[BVC]

Hey Guys,
Just in case anyone like me gets grief for paying cheques into a current account.
I was told by a friend that works at a bank, that the jobsworths that cause problems when you pay cheques in. (you know the type, the doctors receptionists who think they are doctors, or the post office clerks who think they work directly for the queen.)
Well anyway, because of data protection they have to ask you if "this is your account" In future just say No its not and that you are just paying the cheques in for a friend and they have to pay them in without asking any more questions. Thus allowing the poor git behind you to deal with their out of joint nose.

[geefree]

i pay mine in everytime, in the envelope and slip provided and drop them in the deposit box inside the bank.

never once have i stood at the counter.

Gary

[Helen]

Hey Guys,
Just in case anyone like me gets grief for paying cheques into a current account.
I was told by a friend that works at a bank, that the jobsworths that cause problems when you pay cheques in. (you know the type, the doctors receptionists who think they are doctors, or the post office clerks who think they work directly for the queen.)
Well anyway, because of data protection they have to ask you if "this is your account" In future just say No its not and that you are just paying the cheques in for a friend and they have to pay them in without asking any more questions. Thus allowing the poor git behind you to deal with their out of joint nose.

All the more reason to get a business account, which is basically what they are trying to establish when they ask you this and before anyone says "business account charges" they are allowable as expenditure and can come off your year end figures, where as proving what is down to the business from a personal current account would not be impossible, but would be time consuming and something you are not paid for.

Remember if you are saying its' not your account, what are you going to do when you have a problem and need to get it sorted out over the counter...... they won't entertain that as you have told them it's not yours!

I have to defend the counter workers in my bank as they work hard and they have to ask every customer the same questions over and over again, even though they know it is annoying to the customers.....why? because they are targeted to get "leads" for their backroom people and if they don't meet targets they get a rollocking. So don't knock 'em they are only doing their job.

[bassjamm]

My bank are fine with the current account situation...there's one or two cashiers who try and prompt me towards moving to a business account, and in truth, it's something i want to do anyway...

Besides, there's banks out there offering free business banking, so the whole bank charges thing isn't an issue really!

[BVC]

My post was for the benefit of those who choose to use their current account, and who get grief for trying to deposit their cheques.

A lot of people seem to be overly concerned with image. I know at least 30 window cleaners in my town personally, most only earn a couple of grand a month, most dont want a business account and most get grief at the bank. (and before you jump on it, most are honest, hardworking, genuine guys.               Not cowboys)

Grief is grief, it dosent really matter why its given, just that it is. (if you dont like being given targets and told what to do, dont work in a bank!!)

 

[geefree]

My post was for the benefit of those who choose to use their current account, and who get grief for trying to deposit their cheques.

A lot of people seem to be overly concerned with image. I know at least 30 window cleaners in my town personally, most only earn a couple of grand a month, most dont want a business account and most get grief at the bank. (and before you jump on it, most are honest, hardworking, genuine guys. Not cowboys)

Grief is grief, it dosent really matter why its given, just that it is. (if you dont like being given targets and told what to do, dont work in a bank!!)

 

well i must say these posts were pretty good considering your heading, and only

there really is no point in posting something ,then sectionalizing it.... and ONLY  a couple of grand a month, is a very good wage imo.

no one is dissing, only voicing a point which relates to your topic.

[windowwashers]

Why do people run a business with a personal account to save a few quid and cause more hassle for themselves, maybe when you start up but in time a business account is the way to go as you run a business as Helen said this is allowable for tax, if I tried paying in over 100 cheques a week in my personal account I think they would laugh at me and think it was an april fools joke.

yes business accounts you get charged for, not that it is much compared to the earnings.
scrimping on the basic thing in business IMO is not the way to make a solid platform to build on.

Just my thoughts

Ian

[BVC]

Yes fair point made windowwashers.

A Hundred cheques a week would be asking for trouble. If your average price is a tenner you would be banking well over 50k a year and then, cashiers should be the least of your worries. (the vat man should be)

All i am saying is if you do a couple of grand a month, collect on average half of that in cash, your will be banking about 25 cheques a week, which some feel is not worth going down the business account route.

And anyway in 15 years of being self employed not once have I been given grief about paying cash from my business into a current account, why not? Whatever you think banks are not our friends, they are ruthless money making organizations who want to squeeze every penny they can from you. Thats why they dont want cheques paid into current accounts.

[windowwashers]

Yes fair point made windowwashers.

A Hundred cheques a week would be asking for trouble. If your average price is a tenner you would be banking well over 50k a year and then, cashiers should be the least of your worries. (the vat man should be)

All i am saying is if you do a couple of grand a month, collect on average half of that in cash, your will be banking about 25 cheques a week, which some feel is not worth going down the business account route.

And anyway in 15 years of being self employed not once have I been given grief about paying cash from my business into a current account, why not? Whatever you think banks are not our friends, they are ruthless money making organizations who want to squeeze every penny they can from you. Thats why they dont want cheques paid into current accounts.

I dont bank 100 cheques every week, was just making a point. 

Ian

[steven ainger]

i pay my cheques into my personal account and have never had a problem, nat west,  but i was wondering how a business account works, is it a annual fee or do you have to pay for every cheque payed in ? 

[Helen]

A lot of people seem to be overly concerned with image. I know at least 30 window cleaners in my town personally, most only earn a couple of grand a month, most dont want a business account and most get grief at the bank. (and before you jump on it, most are honest, hardworking, genuine guys.               Not cowboys)

Grief is grief, it dosent really matter why its given, just that it is. (if you dont like being given targets and told what to do, dont work in a bank!!)

I honestly can't see what the perception of image has to do with a business account or not.
"grief is given, because you are paying cheques into a personal account".....then get a business account and stop the grief...easy really
We have a business account for many reasons, one major one being is that all business transactions in or out are easily recognisable and tracked, which to keep your admin etc down is a big bonus in time! If we should have a pile up of cheques, there is no bother paying them in.

I think your "beef" was about the grief given by the counter staff. How to minimise this........ they can't stop asking the questions (although most want to!) because it is their job. So when you next go in, just say before they ask, I'm ok for everything at the moment, so you don't have to ask me today.
Works wonders with ours, they warm to you and when you do have things to sort out, you will be first in their priorities.

[Helen]

i pay my cheques into my personal account and have never had a problem, nat west,  but i was wondering how a business account works, is it a annual fee or do you have to pay for every cheque payed in ? 

Different banks have different T & C's. We are billed monthly for charges

[matt]

drop in box for me

they get some poor soul behind the scenes to do them,

[Purecleanplus]

I asked my bank, NATWEST, what they felt I should do. My bank manager advised me to just use my current account. He said it was more to do with outgoings than incomings as to whether a business account was worth it, and there were so few outgoings in comparison to other businesses, just hold off for now.

[mk1]

i pay mine in everytime, in the envelope and slip provided and drop them in the deposit box inside the bank.

never once have i stood at the counter.

Gary

i always go to the counter and get a stamp in the paying in book.

did have a account with barclays paid in the hole in the wall £263.00 and it never appeared in my account went walkies  no proof of paying it in .........i no longer bank with barclays  : :

[BVC]

A lot of people seem to be overly concerned with image. I know at least 30 window cleaners in my town personally, most only earn a couple of grand a month, most dont want a business account and most get grief at the bank. (and before you jump on it, most are honest, hardworking, genuine guys.               Not cowboys)

Grief is grief, it dosent really matter why its given, just that it is. (if you dont like being given targets and told what to do, dont work in a bank!!)

I honestly can't see what the perception of image has to do with a business account or not.
"grief is given, because you are paying cheques into a personal account".....then get a business account and stop the grief...easy really
We have a business account for many reasons, one major one being is that all business transactions in or out are easily recognisable and tracked, which to keep your admin etc down is a big bonus in time! If we should have a pile up of cheques, there is no bother paying them in.

I think your "beef" was about the grief given by the counter staff. How to minimise this........ they can't stop asking the questions (although most want to!) because it is their job. So when you next go in, just say before they ask, I'm ok for everything at the moment, so you don't have to ask me today.
Works wonders with ours, they warm to you and when you do have things to sort out, you will be first in their priorities.

My "Beef" as you put it, is about not being able to bank cheques into a personal account. This is not run of the mill questioning about our interest in a product a bank may provide, it seems to be a matter of discretion on the part of the clerk, because some dont bat an eyelid and some wont let you bank your cheques. So then its not because they are being pressured into asking you whether its a business account.

So as I said, if you dont want to be hassled by clerks or choose not to open a business account, then just say its not your account......easy really

I actually use a business account, but when I used a personal account, some clerks really used to pee me off. I thought I may not have been the only window cleaner in the country that felt like that.

Also, just another thought, where is the hassle in using a current account? at the end of the year I give all my paperwork to my accountant, he does my books and sends me a bill for what I have to pay in tax, I do exactly the same now as I did when I used my current account. Dont see where all the wasted time is? Unless you dont use an accountant and do your books yourself.

[williamx]

When I first started, I applied for a Business account and got turned down, I then applied for another personal current account, and they said yes they even wanted to give me a overdraft and credit card as well, which I didn't want.

Now they want to give me a Business account, but its too late now, I rather stay with my free personal account thank you very much.

The taxman ok, with it.

[Helen]

Just in case anyone like me gets grief for paying cheques into a current account.

Good to hear you have a business account, but you did lead us all to believe that you were using a current account, but hey ho things like that get misenterpreted on forums

The hassle factor when using a standard current account is when you have a tax audit, which we all will invaribly get at some time or another.
Personally I wouldn't want to sit there with a tax auditor going through years of payments in/out saying that' a business transaction and that's a personal transaction and then having to show proof of such.
We use an accountant and it keeps his time and costs down too!
But that is the way we run our business, we all do it differently and that is why we can have loads of opinions and ideas on forums like these

[BVC]

Several years ago I got knocked on my backside and lost everything, Owed the tax and vat man over 150k.  My house, My vans, my car, my wifes car and all our savings and ended up on the verge of being homeless. These days I hate to see people bullied or misinformed by banks or dodgy accountants or the tax man or anyone else for that matter.
I never dispute things that have to be done, paying taxes, insuring your vehicles etc. But I get really wound up when people tell me I dont have a choice when I do, and when It comes to sticking a few cheques into a personal account you have a choice.

re: williamx, Its true, getting a business account is not straight forward if you have credit problems or are, or have been bankrupt. (not saying you have william)

re: Helen, yeah sorry my comments were a bit misleading (not intentionaly) Just trying to stick up for the little man when I can.

[BVC]

believe me it's not as easy as some people think getting a business account!

i've banked with natwest for over 15 years and never had any probs with creit before, couldn't of or porsche wouldn't have gave me 62,500k worth of credit. anyway all i wanted was a business account with no overdraft or no additional borrowing and i was refused.

i pay in at least 100 cheques a week sometimes as many as 150, had a few comments from jobsworth cashiers but still waiting for a letter saying i'm not allowed to pay in that many and you know what i'll be saying....

Bank manager was probably gutted you had a better car than him. Computer says No!