For the self-employed, freelancers, and contractors, it can be daunting to figure out everything you need to thrive in your business.The best bank accounts for self employed businesses should offer a variety of outstanding products and services to your business.
The biggest reason business owners need a business bank account is that it’s important to keep personal and business expenses separate. Here’s our selection of the best banks to choose when you’re self-employed or a freelancer, with each offering different features.
The best business bank accounts for the self employed
For your self employed person, there are various business bank accounts to take into consideration. Both a local bank account and an online business bank account are options you might be interested in. You may prefer mobile banking if you don’t need to go into a physical branch and don’t need to deposit cash.
We’ve selected 3 banks that offer bank account offers for self employed businesses that meet the needs of the self employed that focus on fees and features.
- Bluevine – Great for no fees
- Novo – Best for unlimited free ATMs
- Chase – 100’s of bank branches for over-the-counter service
- Bank of America – Best for traditional banking
The various bank accounts presented are a mix of online banks with different features and product integrations. This allows self employed owners to pick a bank that best fits with their needs and requirements.
Bluevine
Bluevine is an online FinTech company that allows self employed businesses to easily set up an online bank account which has no monthly fees, transaction fees or minimum opening deposit and excellent online and mobile banking features.
Incoming and Outgoing ACH fees are zero, which is very attractive for self employed businesses who have many transfers. There are some fees with outgoing wire fee of $15.00, whilst cash deposit fees are charged at $4.95 per deposit, but a superb trade overall product that’s easy to use and offers unlimited transactions.
Novo
Novo is a business banking platform for the self-employed and small business owners, allowing them to open business checking accounts in minutes.
Novo charges almost no fees and your Novo business checking account can be connected to other business software including Amazon and Etsy. You’ll need a $50 opening deposit in order to open a new account, but after that, there are no minimum account balance requirements or recurring fees of any kind. In addition, there are no monthly maintenance fees, minimum deposits for opening or minimum balance requirements, a huge help for businesses starting out.
Chase
Chase is the largest bank in the U.S. and provides a wide variety of financial products for self employed businesses including checking accounts, loans, business savings and credit cards.
The Chase Business Complete Checking account costs $15 in monthly fees as well as savings service fees of $5 per month and cash deposit fees of $2.50 per $1000 after the first $5,000 per month. One of the key benefits of Chase is access to bank branches and an extensive ATM network, which may be important depending on the nature of your business activities.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial organizations, a brick and mortar bank serving small businesses with a range of banking, asset management and other services for freelancers.
Self-employed businesses and freelancers can sidestep the Bank of America monthly service fees of $16 for the Fundamental or $29.95 for the Relationship checking accounts if they maintain a minimum monthly balance of $5k and $15k respectively.
This selection above is of course not exhaustive for self employed businesses. There are plenty of alternative business banks with different fees, products and services. Self employed business owners that wish to have zero fees and up to 20 checking accounts can check out Relay’s offer.
Choosing a bank for self employed businesses?
Finding the bank that best meets your requirements is the first step in selecting the best business bank for your self employed business. Therefore, you must first establish your business’s banking requirements and take into consideration the following:
- Transactions: Business checking accounts often have limits on the number of transactions you can do per month. It can range widely depending on which bank account you choose. Transactions may include deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and more so you’ll want to consider how much you will be moving money around
- Means of payment: Would you like to be able to pay for your business expenses by credit card, check, cash withdrawals or transfers?
- Business accounting: Some software allows your bank such as Bluevine to sync with your Accounting tools
- Desired payment methods: How do your customers pay you (check, cash) Do you offer online payment? What credit card reader do you use?
- Bank adviser: Few online banks offer this service however it is often included or paid for with traditional banks
- Financing: Online banks may not offer financing solutions such as overdraft or business loans, a feature that is more likely a traditional high-street bank
- Additional services: Insurance and savings
It is essential to take all of the above factors into consideration as well as the fees charged by the business bank to better understand if this is the right bank for your self employment venture.
Fees for self employed business bank accounts?
The price of a business bank account varies per each bank and their related products and services offered. Online banks offer the most affordable return, with Bluevine charging no monthly, transaction, overdraft or minimum balance fees. They do charge some fees, with a $2.50 charge for using non-MoneyPass ATMs but all-in-all are very competitive.
Other banks charge fees for a wider range of services or particular financing solutions or support from a personal adviser, including $35 monthly fees from Capital One for its Spark Business Unlimited Checking. Fees can be waived on this if certain conditions are met.
FAQs
What is the best bank for a self-employed business?
The bank account that’s best for self employed businesses will depend on your particular requirements. In general, Bluevine offers no monthly fees, no transaction fees, no ACH payment fees, as well as no minimum opening deposit.
Can I open a business bank account if self-employed?
Yes, you can open a business bank account if you are self-employed with some accompanying documents including a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) as some financial institutions will require this.
Editorial Manager
Tom is the founder of Gottagrow.io. He reads the offers, deciphers the details including features, pricing, included services and more to find you the best products and services.
