Business bank accounts

[notsohot]

DH is about to leave salaried job and is planning to retire in a couple of years. In the interim he plans to earn some money by freelancing. This is very new to us.
He will probably only work about 4 days a month for 2 or 3 clients. It's 'consultancy' type work so minimal overheads and he's not looking to increase it beyond this commitment.
Does he need a separate business account or can he use his personal account and just keep tabs on everything?

It depends whether he is going to be a sole trader or set up a limited company.

Sounds as if the arrangement you describe would be fine to be a sole trader - and separate business bank account isn't needed.

If he sets up a limited company, then he will need a separate bank account.

Not true, it may be a good idea for a limited company to use a business bank account but there is no legal requirement.

Sorry, yes, not a legal requirement, but a good idea nonetheless.

This article explains it well:

www.qualityformations.co.uk/blog/business-bank-account-company/

It's 'consultancy' type work so minimal overheads

Have you heard of "Making Tax Digital"?

thanks for responses. I was thinking he would set up as a sole trader. I heard a little bit about making tax digital on Money Box radio 4 I think.

He can use his personal account, though he needs to be careful he keeps accurate records of what income/expenditure relates to his work. And he also needs to register with HMRC as being self-employed, but you probably already know that

Thanks Sammy - the need to register with HMRC is about the only thing we know .
At this stage we are not sure how much work he will pick up so setting up a business account seems like overkill if he only gets a few days work in the year. But I can see that it will mean record keeping is more straightforward and transparent.