which bank account?

[helenlovesnails]

Hi,

what bank does everyone use for there business banking?
i am self employed and need to pay in cash and cheque. I understand from the tax course i went on that you can use a personal account to pay in to.

so which one is best for this? or is there any good value business accounts?

thanks!

 

[Blue Rose]

For the past 13 or 14 years or so I've been with Abbey as a personal account, which means the banking has been free.

Alliance & Leicester also do free banking.

If you want to offer debit/credit cards then I think you usually need an actual business acoount (correct me if I'm wrong).

If you do decide to go for a business account you need to read the small print & work out how much the transactions are after your free banking period is up. You might get a shock to see how much they all stack up.

 

[naturalnails]

I have banked with Smile Online bank for many years.

I am sure we all get those phising emails about needing to sign into our this that or the next bank account. But I have NEVER had any threats linked to my account.

I get Abbey ones, Alliance & Leicester ones, Halifax ones - none of whom I bank with LOL.

 

[Paperclip]

I bank with HSBC with a personal account. I use the streamline card machine through that account. Don't see why we should pay those extortionate bank charges. The banks dont care as long as they get money in their bank. Especially now! I joined the FSB and you get a reduced rate for the first four months, I think it is. Clients tend to spend a bit more on their cards, so worth getting it in.

 

[joe90]

I have a business account with abbey national and do not pay any charges at all. As long as I don't pay in any more than 1000 cheques per month I don't pay anything. This is a forever promise so should never pay any charges, there are also no charges for bacs either.

 

[bombini]

Ive had business accounts with Abbey, Lloyds and currently Barclays. Most banks do free banking for the first 12 months for any new business but you can usually negotiate free banking whether you are a new business or not.

imo abbey were the worst as you can only pay money in at the machine so no coins and you can only get help/advice over the phone (well you could 2 years ago) I personally thought lloyds were the best but I changed to Barclays as I wasn't happy to pay the service charge on top of the other banking charges they apply for business accounts.

The best thing about Barclays is they do same day transfers so when I pay a bill or transfer money it hits the account the same day I pay it.

Believe it or not but the reason I choose Lloyds and Barclays is because both banks local to me are right by free car parks, i bank every week and refuse to carry hundreds of pounds in cash across town after paying £1.50 just to park the car for 30mins !

I would be tempted to bank with co-op in the future as I believe you can pay money in for free at the post office, which would suit me down to the ground as im always in there posting something.

 

[Cathie!]

I was with ABBEY (FREE) but now with A&L, also free as I can pay in cash and cheques at any Post Office as opposed to an Abbey ATM.

 

[tog]

Abbey. . . been with them about five years and everything's free.
Also have online banking which is very useful for paying wages, setting up/cancelling standing orders, direct debits etc. Never have to go ino a branch because everything goes in direct from clients' credit and debit cards or by post (cheques from clients).

I pay most of my cash into a personal current account with barclays, or a savings account which gives a higher rate of interest which I use to set aside money to pay tax.

 

[sknight]

I am with Lloyds and don't have any probs with them. Its a personal account too