As I will be moving to the Micro-BIC tax scheme in 2013 I will need a dedicated business bank account, who do you hold your bank account with and can you recommend them?
Thanks
James
With regards to having your personal name and your company account, my AE account allows me to have both on it. It is with Soc Gen and costs 8€ a month, for this I get a deferred payment card, a cheque book, internet banking and various other 'perks', am very happy with it. My understanding is that you don't have to have a business account, just a separate account. However, if you want to apply for business loans etc you need the more expensive business account.
Thanks Suz
I will bear that in mind.
James
My understanding is that it isn't obligatory to have a 'business' bank account for Entreprise Individuelle (AE or Micro BNC/BIC) BUT you should have a separate bank account and distinguish it from your personal accounts. The fees are lower than for a business bank account.
We set up a separate personal account for Darren's business which is currently AE and will keep this if he switches to Micro.
If you keep it with your same bank then all the accounts are viewable under your internet banking which makes it easier to manage & transfer money between your 'business personal' account and your 'personal personal account'.
Some people prefer an account pro because of asking for cheques to be paid into the name of your 'company' but with the rise in electronic payment these days and if you are prof lib - I don't think this is too much of a concern - just ask your clients to make the cheques to your name but ensure they're paid into the right account.
Check out all the fees before you opt for a business account - you'll be surprised as they can be hefty!
Thanks Heather, I will ask my current bank in that case.
Hi James,
My understanding of this - which might of course be wrong :) - is that one needs to have a separate account for the business but not necessarily an official, and more expensive, 'business account'. So I have two normal/personal current accounts with the local Banque Tarneaud, one for personal stuff and one for business income. The account used for the business actually costs less to run than the personal one since I don't have a bank card on it, just a cheque book. If you could find a bank willing to do that so that you can keep transactions separate, perhaps this would work for too if your accountant agrees? I'm AE rather than Micro regime reel but I don't THINK it makes a difference...
My accountant told me it was a necessity, perhaps that is because it will be Micro BIC reel? (accent missing there)
Good points Tracy, Credit Agricole looks like an option.
We were advised by our accountant to keep our business account separate from our personal account which is held with Credit Agricole, so we opened a business account with Banque Populaire. They were absolutely useless, no help at all and the branch in our village, the personnel could not give a s**t! 3 years ago we closed our account and we now bank with Credit Agricole who were a little more expensive, but a 100% improvement. We pay a business charge of just over Euro 17 per month. They have an English speaking department, which has been a great help and I now do most of my banking online. Nothing is ever a problem and my emails get answered straight away :)
My dedicated AE account is with Societe Generale and when I change to a regular business in 2013 I will stay with them as they offer very reasonable charges.
My main reason for choosing this bank though was the helpfulness of the manager in taking into account my future turnover when assessing my car loan/overdraft charges. I also like the way we sort everything out, then she says, 'oh, just get your husband to pop in and sign it all, as we've taken his income into account as well'.
My husband uses La Poste which is an absolute nightmare but then he is dealing with faceless bureaucracy so kind of to be expected. When I did the rounds of all the banks I came to the conclusion, they are all pretty similar so you have to go for the one that suits your needs the most. Did you find them helpful, do the opening hours work with yours - critically, can you pay money in and take it out anytime you want? In a small town this is becoming more and more relevant as the banks don't hold cash in many places. Is the person who manages your account available when you need them and so on.
A tip from when I opened up is to accept the biggest overdraft facility they offer. I turned this down thinking I was being prudent then when my business expanded rapidly and had to ask for extra (I only took 100€ in the first place) it was much more complicated - don't know why but it was.