We've touched upon this a few times in the past but as there is always an ever changing membership I'll pop out the question again.
For those of you who are sole traders and/or have a Ltd company can any of you recommend a good business bank account.
I opened a personal account and we also opened a business account with the Abbey but have found their admin to be woeful and I have recently been hearing very worring stories from other people who have personal accounts with Abbey.
Abby have some great incentives with no charges etc for small businesses. HSBC have no charges for the first 18 months and Alliance & Leicester have something similar.
Main issues for me are: Ability to pay deposits via ATM, cheque book, reasonable or no charges for items such as cheques, deposits etc.
I also have a business acount with the Bank of Scotland but cheques must be sent by post. Sooner or later a cheque will get lost in the post and so this makes me uncomfortable.
Interested to hear of whether anyone has any good experiences regarding business banking.
Full Version: Business banking
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Hi Eskie
I have accounts at H.S.B.C. and Nat. West to be honest out of the 2 of them I prefer H.S.B.C.
they both charge the same with paying in of cheques etc.
H.S.B.C. give you free banking for 18 months as you say and in some case I have heard that have extended this.
Both will give you over drafts if you want them.
I think all banks are the all a much of a muchness realy.
I realy think it depends on the bank it's staff in your area.
How easy is it to get to parking etc.
I's great having a bank you can get on with but if it's stuck over in the middle of town and difficult to get to you will never go to it ware as if you can get to it easy and the staff are good.
Then you can go in and ask questions etc and this gets things sorted out a bit better and quicker.
And of course you can keep an eye on things with on line banking a must these day's.
Hope this helps mate
Pete
I have accounts at H.S.B.C. and Nat. West to be honest out of the 2 of them I prefer H.S.B.C.
they both charge the same with paying in of cheques etc.
H.S.B.C. give you free banking for 18 months as you say and in some case I have heard that have extended this.
Both will give you over drafts if you want them.
I think all banks are the all a much of a muchness realy.
I realy think it depends on the bank it's staff in your area.
How easy is it to get to parking etc.
I's great having a bank you can get on with but if it's stuck over in the middle of town and difficult to get to you will never go to it ware as if you can get to it easy and the staff are good.
Then you can go in and ask questions etc and this gets things sorted out a bit better and quicker.
And of course you can keep an eye on things with on line banking a must these day's.
Hope this helps mate
Pete
Thanks for the info Pete
| QUOTE (music box @ Feb 28 2006, 02:07 PM) |
| Hi Eskie they both charge the same with paying in of cheques etc. |
How much roughly do they charge for paying in cheques?
| QUOTE (music box @ Feb 28 2006, 02:07 PM) |
I think all banks are the all a much of a muchness realy. |
Don't agree with that. I've previously banked with the Halifax and they had no idea of the word flexibility whereas for the past 5 years my personal account has been with First Direct and they have been superb. Always extremely friendly and very helpful and can be flexible if a problem occurs. Also very efficient unlike Abbey who I've recently been dealing with.
The only negatives with first Direct is that it's just a pity that they don't have a business account and as they don't have branches you have to use HSBC (they are part of the HSBC group) and around here none of the HSBC branches have ATM's outside the bank which accept deposits, meaning that I always have to get to a HSBC during working hours which can be a pain!
| QUOTE (music box @ Feb 28 2006, 02:07 PM) |
And of course you can keep an eye on things with on line banking a must these day's. |
Yes, an online facility is essential in these times.
I, too, have been considering setting up a business account. My research has led me to the following from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Has anyone had any dealings with them?
The Co-operative Bank, in partnership with the FSB, has developed a comprehensive new FSB Business Banking package, exclusively for FSB members.
FSB Business Current Account
Free banking - no catches
Credit interest on all balances
A fee-free overdraft
A free change facility
Access via branch, post, 24-hour telephone, Internet or Post Office
Cheque book and Debit Card issued automatically
Five Unique Customer Service Guarantees, with £25 compensation paid for mistakes
A Unique £25 Annual Loyalty Bonus
FSB Business Visa Charge Card
Unique Free For Life Business Visa Charge Card
Up to 38 days interest free credit
Free Purchase Protection Insurance
Balance automatically cleared each month by Direct Debit from the FSB Business Current Account
For every £100 spent on the FSB Business Visa Charge Card, the Bank donates 1.25p to our Customers Who Care campaign.
An FSB Discounted Fixed Rate Loan
Special discount off the Banks standard flat rate
Unsecured loans available between £2,000 - £25,000
Loans above £25,000 considered.
FSB Direct Personal Loan
A stand-alone product, available to FSB Members and their employees
Unsecured loans available between £2,000 - £25,000
Competitive interest rates.
FSB
The Co-operative Bank, in partnership with the FSB, has developed a comprehensive new FSB Business Banking package, exclusively for FSB members.
FSB Business Current Account
Free banking - no catches
Credit interest on all balances
A fee-free overdraft
A free change facility
Access via branch, post, 24-hour telephone, Internet or Post Office
Cheque book and Debit Card issued automatically
Five Unique Customer Service Guarantees, with £25 compensation paid for mistakes
A Unique £25 Annual Loyalty Bonus
FSB Business Visa Charge Card
Unique Free For Life Business Visa Charge Card
Up to 38 days interest free credit
Free Purchase Protection Insurance
Balance automatically cleared each month by Direct Debit from the FSB Business Current Account
For every £100 spent on the FSB Business Visa Charge Card, the Bank donates 1.25p to our Customers Who Care campaign.
An FSB Discounted Fixed Rate Loan
Special discount off the Banks standard flat rate
Unsecured loans available between £2,000 - £25,000
Loans above £25,000 considered.
FSB Direct Personal Loan
A stand-alone product, available to FSB Members and their employees
Unsecured loans available between £2,000 - £25,000
Competitive interest rates.
FSB
Hi Eskie,
I have used Abbey for about 4-5 years and have a small business account, no problems for me !!!
find them very good..
Used to have a barclays account !! too many charges thats why i changed.
I have used Abbey for about 4-5 years and have a small business account, no problems for me !!!
find them very good..Used to have a barclays account !! too many charges thats why i changed.
Same for me with Abbey, I have had their "free banking forever" account for 3 years without any problems.
I think it is the best account for people who see their DJing as more of a hobby than a full time profession, especially as you can only pay in up to £3000 a month for free (although you can only pay in £4000 a month with the FSB account before you get charged as well).
How much does it cost to join the FSB by the way?
I think it is the best account for people who see their DJing as more of a hobby than a full time profession, especially as you can only pay in up to £3000 a month for free (although you can only pay in £4000 a month with the FSB account before you get charged as well).
How much does it cost to join the FSB by the way?
| QUOTE (StevJam @ Feb 28 2006, 04:55 PM) |
| How much does it cost to join the FSB by the way? |
We use Abbey, they dont charge as long as you dont gho over a certain number of transactions each month, looking at the numbers of transactions each month, unless you are running a few roadshows and taking all your payments by cheques then I doubt the average mobile dj would ever pay charges.
The interest isnt high, but there are no charges, it suits us down to the ground.
The interest isnt high, but there are no charges, it suits us down to the ground.
I am very pleased with lloyds offshore , service excellent but a little expensive on the charges.
Personal : First Direct for 11 years
Business : HSBC
Looked at Abbey, A&L AND the FSB Co-op, stuck with HSBC
Nuff said.
Business : HSBC
Looked at Abbey, A&L AND the FSB Co-op, stuck with HSBC
Nuff said.
I have a HSBC account for business. I am about to move it though as they have most of there call centres abroad and i have a issue with that.
Do not like Nat West as they fund a company that tests on animals (not like the egg advert but the horrible type)
Do not like Nat West as they fund a company that tests on animals (not like the egg advert but the horrible type)
| QUOTE (jamminroadshow @ Feb 28 2006, 11:34 PM) |
| I have a HSBC account for business. I am about to move it though as they have most of there call centres abroad and i have a issue with that. Do not like Nat West as they fund a company that tests on animals (not like the egg advert but the horrible type) |
You do know what HSBC stands for dont you ? of course they have call centres abroad
Yeah know they do that is one of the reasons i am thinking about changing had the account years when all call centres were in the Uk.
If i was looking for a new account i would not bother with them would look for one with uk based call centres
If i was looking for a new account i would not bother with them would look for one with uk based call centres
Having worked for two of the big four. I can safely say that they're all as bad as each other. If you hit upon a local branch and someone that you can relate to then hang on to them. Just like DJs there are some very good ones and some very poor!
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