Help with choosing new bank account

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annaconway
annaconway Posts: 8 Forumite
in Budgeting & bank accounts
I am starting my own business and am looking for a new bank account that I can use for my business mainly and also for my personal use. For last 10 years I had a shared account with my husband (as I was not working) and all our direct debits for bills, mortgage etc is going to continue to be paid from our main joined account. My business is not likely to bring much money to start with and I can't afford account with fees. I don't need an overdraft either. Can anyone recommend a good account for me please. Thanks

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  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 31,076 Forumite
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    edited 11 December 2017 at 3:04PM
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    I'd recommend separate personal and business accounts, rather than trying to combine them.

    (Initially) free business accounts are listed at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/small-business#acc while the best personal accounts are shown at the quick 'best bank accounts' link further up the page.
  • annaconway
    annaconway Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Hi,

    Thanks for you reply. What confuses me is that there seam to be fees for business account and I don't think I will be making much money in first few years. The advice here is also to set up personal rather than business account!?
  • radoslaff
    radoslaff Posts: 168 Forumite
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    I've had the same issue recently and I've checked the T&Cs of several banks. They all say that you MUST NOT use the personal account for business purposes. The question still stays if they are really going to do anything about it though unless you have a really big turnover. It looks like the only way to understand the truth is to try and share your experience. :)
    The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 31,076 Forumite
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    annaconway wrote: »
    Hi,

    Thanks for you reply. What confuses me is that there seam to be fees for business account and I don't think I will be making much money in first few years. The advice here is also to set up personal rather than business account!?
    The MSE advice (with my bolding added) says "If you are a sole trader (not a limited company), then you may be able to use your normal bank account for your business, with all the better terms that involves (though check your terms & conditions - some banks won't allow this)" but to the best of my knowledge nobody has been able to provide evidence of a personal bank account whose Ts & Cs permit business use.

    If you're not anticipating making much money for a few years then you might get away with breaching such terms but why take the risk? Come to that, why set up a business that doesn't make enough money to pay a few quid in bank charges?!
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