Starting and running your own business is an exciting venture but comes with much responsibility. One of those key responsibilities as an entrepreneur is managing your finances properly and ensuring you have the right banking products and tools in place. A vital account every business owner needs to have is a current account. This should be the foundation of your financial setup as an entrepreneur.
What is Current Account?
A current or checking account is a standard bank account that allows easy access to deposited funds through debit cards, online banking transfers, ATM withdrawals, and check payments.
Paying Bills and Expenses
The flip side to having instant access to your income is seamlessly paying any bills or other costs the business incurs. From supplier and contractor invoices to rents, utilities, inventory orders, and other operating expenses, there are likely many regular outgoings you need to manage. A current account makes this simple and efficient by enabling payments via standing order, bank transfer, direct debit, cheques, and other convenient methods.
Building Business Credit
As an entrepreneur trying to grow a successful company, building up your business credit is hugely important for the future. This contributes to establishing credibility with suppliers and partners, improving chances of securing loans and financing and demonstrating financial trustworthiness as a business.
Taking Advantage of Overdrafts
Running a business often means dealing with fluctuation in income and outgoings week-to-week or month-to-month. An authorised business overdraft facility attached to a current account is invaluable for smoothing out those cash flow peaks and troughs. It provides an approved borrowing limit when funds in the account run low, allowing you to cover costs and payments that can’t wait until after your next client payment or injection of funds.
Deposit Facilities and Interest
While needing ready access to cash is hugely important, prudent financial management also requires setting some funds aside more long term to facilitate growth. A benefit some banks provide with their business current accounts is easy-access savings facilities and deposit accounts that allow you to earn interest on any extra funds not needed for immediate spending.
Account Management Features
Running a hectic business means you need digital banking and financial management tools that make controlling your current account smooth and efficient. Key features include a user-friendly online portal and mobile app, the ability to automate many tasks, customisable balance and spending alerts, detailed reporting and transaction categorisation, account aggregation bringing external accounts together, budgeting functionalities, invoice creation, accounting integration, and more.
Access to Support
Even with all the digital capabilities modern current accounts offer, personally accessible and responsive customer support remains vital for business banking customers. Between ever-evolving financial management needs and the high-pressure stakes of business finances, having reliable experts to provide advice, answer questions, handle issues, and generally offer assistance is hugely reassuring.
The Bottom Line
While wearing all the different hats running a business necessitates, financial administration should not overly distract you from focusing on service, product and growth priorities. A current account is just the start of leveraging the right financial tools – but it’s crucial, enabling you to manage cash flow, handle payments, build credit, benefit from lending support, and ultimately gain control over that engine driving your business vision.