What do you need to open a business bank account?

In order to be able to open a business account , you must of course first find the right bank or the right offer. The best way to do this is to compare different banks and their offers for business accounts.

Before opening your Business bank account, the bank will ask for the relevant documents or evidence. You will find a small list with the most important documents below.

Important documents for opening a Business bank account

As a founder and self-employed person, it is highly recommended to look for a suitable business bank account at an early stage . Some of business people still ask themselves at the beginning whether they can not just let their business transactions run through their private checking account. This is usually possible, of course, but it makes no sense from an entrepreneur’s point of view. It should be clear here that business sales should be separated from private sales from the outset.

Since not all banks accept every form of business / company and of course there are also different conditions for Business bank accounts, I recommend the current business account comparison in advance . In this you can specify the requirements for your business account (EC card, credit card, online bank, branch bank, etc.) and immediately get an overview of the banks that suit you.

So that you can open your business account – which is usually possible online with the online banks, you need some important documents that have to be presented to the respective bank. As a sole trader or freelancer, this includes proof of identity or ID card in any case . For a partnership, additional documents are required to open a business bank account. In addition to the identity card of the business owner, among other things, the articles of association.

For corporations, on the other hand, a large number of documents are required for opening a business account. These include a current extract from the commercial register, a business plan or the foundation documents . In order to give you a brief overview of which documents are mostly requested by the banks, I have explained some important documents to you in this article.

The best thing to do is to find out in advance from the relevant bank which documents are required for opening a business account . Because which documents are requested from the banks is mostly different. To be on the safe side, a quick email or phone request is sufficient. So nothing should stand in the way of opening a company account quickly and smoothly.

Proof of identity (ID card)

Proof of identity or identity card is required when opening a business account to prove the identity of the account holder or that of the company owner. Alternatively, the banks usually also accept a passport in order to be able to open a business account.

On the proof of identity (ID card) all data about you or about yourself are stored . These include your first name, surname, address, place of birth, eye color, height and your nationality.

Persons who do not have USA citizenship must provide the bank with other evidence so that they can open a business account – if the bank accepts this. In this case, you should consult a contact person at the bank in advance.

Credit information from a Credit Agency

Credit information from Experian is always required when a contract is concluded between a customer and an institution . This type of contract mainly deals with insurance, loans or even smartphones. In addition to the Experian, there are some other credit agencies such as Equifax or TransUnion.

All these credit agencies have data such as inquiries about credit cards, loans, mobile phone contracts or existing contracts of this kind. The creditworthiness information also specifies whether you are meeting your payment obligations, whether collection or dunning procedures have already been initiated and some more.

The creditworthiness information from Moody’s investors service is therefore required by the bank to determine your creditworthiness . For the reason that the Bank needs to know whether they can grant you an overdraft facility or, if you need it, an installment loan. Nowadays, the query at Experian for opening a business account is either made directly online or during a conversation with your bank advisor.

If there are no negative entries from you in Moody’s investors Service, your score will be measured according to general information such as your place of residence, your age or gender. Negative Score naturally have a negative effect on your creditworthiness. Therefore, it makes sense to moody’s investors Service entries regularly in order to remove any incorrect entries.

Proof of income

If you want to open a business bank account as a self-employed person or a founder, it may well be that the bank wants to see proof of income for the account opening. As a rule, the last three wage or salary slips are usually requested . The proof of income must often be presented to the bank together with the credit report from Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.

Proof of income is used to assess the burden that is financially possible for the customer . In addition to the wage and salary slips, proof of income can also be a certificate from the employer, a pension notice or an income tax notice.

Account statements

Another document that is often welcome at a bank is the most recent account statements . Especially when the business account is to be opened with a new bank. In this case, the new bank will request the account statements of your previous house bank.

Because of course the bank wants to make sure that all of your information is correct . That is, what are the monthly income and expenses. For what purposes are your earnings used and how are you financially positioned each month.

Business registration

The business registration is one of the documents that you should always have to hand when opening a business bank account. After all, you want to open the business bank account precisely because of your commercial activity . Only those who are freelancers are exempted from submitting the business registration. In this case, that would be, for example, doctors, alternative practitioners, journalists or tax consultants.

As a founder or self- employed person, you are obliged to register a business as soon as you are self-employed that is permanent and you intend to make a profit. You can register your trade at the trade office in your city. When registering a trade, it does not matter whether you are self-employed as a part-time or full-time job.

After registering at the trade office, you will also be automatically registered with the tax office, and the responsible trade association. So that the bank can open a business account that you can use for your business, they requests your business registration.

Tax number

As mentioned briefly in the section “Business registration”, freelancers usually do not need a business registration . However, the bank will require a tax number, which you can best get certified by the tax office.

Contracts

The contracts between you and your bank , you should of course not forget. These are by far the most important documents for opening a business account. At the beginning you received this by post from an online bank or you could print it out directly online. At a local bank, you have the option of filling it out and signing it, of course.

So that the business account can be opened, you should check the completed and signed contracts again for correctness before returning them or handing them over to the bank. This is the only way you can prevent delays in opening your business account.

Conclusion

If you have found the right business bank account and you know which documents the bank needs to open a business account, you can find all the documents you need to open your account and have them to hand.

This has the advantage that in addition to the contracts for the business bank account, the bank also has all the necessary documents for the business bank account and can activate it for you as quickly as possible.