybe from a store) or you're going to bank a lot of customers' checks then it's worth shopping around for a business bank account with low transaction fees.
Some business bank accounts are also offered with savings accounts. Usually these pay low rates of interest. I've also investigated other ways of retaining a company's profits.