Do you need a business checking account?

A friend is starting a new business and she asked if I had recommendations for a business checking account.

I told her to not bother getting one and instead to open up a second, personal checking account at her bank of choice (USAA in this case).

My experience with business checking accounts is that the user interface is terrible, they have higher fees, and they try to nickel and dime you (e.g. paying for mobile deposit).

They also require more paperwork to set up and possibly even a physical trip to the bank.

A personal account usually has a better UI and serves one of the main purposes of a business checking account, which is to separate the finances from your personal account.

For my first few years as a 1099 I just used a second USAA account and gave the routing and account number to the primes if they did ACH transfers, or just did a mobile deposit of physical checks into the account.

It is easy and I never had any issues.

It's not a big deal if you open up a business checking account. I just want to point out that it's unnecessary and you can keep your business banking simple with a second personal account.


Subscribe to receive Chapter 5 for free:

How to model and compare your 1099 income to your W2 compensation.

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

    Leave a comment

    Please note, comments must be approved before they are published