Opening a business account sounds simple until you're standing at the branch missing one document, or realize six months later that the account type you chose doesn't fit how you actually get paid. A little preparation saves both.
What to bring
- Your EIN confirmation letter from the IRS
- Formation documents — articles of incorporation or organization
- A resolution naming who's authorized to open and manage the account, if you have partners
- A government-issued ID for every authorized signer
Questions worth asking before you sign
Ask about transaction limits before you hit them. Many free business checking accounts cap the number of no-fee transactions per month — fine for a services business, tight for a retailer processing dozens of card batches a day.
The mistake we see most often
New owners frequently open a personal account and run the business through it “just to get started.” It complicates bookkeeping immediately and can create real problems at tax time or if the business is ever audited. Open the business account first, even before your first sale.
Plan one step ahead
If you expect to need a line of credit within the first year, open your accounts at the bank you'd want to borrow from. Lenders weigh existing deposit relationships heavily, and a year of clean statements makes underwriting faster.
