Business checking account for a sole proprietorship DBA?

July 8, 2014 9:35 AM

Are there any no-fee business checking accounts for a sole proprietorship? Pretty much no services are needed other than an account that is separate from personal finances.
posted by jsturgill to Work & Money (9 answers total)

Have you checked with your existing credit union or bank? This is the absolute best place to start.

No-fee accounts without strings are pretty difficult to find these days, but if you can cope with maintaining a minimum balance, you may be able to find some options.
posted by jgreco at 9:51 AM on July 8, 2014

My credit union does no fees on a my sole proprietor DBA account as long as I keep a $1k balance.
posted by straw at 10:01 AM on July 8, 2014

As mentioned above, the bank you already bank at or local banks/credit unions are going to be your best bet. You will need to make calls/go into branches and speak with people. Major banks will not do this unless you are a non-profit.
posted by phunniemee at 10:08 AM on July 8, 2014

I have a no-fee account (checking and savings) with US Bank for my DBA (sole prop).

I keep a balance of $4 (four dollars) because money goes in for the record, then it goes somewhere else and/or I use it up for supplies and business expenses. I keep the money I save for taxes in the savings account, which I drain to $1 (one dollar) come tax time (because extra after I file goes somewhere else).

Pretty simple, and a major brand bank, so I don't understand what other posters are saying.
posted by TinWhistle at 10:30 AM on July 8, 2014

TD Bank has worked well for my husband's sole proprietorship. We've had a no-fee business checking account there for a couple of years now.
posted by acanthous at 10:36 AM on July 8, 2014

You don't mention where you're located, but I use a Bank of America personal checking account for my sole proprietorship banking, although I haven't tried to set up the DBA with the account (most income comes in via direct deposit or wire and when I accept payments by check I just ask the payer to make it out to my name). They will also do no-fee business bank accounts with an average monthly balance of $5,000 or $15,000 in combined business-personal accounts.
posted by phoenixy at 10:37 AM on July 8, 2014

The bank I work at has a Free Business checking. It just has a limit on the number of items that can be processed each month as checks or deposited items, and charges a fee if you have over 500 items. So it's available at this smallish (200 branches) bank.
posted by saffry at 1:18 PM on July 8, 2014

I went to my regional bank that I currently had a free checking account through.

They set me up with a free business checking/savings bundle. (I do not do many transactions with that account or keep a high balance).

They actually upgraded my personal account the other month because of the multiple accounts that I now have, so there is that.
posted by PlutoniumX at 8:38 AM on July 9, 2014

Try Capitol One 360 online checking. An accountant told me not to tell banks that it's a business account because they'll try to charge you more or sell you more stuff or whatever. Only problem with Capitol One 360 is that transferring from Paypal doesn't seem to work...
posted by trillian at 7:08 PM on July 9, 2014