Funds from solicitor

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2

Hi,
In short I have no business bank account,and my solicitor needs to return an excess of £2000 to me from a completed property purchase i originally paid monies on account,but won't return to my personal account only a business account bearing my business name.
I appreciate the obvious answer is to open a business bank account but there are reasons why I wish to delay that for a short while.
So any advice appreciated on any route I'm missing?
Thanks

km1500

Why won't they return to the same account you paid from?

TheBanker

Is your business a Limited Company?

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2

Km1500 - funds were transferred to my solicitor from personal account.

The  Banker - yes Ltd company 

eskbanker

If the property transaction was by a limited company then the solicitor is correct to highlight that the money belongs to the company, not to you, and therefore it would be inappropriate to send it to you.  How have you ended up in the situation where there's an active limited company without a bank account?

SiliconChip

If you won't open a business account now but will in the future then the obvious answer is to delay getting the payment from the solicitor until it is open.

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2

eskbanker -  Ltd company only just started,property purchase only hence no account.

Siliconchip - need funds sooner rather than later.

TheBanker

I think the only option is to open a business account. This doesn't need to be your long term business account, you could look at Tide or Natwest's Mettle accounts which claim to be able to open very quickly, provided you qualify and the solicitor deposit won't breach any maximum transaction/balance rules. You can always open a different account with another bank later if you want to.

Presumably there are costs associated with the property (insurance, utility bills etc) which ideally need to be paid by the business rather than you? Mixing the company's money with your own money is a recipe for a headache when you come to do your tax returns, or if either you or the business need to apply for credit in the future. You're almost certainly in breach of your personal account T&Cs by using it for business purposes too - some bank's don't seem to mind, but others have been known to close accounts when they identify this happening. 

Best of luck with your new business venture

SiliconChip

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2 said:

Siliconchip - need funds sooner rather than later.

But the funds aren't yours, they are the company's. You are not the company. The two alternatives have been spelled out: open the account now and have the money transferred sooner, delay opening and have the money later. There is no other option.

PEARLSOFWISDOM_2

Thank you to
THE BANKER,
ESKBANKER, 
SILICON CHIP,
KM1500
For your detailed help