Cassidy first became interested in personal finance after paying off $18,000 in debt within 10 months of graduating college. She later went on to triple her salary in two years by ditching her 8-to-5 job to write for a living. Business bank accounts come with a mix of benefits and drawbacks. We gave different weights to each metric depending on the type of account, and subcategories varied slightly. Some accounts were also scored using deposit and transaction limits and business features. You’ll also get free incoming wires (both domestic and international), and two free outgoing wire transfers per statement cycle.
Visit a local banking center (Find Banks Near Me) or compare business checking accounts online. When you are running a business—whether it’s a solo consulting practice or a growing storefront—you have a lot on your plate. This includes making financial decisions that affect your business growth. One solution worth considering is a business checking account. But like any financial tool, they come with their own set of benefits and drawbacks. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how they support your company.
Tips for deciding how much money to keep in your checking account
One of the first steps you should take when opening a small business is opening a bank account for that business. A business bank account is typically used to hold funds that may be necessary for the day-to-day operations of a business, including paying employees, buying ads, and ordering supplies. Some businesses—like restaurants, retail stores, and laundromats—routinely handle large volumes of cash and must deposit it into their bank accounts. But many accounts have cash deposit limits that may be too small to handle those needs, or charge fees that make doing so inordinately expensive. If you don’t want to pay much for checking services, Axos provides a simple and inexpensive option with its Basic Business Checking account.
If you’re after fee-free banking like Azlo had, quite a few online banks offer that. Small Business Bank, Bluevine, NBKC Bank, and Novo all offer business checking accounts with no monthly fees, low (or no) minimum opening deposits, and unlimited transactions. KeyBank offers three business checking accounts to help different types of business owners cover their banking needs. KeyBank Basic Business Checking is meant for businesses with lower transaction activity, and balances don’t earn interest. You’ll pay 18 cents per $100 deposited over $25,000 per statement cycle and 40 cents per item in excess of 200 transactions. All incoming wire transfers cost $20 each, while domestic outgoing wire transfers cost $30 and outgoing international wire transfers cost $45.
These considerations should help your business narrow down the right business checking account. We spend hours researching and evaluating each business banking service we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings. Business owners without a business checking account were nearly twice as likely to consider closing their business according to Nav’s Small Business Banking Survey. Free up the cash you need to keep your business moving forward with same-day deposits at no additional cost. Chase also offers alerts to help you stay on top of your account activity and easy account management through Chase Business online and the Chase Mobile® app. Below are alternatives to a business checking account that might make more sense for your particular needs.
- While you may be able to close a business checking account online, you might need to visit a branch or call the financial institution to close your account.
- Any money hanging out in savings accrues 1.0% interest for balances of $20,000 or less.
- The best overall small business bank account is Amex’s Business Checking, based on independent research conducted by Investopedia.
- We also like Small Business Bank, NBKC Bank, Axos Bank, and Novo.
- That’s because business bank accounts allow you to separate your business expenses from your personal ones, prepare for taxes more easily, and establish your business’ financial presence.
When To Choose Bluevine Checking
To waive the monthly maintenance fee on the Advantage Checking account, it must be linked to the Small Business Checking account. Eligible Small Business accounts include Total Business Banking, Select Business Banking, Business Interest Checking, Business Advantage Plus, Simple Business Checking and Primary Business Checking. While Bluevine does have more one-time fees than some other online banking options, we appreciate how straightforward it is to find all of Bluevine’s fee information. Mercury charges almost no fees and is transparent when it does. You won’t find any monthly or ongoing fees, foreign transaction fees, or domestic and international wire transfer fees.
It has features like a cashback debit card and a bonus savings account. Just note that you do need to pay for Lili Pro ($9.00) to get the most out of Lili―but we think it’s worth the cost. That’s partially because Bluevine has interest-bearing checking, letting you earn up to 2.0% interest on balances of up to $250,000.
- It allows you to separate business and personal transactions, track business spending and maximize tax deductions, and even help you get a small business loan.
- This bank account is designed for small businesses, offering unlimited Chase ATM and debit card transactions, and up to 20 teller and paper transactions per month.
- We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site.
- With Square Banking, profits from your sales hit your bank instantly.
Capital One Basic Checking Account: Best Business Checking Account for Digital Transfers
Novo’s invoicing is free, but it doesn’t (yet) work on its mobile apps, making it less convenient. Grasshopper offers many of the perks you’d expect from a fully digital bank. Not only does it offer generous APY business checking account and cash-back, but the user experience is highly streamlined thanks to an intuitive mobile app. Meet one of these conditions during your monthly statement period. If you need a loan or a line of credit, you’ll have to look into other options. Bank Your Deposit Account Agreement booklet for additional disclosures applicable to deposit accounts.
Our financial experts put in the hard work, spending hours researching and analyzing hundreds of products based on data-driven methodologies to find the best accounts and providers for you. Determining the optimal amount of cash to keep on hand depends on several factors unique to your operation. While there’s no exact average cash on hand for small businesses, some experts recommend keeping three to six months’ worth of operating expenses as a general rule. But your specific circumstances might call for more nuanced planning.