SB: Business Bank Accounts

weeclick

cue wrote: »

We're with the RBS - stay clear of them. Been looking into changing and I see the Co-op do free business banking, just not sure how good their online management is...

RBS are bad news - I know, I used to work for them!! Get out as soon as you can! Didn't realise Co-op done business accounts, it might be something I will have to look into thanks for the heads up!

kiltrunner

have read this thread with interest. Many thanks for all the contributions. Does anyone have a recommendation for a new start-up that would be dealing almost solely with cash, between 500K and 600K a year? Some of the charges out there seem horrendous. Many thanks -

Kiltrunner

scouselad1974

Hi Everyone

When I started my business 8 years ago I signed up for the Abbey Free Account and used it without a problem for many years, I then discovered A&L Commercial bank and swapped to them quite simply to make transactions at the post office rather than having to drive 2 miles to my nearest Abbey.
Anyway I am now paying a monthly charge of £5 to A&L Commercial and have my personal account with them also. After reading other posts on this forum I am considering switching back to Abbey for the simple reason that I could still pay cash in via the post office using my A&L personal account and using the faster payment service to transfer funds into my Abbey account rather than travelling to my nearest Abbey branch 2 miles away, thus avoiding the monthly charge of £5.00 and the oppotunity for A&L commercial to take funds from my personal account should my business ever have financial problems.
Is there a problem with depositing funds into a personal account and transferring them straight to my business account with the tax man? or is that perfectly normal.
Thanks In Advance

Sorry just another question regarding Abbey, I know that cash paid in via a cash machine cannot be drawn on until the 2nd working day, when can cash transferred from another bank be drawn on, ie from my a&l to abbey shows instantly

Savvy_Sue

kilt, no personal recommendations, but for your own sanity I would suggest one where you can EASILY get to wherever you need to pay the cash in. And double check that your cash payments are within whatever limits they might have.

To my mind, you should put into the equation the time it would take you to get to a 'free' banking provider, and work out whether your time is worth more or less than a closer bank would charge, IYSWIM.

This isn't a very good example, but when I was banking the money for the school fairs, the local PO was by far the most convenient place to bank. £100 in coppers weighs a ton - well, not quite, but more than I wanted to carry any distance. I could load it onto the buggy and wheel it right up to the counter in the PO, which was easier than driving to the bank, parking the car and lugging it inside by hand.

Savvy_Sue

scouselad1974 wrote: »

Is there a problem with depositing funds into a personal account and transferring them straight to my business account with the tax man? or is that perfectly normal.

You would not necessarily have problems with the tax man, as long as your record keeping was in perfect order, BUT if you were paying in very large amounts of cash and transferring it out again, you might have problems with the bank. Some of them get very sniffy about using personal accounts for business.

scouselad1974 wrote: »

Sorry just another question regarding Abbey, I know that cash paid in via a cash machine cannot be drawn on until the 2nd working day, when can cash transferred from another bank be drawn on, ie from my a&l to abbey shows instantly

No idea, sorry.

scouselad1974

Thanks for the info

scouselad1974

Hi

Can anybody who has an Abbey Business Bank Account tell me if funds sent into the account via Faster Payment can be used instantly for direct debits etc, as I think cash paid in via a cash machine cannot be used until 2 working days after deposit.

angel13

claudia999 wrote: »

Dont know what use it is to anyone, but I tried Barclays who would not touch new businesses and finally went to Lloyds who were pretty good and offered 18 months free banking. Switched recently to HSBC and they have been great but like most banks not keen to lend any money out!

i inquired in natwest yesterday (I bank with them) and they seemed really helpful. But I am not sure I want to use them really as werent that good when i used to use them for a relations business . I DO NOT want to use Abbey under any circumstances as they are terrible. I am setting up an online business (all transactions will be online) and I bank solely online at the moment- i have account with nationwide but no actual branch and an account with natwest as mentioned but branch is 200 miles away. Are Nationwide as good for business as their site is far better than Natwest?

I would prefer online bank account for business but also obviously worried. Does anyone use the Co-op? I am hoping to sell 50% eco goods so Co-op would match best with my mindset but I need to know will be good enough for my business? Also if I was paid by cheque occasionally how easily can I deposit the money?

Also I will need a basic bank account only - so no credit check as I will fail. no overdraft, no credit. Just a means to buy stock and for customers to pay me. If there are better companies for this sort of account can someone let me know please.

koru

Now that the BOE interest rate has stopped falling (as it can hardly get any lower), most banks seem to be offering 0.1% interest rates on business savings/deposits, or even lower.

Best rates, according to Moneyfacts, are with Secure Trust Bank, but that it 60 days notice and no internet access (which is important to me).

Next highest is Allied Irish, but this is insured by the Irish Govt and I am not sure I would trust them to meet their obligations to non-Irish depositors (as happened with Iceland). And no internet access.

I also rule out Butterfield Private Bank and Bank of Cyprus, because I don't trust them (I have never heard of Butterfield).

Best rates I can find from a straightforward UK bank, covered by the FSCS, with internet access is with Standard Life Bank. Premium 10 Day Notice account pays 1.65% AER, or even more if you have more than £50k to deposit. Or 1.37% for instant access. Can anyone beat that?

malc_b

angel13 wrote: »

I would prefer online bank account for business but also obviously worried. Does anyone use the Co-op? I am hoping to sell 50% eco goods so Co-op would match best with my mindset but I need to know will be good enough for my business? Also if I was paid by cheque occasionally how easily can I deposit the money?

Yes. And if you are a member of the FSB the co-op give you GBP 25 back each year as loyalty bonus. I bank online. BACs in/out is free. cheques in free, put in a pre-paid envelope and post them. I don't pay in cash but AFAIR there is charge for that and you post that as well but check that if you need cash depositing. This is the direct banking option, not sure about high street co-op banking if it exists. The co-op bank website is here http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk .

Forgot to say I'm very happy with them. No faster payments yet thought which is a pity. Account does pay a tiny, tiny bit of interest.