If you’re an entrepreneur working on your own start-up, you would have read about the stories of business giants like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jack Ma and Phil Knight. You may even have a carefully-crafted elevator pitch on standby, ready to present to any prospective investor who’s willing to listen.

However, there is one vital ingredient that you might not realise you need but is nonetheless a critical first step to your business’ success – a good business bank account. Business accounts may not be the sexiest thing to discuss when starting a business, but they are essential for businesses.

Even if you’re running a sole proprietorship (i.e. you are running your own business), a business account allows you to keep your business assets and expenses separate from your own personal savings. It also helps you track your business cash inflows and outflows, which will come in handy during tax season.

As a rule of thumb, you should open a business account as soon as your company starts handling money. This can be the revenue that your company is earning from customers, or personal cash and investments that you intend to put in.

Depending on the kind of business you are running, the type of banking services that your company needs can also differ significantly from other companies. Here are some factors you should consider when choosing a business account.

1. Business bank account's initial minimum deposit

Most banks require you to make an initial deposit to open a business account. This amount can range from S$500 to S$30,000.

If your business has a low starting capital, you should opt for an account that does not require you to put up a high initial deposit.

An example would be the OCBC Business Growth Account. It requires only a low initial deposit of $1,000. This is useful if you need to set up your business account first, while you wait for additional funds to be transferred to your company from other business partners.

2. Business Account's waiver for minimum account deposit

For many entrepreneurs, the initial stage of setting up a business can be capital intensive. If you are running an e-commerce business, you might find a large portion of your capital being locked up as you’ll have to pay for goods in advance, before being able to sell them to your customers. You’ll also need to fork out money to secure a working space, purchase equipment and hire workers.

Look for business accounts with low account fees so that you can reduce the cost of maintaining your business account and save your capital for other important areas.

The OCBC Business Growth Account only requires S$10 monthly account fees which makes it easy for you to maintain the account. Furthermore, the first two months of the account fees will be waived. You can apply for your business account online, get your approval instantly and start using your account to pay and receive funds.

3. Business bank account's average minimum monthly balance

Similar to personal banking accounts, most business accounts will require you to maintain a minimum average monthly balance. Failing to do so can result in a monthly service fee.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll want to minimise unnecessary cost. One easy way of doing so is to choose a business account with a minimum monthly average balance that your business can maintain comfortably.

The OCBC Business Growth account only requires a minimum monthly balance as low as S$1,000, which is a reasonably low amount for start-ups to maintain an account balance.

4. Other startup bank account services that you will need

Opening a business account isn’t just about dollars and cents. You should also look at the type of services that the business account can offer. Common services that you can expect include internet banking, mobile banking, a business debit card and e-alerts. These services provide convenience for business owners who’ll need to stay up-to-date on transactions and payments received by their businesses.

In addition, you may also want to opt for a bank that has a large network of bank branches and ATMs. This makes it easier for you to withdraw petty cash from an ATM or visit a bank branch if you need to seek corporate banking related advice.

Beyond these banking services, OCBC is also able to support you in other key areas of your business growth. One example is through OCBC Velocity, we can enjoy free access to Business Financial Management features that chart a summary of our monthly cash inflow and outflow. This allows us to have – at a glance – an overview of how our business has performed over the past year. These would also include useful information such as the e-invoices we have created, invoice status, automatic reconciliation and also collection reminders in case your clients forget to pay you. If you have multiple bank accounts, you can also pool the information together.

Enjoy 24/7 instant online account opening with OCBC

If you feel that heading down physically to a bank branch to open a business account is a hassle, you are not alone! We’ve been through it.

Thankfully for new business owners, the OCBC Business Growth Account can be opened instantly online using Singpass.

Once your online application is successfully completed, you will get your business account number on the spot. This means you can start using your account immediately for business transactions.

There is no need to wait for an email, a letter or even someone to call you back in a few days time, just to get your account details. This makes it the easiest, fastest and most convenient way for you to get a business account for your start-up.

Supporting your business beyond just banking

OCBC works closely with industry partners to bring solutions to SME owners. For example, it offers digital packages across HR, Accounting, Digital Marketing, Digital Transactions and Cyber Security for its business banking customers as part of the SME Go Digital initiative.

Another example is their partnership with Xero, a popular cloud-based accounting software platform for SMEs. OCBC business banking customers can connect Xero to their OCBC Business Account, giving them automatic daily insights to their business cash flow.

By choosing a suitable bank and account for your business, you can start your business on the right foot, significantly reducing future banking-related headaches. This will also allow you to focus on growing your business, building your products/services and serving your customers well.

Now that you know how to pick the most appropriate business account for your start-up, you might want to take a look at the range of business accounts from OCBC. From start-ups to large corporations, these accounts help serve companies of all sizes.

Find out more about the different accounts, and the benefits you get from each one of them, before selecting the one that suits your business needs best.

Need an SME loan for your business expansion?

Exclusively at OCBC, young startups from 6 months up to 2 years in operations can get up to S$100,000 with the Business First Loan. SMEs more than 2 years in operations can enjoy a financial support of up to S$300,000 through the Working Capital Loan.

Disclaimer

You may be directed to third party websites. OCBC Bank shall not be liable for any loss suffered or incurred by any party for accessing such third party websites or in relation to any product and/or service provided by any provider under such third party websites.

The information provided herein is intended for general circulation and/or discussion purposes only. Before making any decision, please seek independent advice from professional advisors. No representation or warranty whatsoever in respect of any information provided herein is given by OCBC Bank and it should not be relied upon as such. OCBC Bank does not undertake any obligation to update the information or to correct any inaccuracy that may become apparent at a later time. All information presented is subject to change without notice. OCBC Bank shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly howsoever in connection with or as a result of any person acting on any information provided herein. Any reference to any specific company, financial product or asset class in whatever way is used for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation on the same.

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