we use a business account and our clients either pay by BACS or sign up to our direct debit scheme
benefits of having a business account is mainly when dealing with commercial clients the larger firms will not entertain a current account.
when we started i used to rattle into the bank of scotland with my pockets full of pound coins and pay them into our current account no bother until they announced in the press that they (the bank) didn't want either window cleaners or taxi drivers paying in cash as it took too long to process. The real reason is they can't make money off of cash or a healthy current account. They want you to have an overdraft they want you to have a business credit card they want to lend you great amounts of credit for new vans because they make money from this.
What lender wants their borrowers to pay off the debt in full each month? what no interest charges, no late payment fees, no overdrawn overdraft charges?
Your current account is too healthy they don't make money from you so they try to "push you away" to another bank, a bit like us window cleaners who are happy to pass on that annoying customer who chats and moans for half an hour while holding onto your fiver, you would rather do without.
Horses for courses thats what i say , use whatever system you want, its what makes our island great we do still have the right to make a choice.