Good business bank accounts

[SGirl]

Well, I've finally decided to make the switch from sole trader to limited company. My accountant has been nagging me for 2 years now, so I finally gave in.

Now I need to open a business bank account. But I'm up to my eyeballs in work and I don't have time to research the various accounts available in depth. So can any of you recommend a business bank account or two? If I just have half a dozen accounts to consider, that'll be much quicker than reviewing all the different options available on the market.

Many thanks for your help!

[SGirl]

Righto, thanks. So not Barclays then.

Handelsbanken could be a good bet because most of my foreign payments come from Sweden. I'll definitely have a look at that. I don't handle cash or cheques very often, so Nat West is worth a look too. I can always move the account after the 2 free years if I don't like them.

I already have a sole trader account with HSBC - they've been okay so far, but I just want to see if anyone is any better! I doubt they'll offer me any incentive to keep my business though, hence the search...

Thanks for all your help so far!

BTW, if anyone can do some relatively inexpensive logo and/or website design, do let me know. I'm going to have to update the stationery and website as well, but I don't have the budget for thousands of pounds' worth of work.

[SGirl]

How come my business account with HSBC attracts charges every single month even though I only ever receive foreign transfers to it and never pay out cheques?

At the moment, I'm thinking of speaking to Handelsbanken first, followed by probably HSBC and Nat West. Definitely not going to try Barclays or Santander.

But tell me more about the FSB. Are any of you members? I'm not so fussed about the tax advice because that's what I pay my accountant for, but are there any other major benefits that'd make the joining fee worthwhile?

[SGirl]

Well, I rang Handelsbanken. The guy was surprised at first that I'd phoned, because - as he put it - "they don't do introductory deals or free banking periods or anything like that, and we're not the cheapest either". I explained that I'm not looking for the cheapest deal, I'm looking for the best company to suit my needs, I do a lot of business with Sweden and they'd come highly recommended. So in the end he relented and offered to e-mail me the application forms the following morning.

Just waiting for the forms now.

Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 25th September 09:46

[SGirl]

Ah, okay. Well, you could've mentioned it to me before I phoned them. They can vet all they like anyway, my accounts are squeaky clean.

Not to worry. I can put Plan B into action if they're going to be picky. I've decided to hold off with going live until 1 November now so that I can get a new logo and website organised in the interim. (Any takers?) I haven't got time to open a bank account this week anyway, and I can't get the VAT registration transferred until I've got one.

[SGirl]

Thanks Digga - forewarned is forearmed! I did actually receive their mail this afternoon, and they were very positive about setting up the account for me. They reckoned that the only details I'd need to provide would be the usual ID details.

That said, they do have the disadvantage of me having to go over there in person to open the account - I simply can't afford the time off over the next week at least, and my accountant is leaning on me to provide the bank details so that she can get my VAT registration transferred to the new company. I'm not quite sure how I can circumvent this requirement, though, so I might have to just find the time for it somewhere.

Next job is to put my rates up to pay for all this fun and games.

[SGirl]

Digga said:

You can't! Welcome to the world of money laundering red tape.

Looks like my accountant may be disappointed if she thinks a bank account is going to be opened within the next fortnight, then. There's not enough hours in the day at the moment, I certainly don't have half a day free to go into town to show my face at a branch...