Bank account advice needed!

karinelleno

Hi, I hope that I am posting in the correct place.

I am looking to set up my own business and have some banking queries.

Firstly, do I need to have a business account set up?
Secondly, I have bad credit so will I be able to get a business bank account?

I would hate to try and get an account set up for them to turn around and say NO!!!

Many Thanks for reading!!

Tallymanjohn

You don't need to set up a business account if you don't want/need to - the only real reason would be if you had a company name and you wanted to receive cheques made out to the company. It obviously makes things easier to keep track of, but if you're happy keeping accounts and just pooling it with your current banking that's fine - just remember to keep enough aside for tax/NI and keep you figures accurate in case taxman cometh.

Your credit history would almost certainly be checked, even if you don't want a business loan/overdraft or whatever, but your existsing bank may be the first port of call, to at least ask the question as to whether there'd be a problem.

ShelfStacker_3

Tallymanjohn wrote: »

You don't need to set up a business account if you don't want/need to - the only real reason would be if you had a company name and you wanted to receive cheques made out to the company.

Quite simply, b*llocks. It's in most banks' T&Cs that you can't run a business through a personal account. If they discover that you are doing so you'll be in for some fun times. For example: HSBC's General T&Cs for current and savings accounts say quite explicitly:

These products should not be used for business purposes.

Basically, don't do it.

jonesMUFCforever

It actually depends on the circumstances.
Targets are everything in banking these days and a manager would rather open a personal account for you in the knowledge that you will use it for business reasons rather than get nothing for passing you over to a business manager.

So if you do not intend to pay in loads of cheques and cash and are a sole trader without needing overdraft facilities then you may find a personal account ok to use.

However with a poor credit record you need to pass the credit score to get an account!