If you run a business or are thinking of starting one, you’ll need a business checking account. The best business checking accounts provide liability to mitigate risk, protect your money, and provide access while making your life easier at tax time. As you begin to search out the best business checking accounts, you’ll soon find that they are not all created equal.
Banks are businesses too, and they charge fees to help pay for their branches and employees who provide customer service. However, the best business checking accounts keep these fees minimal or give you options to avoid many of them.
Many times, you’ll have to ask the right questions, but it will be mutually beneficial for you to access all available information before choosing the best business checking accounts for your needs.
Here are some of the features the best business checking accounts have to offer.
Service Charge-Free Transactions
When you have a business checking account, it is usually pretty active. While most transactions are computerized and don’t require human interaction, it is not uncommon for banks to charge a per-transaction fee on business checking accounts.
The best business checking accounts will offer a certain number of service charge-free transactions per statement period. Depending on your business banking activity, the best business checking accounts for your needs will allow you to avoid per-transaction service charges.
If you have a busy month or you are just used to processing a high number of monthly transactions, then it may not be possible to completely avoid per-transaction service charges. However, the best business checking accounts will not charge you for every single one. Only transactions that exceed the set number limit will incur a per-transaction service charge.
Low Minimum Monthly Balance Requirements
Sometimes running a business can be a feast or famine. The world and the economy can be uncertain, and it can be difficult to maintain higher financial balances in your business bank account. The best business checking accounts will have lower minimum monthly balance requirements that allow you to avoid monthly maintenance fees.
All business checking accounts are different and offer different features. The best business checking accounts are done for real people that live in today’s world. The average daily balance is calculated at the end of the month. You shouldn’t have to worry about being charged additional fees if you need to liquidate some cash and your balance falls below $5k.
A Way to Avoid Per Item Charges
Since most business checking accounts are so active and have a higher number of transactions, many banks charge per-item fees to offset their overhead. The fees are minimal, but they add up when you have a lot of transactions. Even though that is kind of the goal of your business, you shouldn’t be penalized with additional fees for reaching that goal.
The accounts will have a set number of free transactions which allow you to potentially avoid per-item charges. For instance, the first 500 items per statement period may be free, and then there is a charge for items in excess of 500. This allows you to potentially avoid per-item fees and to properly plan when it is unavoidable.
Analyzed Earnings Credit
The best business checking accounts may offer an analyzed earnings credit to help offset potential service charges for the statement period. An analyzed earnings credit is a small percentage, like an interest rate, that is earned based on your average daily balance for the statement period.
If you can maintain a higher balance for the month, then you can earn a percentage to offset service charges. This is not an interest-bearing account, and you can’t earn any money in excess of the service charges, but you can earn enough to potentially avoid them altogether.
Optional Interest-Bearing Accounts
The best business checking accounts will have optional interest-bearing accounts. Most business checking accounts are not interest-bearing. Many are riddled with small fees and service charges that eat away at your balance and help the bank pay its bills.
When you search out the best business checking accounts, you’ll find that you do have options. Your business checking account can earn interest. Some interest-bearing business accounts do require a higher average daily balance, but that’s the only way to potentially benefit from the interest anyway.
Find the Best Business Checking Accounts Today
The best business checking accounts are designed with the business owner in mind, not the bank. They offer ways to avoid monthly maintenance fees and per-item charges on transactions. The best business checking accounts typically require lower minimum balances and may offer an analyzed earnings credit to offset potential service charges.
If you do your homework, you’ll find that the best business checking accounts can even offer optional interest-bearing accounts so your money can work for you. Don’t just open an account at any bank when you start your business; take the time to find the best business checking accounts for your purposes.
