Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: john63. on December 17, 2015, 05:37:23 pm

Title: Business account
Post by: john63. on December 17, 2015, 05:37:23 pm
Do you have to have a business account or can you just have an ordinary account
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: DaveG on December 17, 2015, 05:41:50 pm
Just a normal account for me, although I'm not sure how much longer I'll get away with it, what with all the bacs payments and cheques going in!
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Jonny 87 on December 17, 2015, 05:48:24 pm
I think as a sole trader the bank can't force you to get a business account.

I pay £25 a month fixed rate for mine as it lets people send cheques in my business name etc.

That's the only benefit really.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: duncan h on December 17, 2015, 05:53:09 pm
Just a normal one in your name
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: sunshine windows on December 17, 2015, 06:21:05 pm
Bloody hell Jonny! That's an expensive account. Mine only costs £7.50 monthly and I have another thats free for life
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: john63. on December 17, 2015, 07:07:21 pm
In bank today they asked why I didn't have one said don't want one was 7.50 month
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: SB Cleaning on December 17, 2015, 07:18:02 pm
I run a business....so i have a business account  :)
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: NWH on December 17, 2015, 09:51:29 pm
I think as a sole trader the bank can't force you to get a business account.

I pay £25 a month fixed rate for mine as it lets people send cheques in my business name etc.

That's the only benefit really.
Its not the only benefit business cheques clear almost within a day you have a business manager who you can arrange loans with etc over the phone you don't need to even go into the branch to sort things out like financing a new van or similar.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Tom-01 on December 17, 2015, 10:35:30 pm
I think as a sole trader the bank can't force you to get a business account.

I pay £25 a month fixed rate for mine as it lets people send cheques in my business name etc.

That's the only benefit really.
Its not the only benefit business cheques clear almost within a day you have a business manager who you can arrange loans with etc over the phone you don't need to even go into the branch to sort things out like financing a new van or similar.

At last NWH has written something resembling sense  ;D

Definitely a business account. If run well with good turnover your account manager will be falling over himself to give you money. That you have to pay back of course. But it definitely helps if you're expanding/upgrading.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: john63. on December 18, 2015, 06:24:16 am
Do they charge to pay cheques in
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Mike #1 on December 18, 2015, 06:34:40 am
I am with Natwest i pay a fee of £5.00 for automated transactions , I only get about 1 cheque a month and i almost never have the need to pay cash in so my bank charges beyond the fee are almost zero .
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Jonny 87 on December 18, 2015, 07:15:18 am
Bloody hell Jonny! That's an expensive account. Mine only costs £7.50 monthly and I have another thats free for life

I know. :(

It's the Royal bank of Scotland. I was getting charged £50 plus until I went in fixed rate. Problem, was that all my customers do bacs so I sing want to change accounts and details.

Atleast it's a business expense. Lol
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: David Beecroft on December 18, 2015, 08:02:08 am
The Cooperative Bank do a business account, Business Directplus, at £5 per month with the first 18 months free.  :)
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: NWH on December 18, 2015, 08:55:58 am
£25 a month I calculated they charged me over nearly 2k in bank charges they shouldn't have done,they offered me £50 gesture,this was prior to business account.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Shane sharples on December 18, 2015, 09:39:13 am
So for the privilege of having a business account, customers pay into an account with your business name on it, chequers clear in a day( can you not wait 5?) and you can get into debt easier with all the money the banks willing to lend you.... And that's worth paying for? 🤔
When you can have a regular account that customers pay into with your name on it for free....
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: NWH on December 18, 2015, 09:59:51 am
I used to do a couple of high street banks cleaning contracts before they went national,the staff said then and they still say it that if your account looks like it's being used like a business account they will make you change to one. Does it not look like a business account then if your putting 200 odd cheques through a month lol.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: richard groves on December 18, 2015, 10:36:53 am
I've used a current account with nationwide for over 10 years for paying in cheques ( limited to 10 @ a time ) and bacs payments and never once been asked.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: NWH on December 18, 2015, 11:22:18 am
Exactly 10 at a time but keep going in with lots of chequers and they will question you,sure you'd get away with a hand full of chequers a month but lots of them they will see what's going on and they'll want there minimum of £25 a month business tariff. I've spoken to staff outside banking hours they arnt making anything out of you with a current account so it's in there interest to make you have one.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Shane sharples on December 18, 2015, 11:29:21 am
There is no legal requirement to get a business bank account
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: G.W.C on December 19, 2015, 05:32:10 am
When having a business account, is it possible to have cheques paid into a personal account then transferred over to the business account, therefore dodging the charge for putting the cheques in?

It's a pee take getting charged to put your own money into your bank
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Clever Forum Name on December 19, 2015, 07:29:10 am
There is no legal requirement to get a business bank account

Hmmmm my accountant said I had to set one up when going LTD/Vat registered?
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Shane sharples on December 19, 2015, 08:42:19 am
You should have a separate account for your business ( to make things easier ) I think you do need one if your ltd/ vat registered but as a sole trader you don't . I just use a separate current account which money is paid into, and I can print off the statement for my accountant without it being to complicated
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: 8weekly on December 19, 2015, 08:48:11 am
When having a business account, is it possible to have cheques paid into a personal account then transferred over to the business account, therefore dodging the charge for putting the cheques in?

It's a pee take getting charged to put your own money into your bank
When I was self employed I did exactly that, but not for the money saving, but to avoid sending cheques through the post to Santander. Either get a cheap account like Santander or stay with a personal account.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: 8weekly on December 19, 2015, 08:49:13 am
There is no legal requirement to get a business bank account

Hmmmm my accountant said I had to set one up when going LTD/Vat registered?
I'm assuming the op is self employed and not ltd or vat registered.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Cookie on December 19, 2015, 10:39:39 am
I went to a local business advice service when I set up at the beginning of the year.  As I'm a sole trader they recommended just a personal account in my name (I was originally thinking that I should open a business account).

This has saved me £7.50 per month which in my opinion is as good as a £7.50 monthly clean (without doing the work!). The downside is that cheques are written out to me rather than my business name, which you could perhaps argue lacks professionalism, but to be honest nobody has commented on this so far ...
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: cgh window cleaning on December 19, 2015, 11:34:19 am
One of the benefits of having a business accounts is I can pay cheques in my personal name and my business name and they clear faster.
But the one benefit people over look is that should you ever be investigated by the inland revenue it separates the two.How would most cope if there personal  account was frozen?how would you pay your direct debits,mortgage etc?
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Clever Forum Name on December 19, 2015, 01:44:52 pm
I went to a local business advice service when I set up at the beginning of the year.  As I'm a sole trader they recommended just a personal account in my name (I was originally thinking that I should open a business account).

This has saved me £7.50 per month which in my opinion is as good as a £7.50 monthly clean (without doing the work!). The downside is that cheques are written out to me rather than my business name, which you could perhaps argue lacks professionalism, but to be honest nobody has commented on this so far ...

Looks unprofessional  ;D lol
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Dave Willis on December 19, 2015, 01:51:41 pm
I have a business current account and a business reserve account - costs me nothing. Cheques made in my name or my business name - I've even had my business name back to front and they go through.
Title: Re: Business account
Post by: Cookie on December 19, 2015, 08:37:07 pm
I went to a local business advice service when I set up at the beginning of the year.  As I'm a sole trader they recommended just a personal account in my name (I was originally thinking that I should open a business account).

This has saved me £7.50 per month which in my opinion is as good as a £7.50 monthly clean (without doing the work!). The downside is that cheques are written out to me rather than my business name, which you could perhaps argue lacks professionalism, but to be honest nobody has commented on this so far ...

Looks unprofessional  ;D lol

HeHe! OK there's always one  ::)roll