New Sole Trader seeking best current account

Billy_Bob

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to post. I have done a search and read on previous sole trader similar questions but they seem quite out of date and relate to business accounts rather than best current accounts.

I am just starting out and am looking to put £1000 + into a bank account a month (hopefully more - but starting out small!) It could be that for the first few months and start-up it would be less as I establish my client base.

I do not think I need a business account as there is just added expense which I do not feel I need at this stage. Cheques can be paid to my name.

Is someone able to recommend the best current account to use as a sole trader? Alliance & Leicester and Abbey seem to feature quite a bit but I am really not sure which to go with and like to have current facts in case I am missing out on something even better! Is someone able to advise me on the best account to go for?

I would be grateful for any information or advice.

Thanks,

Katie

olly300

You need to research your own information as each sole trader/business has different needs.

BTW lots of banks give free business current accounts for both sole traders, limited companies and limited liability partnerships. Again you need to do your own research into what account suits you as they have limits on what you can do for free.

Billy_Bob

Thanks Olly,

I am trying to research but there just seem so many options out there and I am unsure what is the best. I noticed the 'free' business accounts but I think I may look at Abby and Alliance and Leicester as they seem to be recommended on the website.

K

gt94sss2

Personally, I would avoid using Abbey and A&L based on my families experiences.

Abbey are introducing new IT systems which seem to have caused lots of people problems and my dad used A&L's business internet service for a while - it was terrible.

I would personally go to one of the big 4 banks and open a business account - they all offer 18 months/2 years of free banking anyway - by then you will have an idea of how many transactions etc, you will be doing and can choose a more appropriate account

My father uses HSBC Business Direct which is 100% free within certain limits (i.e. paying in 20 cheques or less per month) as its designed mainly to be accessed by telephone/internet but for the first 18 months you can exceed these limits without charge..

Regards
Sunil

tigerman

Have been with anbusiness 6 years no problems at all.Had another account with A/L nothing but trouble stay clear hope this is of help

PBA

Would definitely recommend getting a business bank account set up now rather than personal, if nothing else it would save you the hassle of changing it over when the business grows. Incidentally, Abbey Business aren't affected by the rest of Abbey changing computer systems, so you shouldn't have any hassle there.

heppy23

Join the federation of small businesses. As well as many other benefits you will get free banking for life with the co-op bank. The only things you will pay for is overdraft interest, a %fee if you bank more than £4000 a month and fees for exceeding the overdraft.

The day to day stuff (fees per transaction, per cheque written etc) is free and you get a good rate of credit interest.

Billy_Bob

Thank you everyone for your very helpful advice. I am going to go and research those business accounts now. Lloyds TSB may be easy for me and their charges seem to be slightly less than HSBC when the 'free' term is over. Also no restrictions on cheques and cash withdrawl. Off to do my homework!

UK007BullDog

NatWest does 2 years free business banking.

Flylady_Flower

Tabbed by mistake and entered twice so I have deleted it... Doh!

Flylady_Flower

Hi there,

I hope you don't mind me butting in here, but have tried desperately to find the original post that I found this in, but I thought at least someone would find it here.

I read a post earlier about business banking and someone recommended A&L, but was annoyed that their online banking took so long to set up (approx 6-8 weeks, no good to anyone).

Just to let you know, I applied last week to them, as I pay stupid amounts of bank charges with Barclays, and I have received everything already - debit card, paying in card, cheque book, account numbers and online banking codes. I have logged on and used their system on the same day, so they have obviously cleaned their act up. I also had to ring their customer service, and they have been great. What I love is that I can pop into our local post office to pay stuff in, as getting into town to Barclays is a nightmare.

Just a quick note, you do have to have £500 paid into the account each month to keep it free. I do a small part time job as well as my business, so I will just get those wages paid in directly (as I have to declare them on my tax return anyway this is not a problem).

:money: Best advice - ALWAYS read the terms & Conditions before signing anything and try to sitck to them - it saves reclaiming stuff back later.

Best of luck to everyone starting up.

Denise
(Discharged in April 2005 :A )