I have just come off the phone with Co-operative Bank who have pre-approved my business banking application! They were my first choice from the beginning, not just because they are the most ethical bank, but because they offer some canny deals for start-ups. The type of account I went for offers free business banking for 18 months if you keep a credit interest of £1000. It does mean I will have to keep £1000 set aside at all times, but that is probably a good discipline to have anyway as nobody wants to be riding the line between red and black all the time.
The application took about 20 minutes over the phone. I needed to have estimated turnover and also my trading method (eg. sole trader, partnership, company) so its important to have a bit of a business plan in place before you make the call. They do run a credit check too, so if you are worried about credit issues, I would maybe call and see a business advisor in person. Thankfully I have been careful over the years so my credit record is squeaky clean, so I just went ahead.
Anyway, I am pre-approved now, which means just the signatures to do and its plain sailing. The main reason I have set this up early on is that I want to keep my business and personal finances separate, that way I know exactly how much money I have put into the business. That way if I hit the big time, I can take my initial investment back from the business... here's hoping that wont be too far off.
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