Business name + bank account?

HopeAndDriftWood

Im in the process of setting up a new business, and completing business plans, etc. I had hoped a name would just come to me, but it hasnt. Without giving too much away, its a baby related company, for gifty-products, but there might be some stuff for mum on there too at a later date. Any ideas? I really wanted Pitter Patter, but its so common

Oh, and yesterday i went into my bank (HSBC) to open a business direct account. I was rejected, for bad credit, apparantly. I dont have any bad credit. My equifax report shows 1 credit card, satisfactory, held for 5 months, 2 bank accounts, both satisfactory, and 4 searches in the last 6 months.

Help on both would be really appreciated

Caroline73_2

Why not just register your business as your name, you can change it later when something comes up.

I have always found Abbey's small business account to be excellent. It's probably the 4 searches that have had a negtive effect on your credit score.

Good luck with your business.

olly300

SaucySecrets wrote: »

Oh, and yesterday i went into my bank (HSBC) to open a business direct account. I was rejected, for bad credit, apparantly. I dont have any bad credit. My equifax report shows 1 credit card, satisfactory, held for 5 months, 2 bank accounts, both satisfactory, and 4 searches in the last 6 months.

All lenders are becoming stricter on opening accounts. It's the credit crunch.

Try opening an account with the other bank you have a personal account with.

blue_monkey_2

Are you self employed? Get a basic bank account - you can transfer it again later. Or go to a bank that has a face to face meeting with you so you can discuss what you want. I am with Barclays and had (very) bad credit when getting the business account. Abbey, depsite me being with them a number of years and then seeing my turnover via my personal acount, refused me.

I did not ask for any credit/lending facilities so maybe this makes a difference. If you are a sole trader you can use a name at a later date just make sure all cheque payments come in your personal account and you will be fine.

Be aware that if using a merchant bank account for accepting payments you'll also need seperate merchant accounts for Internet and Face to Face trading. You can choose to use Paypal though and just use your normal account for this.

You can use your own personal bank account but it does get a bit messy and this is why I preferred the seperate accounts.

spilly1

Why not contact your local art college and offer a small prize (£50-ish) for the best name & logo design? Make sure they know they will be used for a business and that when you award the prize money, you are also purchasing the copyrights (as the designer usually retains them and it can be a pain otherwise)

ukbill69

olly300 wrote: »

All lenders are becoming stricter on opening accounts. It's the credit crunch. .

that's rubbish, they dont have to lend!

WMerchant

SaucySecrets is it an online or offline business? If it's online you can use the same merchant account for online and MOTO (mail order, telephone orders). Simply use a virtual terminal.

If you are trading in the high-street as well as online, you can get a bank acquired merchant account. This means you will get a pdq machine from your high street bank, and you can use an online payment service provider to supply the gateway only and bolt straight onto your current high street merchant account. This will allow you to trade online and off!

With regards to banks not lending. We are finding merchant apps are being refused due to banks starting to take a strict dislike to start-ups. They do often say it is bad credit as it's easier to explain. When in reality they are turning them down as they don't want to lend. Luckily we get the truth from the bank when an app fails and not the party line.

DCodd

As for the name - really need to know a bit more about the things you are selling. But Babystuff seems to be available, but check.

Is it toys or clothes or changing mats etc? Whats your initials? could you use them in a name?

Makethemhappy - if its gifts? or Round & Round the Garden.

always check that names are available though.

opportunity_cost

Gifted Babies

Cheesy (I know ) but, on paper at least, it follows the 'short, snappy and descriptive' golden rule, with some wordplay thrown in for good measure.

No record of anyone using that name found by Companies House or Yell.com checkers. A quick search on NetNames reveals that .co.uk domain is available and the fact that .com domain has been taken could even be a positive! I'm sure a fair few of your customers would at some point tap in 'giftedbabies.com' by mistake and would get a good chuckle out of the contrast between your site and this very early-internet look website with family-album type pictures of kids and animals. Definitely some potential for a 'comparethemeerkat' effect there.