BEST BANK ACCOUNT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS

[SwissPaul]

Hi All,
Daughter and her friend are starting up a flotation tank type of business in a small shop on a high st in a small town.

They are looking to set up a bank account for the business.

Any advice on the best type of account to get. i.e one with no charges whatsoever (yes we all dream)

They don't live together so I think it would be a difficult to try and get a personal account for both.

Also would it be better if they bought a card reader themselves?

As always any advice would be gratefully received.

many thanks

Swiss

[AndyPandy]

I started up a small Business with a colleague in 2020. We went with Tide to start with, but Tide make it difficult / expensive / impossible to have both of us able to have full access. Partner runs the Business, I hold the Corporate side together and couldn't get decent access to the online Accounts to reconcile the Books as I wasn't the primary Director.

Parted ways last year and we're now with the Co-op. It's a breath of fresh air in comparison. Setting up online access was a bit long-winded because of security but a human worked with me to set it up & since then it's been a breeze. I've just had a quick look & can't see any charges incurred.

Co-op is strongly ethical, they will not accept the 'wrong' type of Account. I'm sure a flotation tank Business should be fine unless it includes a bar & humidor in the tank.

Definitely recommend Co-op
Definitely don't recommend Tide.

[stevensfo]

I started up a small Business with a colleague in 2020. We went with Tide to start with, but Tide make it difficult / expensive / impossible to have both of us able to have full access. Partner runs the Business, I hold the Corporate side together and couldn't get decent access to the online Accounts to reconcile the Books as I wasn't the primary Director.

Parted ways last year and we're now with the Co-op. It's a breath of fresh air in comparison. Setting up online access was a bit long-winded because of security but a human worked with me to set it up & since then it's been a breeze. I've just had a quick look & can't see any charges incurred.

Co-op is strongly ethical, they will not accept the 'wrong' type of Account. I'm sure a flotation tank Business should be fine unless it includes a bar & humidor in the tank.

Definitely recommend Co-op
Definitely don't recommend Tide.

I have never heard of Tide.

But I've had a Smile account ( part of Co-Op) for at least 25 years and never, ever had a problem. They don't inundate me with offers and junk emails like the major banks. They just seem to work. Very happy with them!

Steve

[bungeejumper]

https://www.money.co.uk/business/bank-accounts/pm-1 has a list of low cost (or free) bank accounts for businesses.

I have a dim recollection that Revolut has got itself into some trouble recently - the FT said in September that it doesn't actually have a UK banking licence! (https://www.ft.com/content/6d2eef34-d41 ... 3a3d9ab803, or google for "There was no escaping Revolut during the recent UK party political conference season.") But the Tide and Co-op look like goers to me.

Two questions. Is this enterprise a limited company, or a limited liability partnership? If there's healthcare involved, some kind of limited liability would probably be advisable. (We have a shop tenant who's a podiatrist, so we've learned some of the ropes.)

And secondly, is it VAT registered? As a new enterprise with a low turnover, I'm guessing not. No need to rush, but some bank accounts can mesh with Making Tax Digital (quarterly accounting) better than others. Hey, that's for the future. Best of luck to both of them!

BJ (sole trader - I eventually ditched my business account at Lloyds and did everything through my personal account, VAT and all. But your daughter deffo needs a joint account instead.)