How do I go about opening a business account and does it cost me to have one

[Trix11]

Which banks are best for very small business's

most off er free banking for a limited period, but then start charging

alliance and leicester work out cheap ..free if you turnover 1k monthly

yep most offer free banking for the first 12-18 months. HSBC have been really good for me but my look into Alliance and Leicester now.

We've got a business account with Abbey National Business for our very small turnover business. It is FREE business banking forever (apparently). Has been absolutely fine, all done online - you can't use the Abbey shops because it's actually a different business. All deposits go in the Abbey cash machines though (they provide deposit slips and envelopes).

This is their website : www.anbusiness.com/

I am with hsbc - they have been great. I am intrigued by abbey national though - do you have to start there as a new business, or could i look into it when my free banking runs out with hsbc?

We've got ours with Alliance and Leicester which is free like Zippi says, and has the added bonus that you can do everything through the post office. We don't get any interest on the main account but you automatically get a reserve account with it which has ok interest.

You can request the forms online then once you've filled them in you have to take them in to an A&L branch along with ID etc.

What's your business?

tesco do one now i think as long as it isnt a ltd co which mine is

I don't think you have to be a new business flame

Flame, this is what they say under their info link:

Hassle-free switching.
If you are an established business and want to switch your existing account to Abbey, you'll find our switcher team will make sure it's an easy and hassle-free process. All you need do is sign a simple form, and we'll do the rest.

We have never had any problems with them, so have never had occassion to try out the customer service. I think that's a good thing - no?

Thanks!

I'd go with alliance and leics as they're free banking for life. We're only not with them, as started with lloyds ages ago and they've been very good to us!

Our accountant says that you don't actually need to have a business account, unless you need to make use of the services such as overdraft.

(Gaurdian Expert Advice: "There is no legal requirement to have a business bank account if you are a sole trader or partnership. It is only necessary for a limited company. However it is quite useful to keep your personal and trading accounts separate especially for completing your tax returns and claiming expenses that can be offset against the profits made to reduce your tax bill.

At the same time you are likely to come under pressure from your bank. It will be unwilling to provide free banking services for business transactions. Fortunately several banks offer "free" business accounts for periods of six to 12 months. So if your present bank starts to impose charges on your second account threaten them with a transfer to another bank offering a free period. That should do the trick"

We need a business bank account so we can accept cheques to the business name rather than just our names.

it's definately worth investigating all banks/building societies before you open one. My parents had a business, a few years ago now so my info may be out of date, but Dad was a tightarse so would've made the most of things IYSWIM! They had a newsagents and he used to have a few accounts. One with Nationwide as they didn't charge to deposit cheques if you paid in ten or under at a time. He also had a post office account to put cash into as they didn't charge either So i'd imagine he saved a fair bit on charges! Before owning the newsagent Dad used to work for NatWest so I guess he knew the right places to go to.

I would definately work out what you will need it for then work out where to go looking at ALL the options.

I'm an accountant too and we see lots of people who are self employed and don't have a seperate business account. If you want to let people pay by cheque can't you just ask them to right it to you not the official business name? You just need to make sure you right down which things are business and which are private.