Business bank account

[gashart]

Hi

I had a Natwest Business account for when I ran my own business for 10 years as a sole trader, which was fine, but was offered cash to switch bank accounts, which I did to Co-op. Which frankly turned out to be archaic, but I could deal with it, as I didn't have my business anymore, I'm now just self employed selling, so just paid commission, pay out a few DD's and visa payments mainly fuel etc, but now the Co-op account has now got worse, making it a real chore doing monthly accounts and bank reconciliation.

So I'm on the hunt for a new provider, any recommendations, just need ability for DD, accept weekly Bacs payments in, visa card, good clear app and ability to print of monthly statements, second sub account or something similar for VAT and Tax savings would be of help, oh and free would be great.

[OscarIndia]

Starling Bank.
It just works and is easy!

[StevieBee]

Another vote for Starling.

Does exactly what you need - no faff.

[seyre1972]

Starling Bank gets my vote too.

[Lifeisalemon]

Boring - but another vote for Starling.

[gashart]

Thanks guys, will look that way

[megaphone]

Yes another one for Starling, if you don't need the support of a local branch then it will be ideal. Can all be set-up remotely using your phone, took me 20 mins I think. . You can use 'Spaces' in the app to park your VAT money.

[gashart]

Thanks for that :-)

[shopper150]

I tried to apply for a Starling business account last week.
They asked for a full detailed business plan and purchase orders from customers as part of the initial account opening process 🤷‍♂️

[megaphone]

shopper150 said:

I tried to apply for a Starling business account last week.
They asked for a full detailed business plan and purchase orders from customers as part of the initial account opening process ?????

Ltd or sole trader? They have up'd the criteria for getting a Ltd co. account, I understand a lot of 'false' accounts where set-up over the last couple of years.

[StevieBee]

megaphone said:

shopper150 said:

I tried to apply for a Starling business account last week.
They asked for a full detailed business plan and purchase orders from customers as part of the initial account opening process ?????

Ltd or sole trader? They have up'd the criteria for getting a Ltd co. account, I understand a lot of 'false' accounts where set-up over the last couple of years.

If I'm honest, I was a little surprised at the ease of opening the account when I did back in 2019 and thought at the time it could be a handy resource for those with nefarious intent.

Either way, I fairly certain that even with these requirements it will be easier than with any of the mainstream banks. At the time, Barclays quoted me at least five weeks just to review my application.

[warp9]

Please don't use Barclays. It's all telephone based, no personal service, layers of archaic bureaucracy, form filling, pointless barriers and hoops to jump through.

[gashart]

Do due the fab recommendations on here for Staring Bank I started my switch last week, as mentioned above by another poster I did have more questions than I expected, but not as hard as mentioned above, mine is a Sole Trader, so perhaps a little easier.

Anyhow, I was approved, switch underway, impressed with the communications so far, have had a look around the App, seems very easy to use. Just waiting for payments out, in and balance to be transferred and that will be it.

[Beetnik]

Always good when someone reports back with an outcome so thanks!

I didn't post above but have business and personal accounts with Starling and they're top class - you'll not be disappointed.

[MattyD803]

I've also just decided to move away from Metro who have been an utter crock of crap since the moment I opened with them, which I only did due to the RBS incentive.....over to Starling bank, off the back of reviews offered here and what I have heard/read elsewhere online.

For anyone wondering, the application process via the App was straight forward although you will need all of your documents to hand to take various photos etc. Not quite as intrusive as I thought it might be.....and certainly one hell of a lot easier than the hell I went through with Metro.

[classicaholic]

I have applied for a Starling account after recommendations on here but the application is a nightmare, they wanted purchase orders, invoices even a picture of our factory, all done from your phone at the same time, it would not be so bad if they actually said what they wanted before hand.

Anyway we have moved to Tide, it was easy to set up and works OK for simple banking and will be ideal for the OP.

[megaphone]

classicaholic said:

I have applied for a Starling account after recommendations on here but the application is a nightmare, they wanted purchase orders, invoices even a picture of our factory, all done from your phone at the same time, it would not be so bad if they actually said what they wanted before hand.

Anyway we have moved to Tide, it was easy to set up and works OK for simple banking and will be ideal for the OP.

Assuming a Ltd co? They have increased the vigilance due to all the fraudulent activity during covid, lots of scammers/thieves setting up ltd co to con £50K out of the tax payer.

[MattyD803]

MattyD803 said:

I've also just decided to move away from Metro who have been an utter crock of crap since the moment I opened with them, which I only did due to the RBS incentive.....over to Starling bank, off the back of reviews offered here and what I have heard/read elsewhere online.

For anyone wondering, the application process via the App was straight forward although you will need all of your documents to hand to take various photos etc. Not quite as intrusive as I thought it might be.....and certainly one hell of a lot easier than the hell I went through with Metro.

Just to update this.....my '1 hour' wait for a a decision turned into 2 days, at the end of which, my application got denied, without any reason whatsoever. This is for a small limited company with very healthy surplus funds, UK based, perfect credit history, no loans or credit cards, no defaults and a solid proof of continuous income & profit covering the last 9 years.