Using existing personal/graduate account for sole-trader business?

Jew

I have a few personal accounts — Barclays, NatWest, Metro Bank, Halifax — that I didn't initially set up with business in mind.

However, I am considering starting a sole-trader business. Can I simply use one of these accounts as-is for that? Or do I have to notify the bank?

I wouldn't want to incur any charges.

I am also deciding on which account to use...

JuicyJesus

If they discover you are using a personal account for a business, they could close it.

There is no legal reason to have a business account if you are a sole trader, but if you are trying to claim certain things as business expenses you may find it hard to do so if you are running things through a personal account. It is also against most if not all banks' terms and conditions.

InsideInsurance

As above, in principle no reason why not but it is often against the terms of the account.

The other, rare, consideration would be if you wanted to accept cheques or postal orders etc in your trading name then you could do this with a business account but not a personal one

Jew

Thanks.

So can they simply transform my account into a sole-trader one if I give them a call? I don't want to be paying for a bank account.

Also, since I have several accounts, I would use one strictly for sole-tradership, so would be easy to see expenses

PlutoinCapricorn

It depends!

I am a sole trader, and I use the same old personal account for everything. I am under the radar because all I do is pay in a few cheques here and there for consultancy - or get BACS transfers. I 'trade' under my own name so there is no problem there. My statement looks about the same as it would if I had one or two PAYE jobs: the only difference is that the amounts are pre tax. My domestic expenses are on the same statement, which is useful as I am home based and claim a proportion.

Anyone with a "trading as" name or who pays in a lot of cash would not be able to use their personal bank account.

BusinessIsBusiness

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