[davids3511]

I pay for business banking, I think everyone should.

The trick is to get your monies [money's?] worth.

What can you get out of a bank other than what they are already doing, ie cashing cheques and so on, and maybe an overdraft. Seriously, I am on 18 months free at the moment but I get a statement every month showing what I have saved and for about 150 cheques/transfers they want £60. What are you getting extra that is worth £720 a year?

[gary999]

I pay for business banking, I think everyone should.

The trick is to get your monies [money's?] worth.

if your happy carry on

i know i am doing my best not to get ripped off

[formb]

Ok,  my bank gives me: a separate (free) account that I use for clearing incoming bacs payments, free cheque deposits, an excellent online facility (better than the personal one), direct contact with a business manager who takes a genuine interest in us and our requirements, the offer of reduced rate borrowing + other benefits which are probably not relevant. Also I pay less than 720 per year but not much less.

I understand that you hate banks. They ruined our economy blah blah. At the end of the day they have us ALL by the balls whether we like it or not. Get as much from them as you can, they can be used to your advantage.

[formb]

I pay for business banking, I think everyone should.

The trick is to get your monies [money's?] worth.

well GOOD FOR YOU

TA

[formb]

I'm with NatWest.  Many years ago they tried the same thing on me.  It wasn't convenient for me to move to the Co-op (although I'm a longstanding FSB member) so I told the manager I wasn't happy with their business account charges and wouldn't pay them.

We negotiated and agreed on a fixed monthly fee which was much less than my charges would have been, but more than they were getting from my personal account.

Over the years they have gradually increased my fixed fee, but no more than would be justified by inflation.

I have the advantage of knowing exactly what my monthly charges will be and I still have the option of changing banks (we now have a Santander in town) should they try to revert me to a 'charge per item' arrangement.

Talk to your bank - you might be pleasantly surprised.

+1

Sensible post.

[Mike #1]

I am with Natwest bank and I was paying £25:00 a month for transactions .

But seen as 99.9% of my transactions are automated I spoke to the bank and I am going to open a Advantage plus account at £5:00 a month .

I dont pay cash in and only 1-2 cheques a month so even when I have over 200 bacs payments going in a month I will only pay £5:00 a month . Mike

[Pro-Poler]

I opened a business account when I started it was one of the requirements that had to be met in order for me to get a  start up grant, they charged me £50 just to open it and as I don't normally get cheques as soon as I got the grant I cancelled the account, I too am a small business and just use my own debit account I get one cheque every 2 months for £80 and a bacs payment once a month for £180 I'm certainly not going to open a business account.

[Philip Osborne]

I know others have already mentioned this, but there are terms and conditions on accounts which specify how the account can be used ... they do mean that if you try to use a personal account for business purposes, they could close it.  Unfortunately, the same applies to all banks, so moving wouldn't really help you much.

As much as I dislike banks as much as the next guy, at the end of the day, we all used to pay fees to have bank accounts, it was only in the 80s that they started offering "Free" accounts, and then compensating for it by increasing the charges for overdrafts and other things.  They're not legally obliged to offer us a free service.  And I bet, if you've got any commercial work, you charge them more than you do your residential customers ... just because they're a business ... it's no different to what the bank's doing, it's just how they run their business, and like your customers, if they don't want to pay the price, you don't give them the service!

Most banks do offer some kind of "Free" business account ... ie. there's no monthly fee, and certain transactions are free although you have to pay for others.  In most cases, paying in cash and cheques will cost you a fee, but if you can train your customers to pay you by standing order or online bank transfer, they are all free!  And it will actually make your book-keeping easier because you're keeping your earnings and business expenses separate from any other money coming in and out of your account.  You just pay yourself by taking "drawings" out of the account to your personal one once a week, and then pay all your personal and home bills out of the personal account.