Small Business Bank Accounts Discussion Area

Savvy_Sue

Agentdavid wrote: »

Hi

Excuse my ignorance because i really haven't a clue about theses things but let me run this past you guys.

Im about to take over a martial arts class, teaching in the evenings. There is an existing student base and of these, 90% pay by standing order on a monthly basis. The other 10% pay cash or cheque. My only overhead is the hall bill which would be paid monthly and i could pay that in cash. So i don't really need a business account? I have an old savings account with the Co-operative which is still open and i use occasionally. Can i just use that account instead of opening a business account?

I'd say that if your savings account will accept standing orders in then that would work in the short term, but you need to be aware that it's almost certainly against the t&c, so if they notice then it could be changed to a business account and charged accordingly. And a number of SOs going in from different names isn't 'normal' for a savings account, is it? Also you won't be able to write cheques from it. Also who do they pay atm? the current instructor, or the name of the club? If the latter, are you planning to keep the name of the club? If yes, you need an account in the club's name, IMO.

The other thing is that if you are paying for the hall by cash, make sure you get a receipt every time, and keep it safe for offsetting against your income when you come to do your tax return.

Agentdavid

CKhalvashi wrote: »

You'll probably be in breach of the ts&cs, and therefore Coop could close the account.

HSBC offer the Business Direct account, which should be free in these circumstances.

CK

Thanks for that, may have a look at HSBC :beer:

Agentdavid

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'd say that if your savings account will accept standing orders in then that would work in the short term, but you need to be aware that it's almost certainly against the t&c, so if they notice then it could be changed to a business account and charged accordingly. And a number of SOs going in from different names isn't 'normal' for a savings account, is it? Also you won't be able to write cheques from it. Also who do they pay atm? the current instructor, or the name of the club? If the latter, are you planning to keep the name of the club? If yes, you need an account in the club's name, IMO.

The other thing is that if you are paying for the hall by cash, make sure you get a receipt every time, and keep it safe for offsetting against your income when you come to do your tax return.

Some good points here, thanks very much :beer:

janusdesign

CKhalvashi wrote: »

HSBC offer the Business Direct account, which should be free in these circumstances.

I have a Business Direct account and I've just received a letter from HSBC stating that there will be a monthly charge for this account (now called Electronic Banking Tariff) from 1st September 2013.

if you can get an account now, then this charge won't apply until the end of your free banking period, but after that it's £5.50 per month. There will be no free cash or cheque deposits, it'll be 90p per credit, 80p to write a cheque etc... some prices have gone down, but for me they would be offset by the monthly charge.

as I no longer need the HSBC Business Direct Account, I will be writing to them to close it down.

mf78

I just got the letter from HSBC about the new charges too and I'm now looking for a cheaper alternative. Most of my customers pay by cheque, I have a fairly low turnover and I manage a lot of payments and transfers using Bacs which will be charged for in the new pricing scheme. Staying with HSBC is going to eat up quite a bit of money compared to what its costing me now.

Wywth

mf78 wrote: »

I just got the letter from HSBC about the new charges too and I'm now looking for a cheaper alternative. Most of my customers pay by cheque, I have a fairly low turnover and I manage a lot of payments and transfers using Bacs which will be charged for in the new pricing scheme. Staying with HSBC is going to eat up quite a bit of money compared to what its costing me now.

I have responded in your own thread asking this question here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4676803

cfuk

squowse wrote: »

Actually the reason I came here is to suggest a correction for the small biz money saving article -

Santander doesn't offer the "lowest charge" bank account. It is only free for 12 months as are all of them I think. After that a minimum charge of £7.50 per month.

The lowest charge currently (after the 12 months has elapsed) is £0.00 per month for an HSBC Business Direct account.
All electronic transactions, £250 at the ATM and 5 cheques in and 5 out are free every month. If you regularly go over these limits I would guess you would be better off on another tariff

Not any more - just got my letter saying they are going to charge me a £5.50 monthly maintenance fee and "removing the free monthly allowances that you have". Any free accounts left?

matty50

I have also just had the letter from hsbc - hence me being on this site to look for alternatives.
We are a ltd company so have to have a business account. We run a B&B and have recently told guests that we no longer take cheques, and the little cash we take in can be used for purchases. I really object to the £5.50 per month they are going to impose - that's why we'll change!
I'm going to ask our mortgage lender if they do current accounts. We're with the Cumberland Building Society and they have been fantastic over the 9 years we've been here :j

Wywth

matty50 wrote: »

I have also just had the letter from hsbc - hence me being on this site to look for alternatives.
We are a ltd company so have to have a business account. We run a B&B and have recently told guests that we no longer take cheques, and the little cash we take in can be used for purchases. I really object to the £5.50 per month they are going to impose - that's why we'll change!
I'm going to ask our mortgage lender if they do current accounts. We're with the Cumberland Building Society and they have been fantastic over the 9 years we've been here :j

Yes Cumberland BS do business current accounts, but I think it's for locals only, which presumably you are
http://www.cumberlandbusiness.co.uk/banking

matty50

Wywth wrote: »

Yes Cumberland BS do business current accounts, but I think it's for locals only, which presumably you are

Actually we're not local at all - we're in the Peak District. they were recommended to us when we were buying the business. I'll look into their current accounts - thank you!
Our account with hsbc is in Stockport and I've never ever been into that branch - it's all done online.