Fortunately, opening a business bank account is not very difficult since banks are always eager to attract new funds. In general, there are several reasons why it’s truly important to obtain this type of account. Perhaps the major one is that both the bank and most of your customers would probably be unwilling to do business with you if you did not have one for processing all of your transactions.
Another reason is that you will be greatly simplifying your life if you’ll create this type of separate account – as it will make it much easier for your business accountant to track all of your earnings, expenses, and debt payments. It also helps with filing your various business taxes.
If you’ve decided to create an LLC (limited liability company), you must have one since your company is legally viewed as being separate from you or any individuals financially involved with your business. Finally, a separate business account conveys a certain level of prestige in the eyes of your potential customers.
What Paperwork is Required to Open a Separate Account for My Business?
This naturally depends to some extent on whether or not your business is a sole proprietorship, an LLC, an LLP, a corporation or a general partnership. For nearly all of these, you’ll usually need to first obtain a TIN (taxpayer identification number). These are sometimes also referred to as EINs (employer identification numbers). If you are a sole proprietor and you will not be hiring any employees, you can just use your own personal social security number to open this account (and when you file your taxes).
Here are a few other facts about the paperwork required to open such accounts. Your Peachtree City business lawyer can expound upon this information further, if necessary.
- L.L.C'sIf you’re opening an account for this type of business, you’ll want to take in a copy of your articles of incorporation. If this document doesn’t specify your company’s precise location and agent for service, be sure to bring in another official document which does set forth this information;
- A corporation. Like the LLC above, you should also bring in a copy of your articles of incorporation – and abide by the added suggestion above, if pertinent to your situation (regarding the corporation’s principal business address and the names of all the incorporators -- and your agent for service);
- Sole proprietorship. You may just need to take in your own social security number card. However, if you have created a business involved a DBA (“doing business as”) name, you’ll need to take along the government documents which verify that information and clearly reference you, along with all of your contact information;
- A general partnership. Be sure to take in an official copy of your partnership agreement, making sure that it clearly sets forth the business address, the names of all of the partners, and your agent for legal service of papers.
Although most banks do things in a fairly similar fashion, you can save yourself some valuable time by simply dropping in ahead of time and speaking to a banking representative about the type of account you’ll be opening. You can then request a list, in writing, of all the documents you must bring back with you in order to open your business account.
To obtain help with handling all of your Georgia business planning needs, please contact Shane Smith Law today. You can schedule your free initial consultation with a knowledgeable Peachtree City estate planning attorney by calling: (980) 246-2656 .