CH&NFP: Bank Accounts for charities and Not for Profit groups

moneypooh

Would an instant access savings account be the way to go? For the first few years money will be in and out quite a bit as events are sorted, so I doubt we'll actually have a lot of funds in the account at any one time. We intend to support certain projects at school and withdraw when the funds are there.

Savvy_Sue

It could be, but I still think your main need is for an account from which you can EASILY withdraw the float for events (in small change!) and then pay it back in again afterwards!

The range of accounts for organisations tends to be more limited than for individuals, so I'm not sure you'll find anything actually described as 'instant access savings'.

I would start by looking at who's got those cashing facilities and asking what their terms and conditions are. You'd probably be OK with an account which charged for writing more than 12 cheques a month, for example, but you don't want one which charges for paying cheques in.

You could always have two accounts: one convenient and one paying interest. I still say Alliance and Leicester ... and I still say I'll point you somewhere more helpful, but it may be much later tonight!

edwara

hi our PTA has accounts with Barclays. It is a local branch so easy to get change out (need nearly £2,000 in change for a big event), we have a cheque book to pay suppliers and are in the process of getting a debit card. This account doesn;t pay interest but we do have a hi interest savings account as well and keep thebulk of funds in that.

We can also manage them online which is brill

Re accounts you can pay into at the Post Office. Not sure how much cash they can deal with in one go so it would be worth checking I know ours isn't very good as I ahev a smile account and even with teh small amounts I use it for maybe £50 in change they get funny

Savvy_Sue

As you see, I've now merged you into our existing thread. Previous answers are worth a read.

edwara wrote: »

Re accounts you can pay into at the Post Office. Not sure how much cash they can deal with in one go so it would be worth checking I know ours isn't very good as I ahev a smile account and even with teh small amounts I use it for maybe £50 in change they get funny

Alliance and Leicester withdrawals from the Post Office used to be up to £50, every other day. I used to go into my local PO and say "Next week I'll need £100 in small change, please", give them a list of what I would need, then go and cash the cheques as required.

You'll find £100 in small change weighs a fair bit, and when you're paying £500 in small change back in it weighs even more. That's why the PO was so good for me: I could load the change onto the buggy and walk down with it! :rotfl:

moneypooh

many many thanks for your help.

I'm going to investigate some local banks tomorrow and see what they can offer me.
When we get excess I'll definitely look at putting some funds in a more appropriate account (ie savings).

It's all new to me although I am very familiar with business banking, and quite happy to help take this on.

thanks again I'll keep checking in here.

NFO

hi
any ideas on how I can get a bank account for our charity
We are regidtered in UK and Cambodia.
But are physically based in Cambodia
Bank account needed to accept donations, cheques etc, plus transfers from Paypal
To have facility to transfer finances to Cambodia.
No credit required, just basic banking and transfer system. Debit card would be useful for transfers

Savvy_Sue

I think I would start by finding out if there were any 'obvious' links between banks in Cambodia and banks here. I don't know Cambodia at all, but to give a far easier example, I know that Credit Agricole (a well known French bank) has at least one UK brance, so I would contact them and ask about suitable accounts.

I know from the TV advertising that HSBC prides itself on its international performance, so that might be the first place to start.

You will probably find that they want two signatures, and you'll need to sign to say that the trustees of the charity have agreed to open an account with XYZ bank, and you may struggle if you haven't got two people in the UK to give these signatures, at least for opening.

I would think that internet banking would be very useful, the kind where one person inputs a transaction and another has to log in and 'verify' it.

Savvy_Sue

since this thread was started SO long ago that all the banks have changed names, I'm going to lock and unstick it, and would refer you all to this thread on Small Business accounts.

The questions you need to ask yourself are the same whether you're a business or a charity: what do you need (cash facilities? lots of cheques to pay in or out? internet banking?) and how often do you need it?