Just as with getting a second address for your business, opening a separate business bank account will enable you to keep your business and personal expenses separate so that there are no mistakes or oversights involving business expenses and properly recording them. Proper accounting and records are key to staying legal with your business and helping to ensure you don’t get into any financial or legal ramifications with your country’s tax division at any point in the future.
To open a business bank account at almost any bank, you need to show that you actually have a business. This usually means that you have to provide the name of the business and the nature of the business (i.e. what is the reason for its existence).
In some countries, you may have to provide an identification number known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or may even have to provide a copy of your business plan that includes your company’s target market, profit margins, and forecasted future earnings. All of these requirements are to show the bank that you are legitimately in business and that the bank should feel comfortable in providing you with a business bank account.
Note that you can apply for a business bank account either in person at a local branch or online. Applying for it online is often easier, and this also allows you to apply at virtually any bank anywhere, even if it’s not near your business’ or home’s location. However, it is often advantageous to have a branch of the bank that hosts your business account near your home and/or business so that if some issue or problem arises, you can easily go to the branch to discuss and resolve it. While some issues can be resolved online, others can be dealt with more efficiently if you are present in-person, which will be much harder, more expensive, and more time-consuming if the bank you choose to do business with is located far from your home and/or business.