business bank account

[MrRobin]

Most banks will have 2 fundamental types of business account - an Interest Bearing Current Account and a non interest bearing one. The IBCA will typically charge you a monthly or quarterly fee, and for every different type of transaction you make. The NIBCA will generally be free from monthly charges and electronic transactions such as internet banking transfers etc will be free too but writing a cheque or getting cash out at a branch will still cost you.

The 'default' that you are put on if you don't specifically instruct the bank will be whatever one that makes the bank most money - i.e. if you make only a few transactions here and there but typically have a healthy balance (typical of an IT contractor ltd company I expect) then they'll probably put you on the NIBCA

[r0bly0ns]

but writing a cheque or getting cash out at a branch will still cost you.

Not with HSBC Business Direct

10 free cheques a month
(You do pay for over the counter cash, but ATM withdrawals are free up to 1k a month)

[TheFaQQer]

I used HSBC for the first year, since it was quick and easy to set up.

Then I moved to Abbey's free banking, which took a while to set up, but seems better and is free.

[chef]

Am thinking of moving to Alliance and Leicester business account

any feedback?

[ctdctd]

Am thinking of moving to Alliance and Leicester business account

any feedback?

Yes, they turned me down for a business SAVINGS account when I was looking for somewhere to put surplus funds:-(

[sathyaram_s]

Who do you bank with for personal accounts? If you are happy with their service in genreal, then that bank should be your first port of call .. ID check will happen quick enough and they are also quite likely to expedite the account setup process on your request ...

That said, account setup at HSBC is very fast if you take an appointment with a local branch ... Don't do over the telephone or internet which takes longer .. Even better, go to a branch and ask , you may find someone who will be able to do it right then

All,
I need a business bank account asap. Cater Allen are taking weeks to do anything and I am sick of waiting. Don't want to pay for transactions but don't care about interest rates I have got a big chunk of cash waiting for a home.
Anyone recommend a bank with a rapid setup process ?
TIA

[max]

All,
I need a business bank account asap. Cater Allen are taking weeks to do anything and I am sick of waiting. Don't want to pay for transactions but don't care about interest rates I have got a big chunk of cash waiting for a home.
Anyone recommend a bank with a rapid setup process ?
TIA

Check out Abbey. I've been with them 6+ years...never paid any fees, and the reserve account offers a high rate of interest.

Can't remember setup time..but I'm sure if you turn up in person, with your docs, it'd be quick.

[FarmerPalmer]

I use a Nationwide Business Investor - limited on number of transaction, but good rate of interest - and I can walk in to the bank if I want to.

[rawly]

Am thinking of moving to Alliance and Leicester business account

any feedback?

I chose them back in March when I went Ltd. Mainly because I'd had a personal account with them for over 20 years and always found them to be reliable. Their internet banking is always flawless.

Anyway, it did take them over a month to open my account. You may read some reports if you search of people moaning about poor customer service and mistakes. I read about this, but then when I then looked at all the other Buisiness current accounts then none of them rated very highly at all! Out of 10 Marks, they were all around the 1-2 mark. So, I assumed this was people posting extreme examples about all the banks.

Anyway - may be the long delay was due to excessive start-ups at that time, as lots of organisations had lots of new applicants (wonder why!)

Anyway, with A&L I chose their Business Builder account at that time which was meant to be No Fees at all for 2 years, BUT! I only recently discovered they require proof of your business being <6 months old and they never asked for this (even though I ticked the box), and hence until this month when I noticed they charged me £5.

To cut a long story short, you need to fund the 'Current' Account with at least £1000 a month otherwise they charge £5. This seems odd though as if the money comes form another A&L then they deem this not to be external. So, if it so happens the agency or company you work for also banks with them you will always be charged £5 no matter what! Seems silly to me.

For reasons Alan Nixon mentioned earlier - about moving money around to linked higher interest account. A&L link your current account to a 'Reserve' which does pay well. Because of the fiddling about, I changed my incoming BACS payments to go directly to the reserve account as it saves moving it about later. Although having said that, as it is an internal account when you transfer funds it all happens same day anyway. But it can get messy.

Thing about the 'Business Builder' is they told me I could transfer back onto it - which means I'd save the £5 admin fee, as it would be NO FEE and no minimum finding required. BUT! If you choose Business Builder you don't get any interest on the Current Account! You need to balance what Float you think you'll have in the Current Account which does pay a good 6.5% on the first £1,000 only and then 0.1 for the rest.

Sorry to go on so much, but with £1000 in the current you'd earn about £5.41 a month, whereas with Buisiness Builder you'd avoid paying £5 admin if you don't credit it with £1000 from a non A&L account - but you get NO INTEREST with Buiness Builder on the Current Account.

For me, I've decided not to move to the Builder as the two things above cancel each other out, and I'm still 41p better off! I could change my direct deposits back to my Current, but then I never know what Bank payments will come from and then you have to fiddle every week tranferring money to the Reserve Account.

Clear? Good! Also, they will default to sending you an 'Electron Card' - this is useless for most places. I phoned them up and then sent me a Debit card with no problem within a few days.

By the way the Reserve account is currently 4.85 on the first £50,000, then 5.55 above, and you can still setup outgoing BACS and incoming just the same as the Current. I only transfer funds back to the current when I need to write a cheque - which isn't often. (every 3 months for VAT, etc.....) Still worth keeping a £1000 float in it anyway due to the higher interest on the first £1000. 6.5%