Personal and Business Bank Accounts with the Same bank!??

[535dman]

I currently use two different banks for my personal accounts and business acounts but had a thought of using one or the other to make life a little easier with online banking accounts all on one screen but some people are advising me against this..!

What are your thoughts? What are the pro's and cons of using the same bank for both business and personal _ NOTE accounts will obviously be run seperately i.e business accounts and personal accounts.

Thanks

[Eric Mc]

Is your business a limited company?

What do you think the problems might be?

Edited by Eric Mc on Friday 21st December 12:36

[Exigeowner]

I had this situation when I opened my company, I had banked with LLoyds for 15 years with no problems at all, I just felt happier having my business ac completly seperate and went for HSBC, I have since open another company and have gone with Barclays, may be a bit dumb to have it all different but it just suits me to have them all apart.

[535dman]

Ltd company. I aint got a clue Eric!? It's what people have been telling me - I personally cant understand the cons of doing this..

[thewave xmas ed']

Quite simply what ever is most convient.

The wife has both business accounts and personal all with HSBC

Transfers between them are instant, which has been useful in the past, however I don't know that you can view all accounts at once.

[Eric Mc]

I wouldn't think there are any cons - especially as one account will be in the name of a company rather than you personally.

[smartie]

i think the only problems might occur if you ran into difficulties and the bank transfered money from one account to the other to suit them rather than you! Don;t think this can happen though in the case of a ltd co.

[ginettag27]

Although I've got Business and Personal Accounts with the same bank (HSBC), but they are not on the same screen!

You have to log in to both separately, with the Business one having a much more beefed up security element to it.

I would have thought all banks would have been the same...

[Eric Mc]

I'm pretty sure that the bank could not transfer funds between two accounts held by two separate legal entities (individual and limited company without the express permission of the signatories to either account.

[535dman]

Ahh i think I am getting the zist of this now. Some of the people saying this is not a good idea are not ltd companies but sole traders! They are probably referring to the fact that the bank can transfer money from one account to the other but I can't see this happening with a Ltd company bank account.

[Eric Mc]

It would make all the difference. If you are a sole trader, your business bank account is just another bank account held in your name - as far as the bank is concerned.

[arcturus]

Barclays certainly used to let you see both personal and Ltd Co accounts on one screen because I used to do that. I don't know if they still do it because I no longer have an association with the Ltd Co whose accounts I used to monitor. I believe with the Barclays system you can be authorised to see any other Barclays account.

[DavidY]

Barclays as the poster above say allow you to transfer between Ltd Co and personal accounts instantly, however I have been informed by Barclays that the signatories/owners need to be the same.

My Ltd Co (wife also a signatory) and my joint personal accounts can be viewed through the same login, but my wife's soletrader account can't!

davidy

[IainT]

arcturus said:

Barclays certainly used to let you see both personal and Ltd Co accounts on one screen because I used to do that. I don't know if they still do it because I no longer have an association with the Ltd Co whose accounts I used to monitor.

This is indeed still the case and it's damn handy. personal, joing and business (ltd co) all in the same place.

No issues on having the accounts with the same bank as long as you treat them separately. No using the company account to suppliment personaly spending/chashflow and no buying personal items with the company money.

[ginettag27]

It can be good, from the point of view of preferential customer care and they may (!) be inclined to go that little bit extra for you, if you hold a business account, although it's mostly down to the staff to decide..

[Seany88]

Slightly off-topic here but does your business account have to reflect your co's 'books'? Such as the paying of dividends, should you only transfer money out of the business acc when an official dividend has been written etc? Can it be done in retrospect?

Sorry about the noob questions, new to the world of ltd co's.

[Eric Mc]

Simply put, your company bank account is a fundamental part of the company books and records so, whatever happens on that bank account MUST be reflected somewhere in the company's final accounts.

In reality, of course, when preparing the company's final statutory accounts, the accountant usually spends a fair propertion atof his time "tidying up" and reclassifying verious transactions in order to:

ensure that the accounts are legal and comply with company law and tax law

ensure the company has optimised its tax position

ensure that the directors and shareholders optimise their tax position

A common occurence is that the directors may have drawn more money from the business than their net salaries or already voted and agreed dividends reflect. In order to ensure that anomalies like this are not left "hanging" at the year end, the accountant will suggest additional dividends or salary bonuses. Of course, there are limits to how much "fixing" an accountant can do and there may be circumstances where excessive "drawings" cannot be cleared in the manner suggested above. If that is the case, declarations relating to the situation are required to be made in the final accounts and both the company and the directors/shareholders may have to pay additional taxes.

[Gaffer]

I have with the RBS, had a personal accoutn with them for 8 years and had no hassle. Soon as I opened a business account with them - nothing but hassle.

With the RBS, the Business takes priorty over Personal and they cant do anything iwht my account unless they talk to my business account manager first....that would be ok if anyone could get hold of him and he retuned calls etc.

I have never met someone so incompetent as him. I am looking to shift the business account in the NY but to who I have no idea.

I wouldnt bother to be honest, just incase you have issues like me.

Claire

[Medusa]

I run two separate business accounts and one private account with the same bank, same branch. Have done so for years, no problems.

[m4tt]

You are correct a bank cannot transfer funds from a Ltd co account to a personal account without the authorisation from the account holder. However a Sole Trader account the rule is different.

When I was a Business Manager at HSBC I could never understand why people had their accounts at different banks. Especially when they were moaning about how long the queues were. Surely queueing once in one bank would be better than two?! But everyone has a right to their choice.

Matt