Accountants / solicitors letter ( for the bank ) sole trader

[Sufc2012 10]

Hi there I'm in need of a solicitor or accountant to make me a letter for the yorkshire bank just stating my, home address, trading address, trade name as I'm setting up a business account with the bank Friday morning is there anyone on here registered to do so if so how much would you charge as I need this for tomorrow afternoon

 

Thanks

[Cyclone 10]

Are the bank wanting letter headed paper, or proof that you have an accountant?

 

If you want letter headed paper, just create it yourself.

[steveroberts 10]

Hi there I'm in need of a solicitor or accountant to make me a letter for the yorkshire bank just stating my, home address, trading address, trade name as I'm setting up a business account with the bank Friday morning is there anyone on here registered to do so if so how much would you charge as I need this for tomorrow afternoon

 

Thanks

 

I've never known a bank ask for such information from a solicitor/accountant before...it makes no sense. Surely all you have to do is present your ID, some utility bills/council/business rates tax statements?

[Chez2 10]

I have never been asked that either. We set our bank account up before we started trading so we didn't really have anything to present. We set up a business account with the same bank we do our personal banking with.

 

Until recently Santander set up a business bank account free of charge for a year or eighteen months for sole traders.

[Nandco 10]

Hello,

If you are only trading as a sole trader and are not a limited company you do not legally require a business bank account.

You can just use a spare account which you have or use your own personal one.

I would recommend to avoid (if where possible) the admin and more importantly the fees which the banks will charge you on a business account.

To keep track of your income and expenses just retain all your paperwork.

We have a Yorkshire bank business account who did actually ask for the same info, if you decide to go ahead let me know and I can help you out with a letter fit for purpose free of charge.

Yorkshire bank are also offering free business banking for a limited period so worth doing if you definitely need a limited company business account.

If required please pm or call 07751 067468

Thanks Claire

[Chez2 10]

Hello,

If you are only trading as a sole trader and are not a limited company you do not legally require a business bank account.

You can just use a spare account which you have or use your own personal one.

I would recommend to avoid (if where possible) the admin and more importantly the fees which the banks will charge you on a business account.

To keep track of your income and expenses just retain all your paperwork.

We have a Yorkshire bank business account who did actually ask for the same info, if you decide to go ahead let me know and I can help you out with a letter fit for purpose free of charge.

Yorkshire bank are also offering free business banking for a limited period so worth doing if you definitely need a limited company business account.

If required please pm or call 07751 067468

Thanks Claire

 

While its correct you may use a personal account as a sole trader from a legal point of view, many banks do not allow this, that's why I didn't mention it. Many are happy for you to use your personal account for both personal banking and business banking if you are a sole trader not doing many transactions but they aren't as happy if you have lots of regular transactions.

 

That's what I found anyway when I have phoned round on a couple of occasions in the last seven years. In my experience, most banks only have a couple of business accounts but Santander have lots of different types of accounts with different charges so as not to be overly expensive for businesses with small turnovers or fewer transactions. They more electronic banking you do, the cheaper their charges. The charges increase if you bank cash or lots of cheques. With some accounts you can use the post office so you don't have to travel to a Santander branch.

 

I'm not Saying Santander are good, their call centre is really frustrating if you get someone that isn't trained very well. We have our business account with them as ours is still free and pays interest. New clients only get free banking for a set period of time now, depending if you do your personal banking with them or not.

 

The name of your bank account may seem trivial but it does affect how clients /customers perceive you. If you are selling to the domestic market this probably won't affect you much. Corporate clients can have other ideas. We registered for VAT before we needed to as it seemed to make a difference to our customers. It makes no monetary difference to them but they didn't see it that way.