Biz Saving account

skyjumper

not sure if this is the right place. Please feel to move it if not appropriate here

I'm looking for a good savings account I can put the Bussiness savings- which is kept for the Tax man when the returns are filed.
it's a small Ltd Company and I currently bank with HSBC.
I understand I cannot move the company money to personal account- read here in the forum- but would like to get some interest by keeping the tax money until it's paid next year

thanks for any suggestions and advice

Savvy_Sue

We do have a sticky on business bank accounts, but as this is about savings I'll leave it separate, at least for now.

I don't know that there are any 'best buy' guides out there, but the usual rules apply: work out what you need, then see what meets your needs, then pick the best interest rate. As with personal savings, if your savings are substantial you need to bear in mind the 'protected' limits, which are per institution not per account, and some institutions are linked.

As for what you need, if it's JUST the tax you're planning to put into this account then obviously you know when you need it, and hopefully you know roughly how much you need, so an account needing 30 days notice should be OK as long as you are on top of your tax affairs and well organised! But you may find you can get comparable rates on instant access accounts.

Then you need to think about how you will get money into this account: paying cheques into a branch, posting cheques off, internet or phone transfers from your main account? And how do you get it out? If you're going to have to go to a branch, how far are you prepared to travel? It's less critical with a savings account which you're only withdrawing from a couple of times a year, but even so you may be cussing if it's difficult or time-consuming. AND if you're doing internet transfers, you need to know how long it will actually take for the money to hit your current account, so you don't spend it before it's cleared. Some accounts it may be fast, others less so.

It's worth asking HSBC what they can offer you. You may find it difficult to open a separate savings account anywhere else without also having a current account, so might be worth doing a general review of that as well. If you go for a 'token' current account (ie one you only put money into prior to transfer to deposit account) make sure you don't run foul of any 'low use' charges.

If all of this is blindingly obvious to you, I apologise, but we do sometimes hear from people who find that limitations on their accounts are causing problems. Personally when I had money I didn't need, I found the convenience of an Alliance and Leicester current account combined with one of their High Interest Deposit Accounts very good, because I could transfer money instantly with one phone call. But then their current account also suited my needs at the time!

Slinky

I've got my Ltd company business savings with HBOS, currently paying 4.85%

http://www.bankofscotlandbusiness.co.uk/home/default.asp

There's a 30p transaction charge for items paid in/taken out, so I tend to accumulate money in my other account and transfer lumps over at one go rather than dribs and drabs.