Opening a business account is a crucial element of starting up a business. While it is not a legal requirement, the benefits listed below must be considered by all fledgling businesses. Some banks offer a period of free business banking upon opening your account.

Your account will often be supervised by a named business manager. This means that you will have a valuable working relationship with a business specialist who will be familiar with, and sympathetic to, your unique business needs.

Your business manager may recommend business insurance, which could offer valuable support if the unexpected happens.

A business overdraft or business loan may provide you with much more scope and flexibility to raise finance than a personal banking account ever could.

A business credit card is another flexible solution to developing your business, and could come in handy for making large one-off payments or for handling expenses.

Allowing multiple employees of your business to access a single personal banking account would be a complicated procedure. However, this is a simple process with a business account, which could prove particularly useful if you are planning on growing your business and taking on more members of staff.If you are thinking of buying property for your business you could ask your business manager about a commercial mortgage. Commercial mortgages can usually be arranged directly through the business service of your bank.

As well as providing you with internet banking, your bank may also offer you special deals on accounting software and other IT needs. Keeping a business account separate from your personal banking account is a good idea for several reasons. To begin with, your cashbooks will be a lot easier to balance. And, if you choose to employ an accountant, it will be simpler for him, and cheaper for you, to organise your finances. More crucially however, opening a business account, like registering your own business name, is a significant step in getting your business off the ground, and turning your business idea into a reality.

Running your own business can be very rewarding however it is certainly challenging too. You will find yourself working long hard hours and making difficult decisions day in day out, so it is definitely not an easy option. A heavy dose of realism and plenty of research is a must before you take that first step and approach your bank manager for finance.

In addition it is sensible to create a good business plan when you are starting up and it cannot be overstated how important a business plan is. Although the initial objective of the document is to help you raise finance for the business, it will also help you understand what you wish to achieve from the business and is an essential document to review the performance against your projections and can alert you to anything that is not going according to plan.